Former Conservative prime minister John Major has warned that Britain should avoid repeatedly replacing its prime ministers, arguing that political leaders must focus on long-term challenges rather than short-term political battles.
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In an interview with BBC programmes Radio 5 Live and Newsnight, Sir John criticised what he described as a growing tendency in politics to prioritise media attention and personal career advancement over addressing complex national issues.
The former leader said modern politics risked becoming like a “game show”, where politicians concentrate on headlines rather than the difficult decisions needed to tackle issues such as healthcare costs, pensions and climate change.
Warning over political instability
Sir John, who led the country from 1990 to 1997, said frequent changes of leadership risk undermining effective government.
“I mean, it isn’t a good idea to keep changing prime ministers,” he said, suggesting that political systems with fixed leadership terms could provide greater stability.
Pointing to the United States model, he said the two-term limit for a president offered a sensible structure for leadership.
However, he declined to offer direct advice to the current Labour government led by Keir Starmer, saying he did not want to make the “mistake” of publicly advising a prime minister from another party.
Speculation has circulated about pressure on Starmer from senior Labour figures including Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting, though Sir John said the fate of individual politicians mattered less than developing effective policies.
Long-term problems being avoided
Sir John argued that governments were failing to confront major long-term challenges facing the UK, particularly the implications of an ageing population.
He said rising healthcare costs and pension pressures were being left unresolved, with the burden likely to fall on future generations.
Leaders were also delaying decisive action on climate change, he said, warning that current policies risked leaving younger people to face worsening economic and environmental conditions.
“The first role of any government, in my view, is to leave something better for the next generation than your generation inherited,” Sir John said.
Instead, he warned, today’s young people were inheriting a more difficult world than previous generations.
He also suggested governments had become reluctant to refuse demands for higher public spending out of fear of losing votes.
Politicians, he said, should be willing to make difficult arguments to the public if the policies would improve conditions for future generations.
Concern over political careers and representation
Sir John also criticised the changing background of many modern MPs, saying political parties now relied increasingly on professional politicians rather than candidates with broader life experience.
He said Labour MPs once included more working-class representatives who had close connections with their communities. Today’s MPs, he said, tended to be younger, more highly educated and less directly connected to their constituents.
He added that the Conservative benches also lacked people from professions that had previously been common in politics, such as business leaders or members of the armed forces.
Sir John himself did not attend university and said his interest in politics began when he was 13 after meeting his local MP, Marcus Lipton, who arranged a visit for him to the House of Commons.
Call for young people to enter politics
Despite his concerns, Sir John urged young people to consider entering politics and public service.
He warned that if talented individuals focused solely on private careers and avoided public life, the quality of political leadership could decline.
The former prime minister said public service remained essential to tackling the country’s long-term problems and ensuring future generations inherited a better society.
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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Source 2 May 2026
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