What do former Prime Ministers do once they leave Downing Street?

just imagine being forced out of your job and chucked out of your home on the same day the life of a prime minister is full of twists turns and turbulence but it's always toughest at the end i do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination after all most political careers end in failure i do so with no ill will but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country i love so what do you do after you've held the country's top job which perks do you keep and which do you lose [Music] the biggest perk to be given up is perhaps the home itself a spacious four bedroom flat above number 11 downing street central london location period features 24-hour security and use of a large garden perfect for entertaining [Music] ex-prime ministers also forgo use of checkers a luxurious official country residence in buckinghamshire and the raf voyager a plane used by the royal family and senior ministers is also off limits as for larry the cat well he's not moving anywhere some silver linings that come with the pressure of being prime minister do last a lifetime all former pms get to keep their armed close protection teams which not and available intended to help former pms continue to play a part in public life they are also entitled to stay at british embassies and capital cities across the globe but only if visits support uk government objectives some prime ministers are creatures of the commons and stay on as mps ted heath stuck around for another 27 years ladies and gentlemen we're leaving downing street for the last time margaret thatcher made a tearful exit from downing street after 11 and a half years as pm she soon swapped the green benches for the red ones taking her seat as baroness thatcher in the house of lords she also set up a foundation advised the tobacco company philip morris and wrote three books when the curtain falls it's time to get off the stage and that is what i propose to do john major's instinct after losing the 1997 election was to head to the oval after that i hope that norma and i will be able with the children to get to the oval in time for lunch and for some cricket this afternoon he took on a series of corporate roles turned down a peerage and was also appointed a special guardian to princes william and harry helping with their legal affairs after the death of their mother princess diana in 2007 tony blair left number 10 and left parliament on the same day i've uh i've come back here to search field to my constituency where my political journey began and where it's fitting that it should end he became middle east envoy for the quartet the grouping of the united nations united states european union and russia now sir tony blair he advised foreign governments and major companies reportedly earning tens of millions of pounds wrote his autobiography writing my memoir a journey has been a fascinating and enjoyable experience responded to the chilcot inquiry into the 2003 invasion of iraq and unsuccessfully campaigned against brexit they've literally created this issue of brexit as if it's the answer to the country's problems when it's literally the answer to nothing his successor gordon brown took a different approach and as i leave the second most important job i could ever hold i cherish even more the first as a husband and father thank you and goodbye leaving number 10 with his wife and two sons he moved back to scotland played a key role in the 2014 scottish independence referendum became un's special envoy for global education and gave much of his earnings from books and speeches to charity david cameron's departure in 2016 was sudden soon after he lost the eu referendum a shock result i will do everything i can as prime minister to steady the ship over the coming weeks and months but i do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination i mean i said of course it's a sad night for me because i didn't want to be in this position i wanted britain to stay in a reformed european union he became president of alzheimer's research uk and took on various corporate jobs his work with one of them the scandal hit financial services company green sill capital damaged his reputation mr cameron lobbied the government on the firm's behalf before it collapsed i will shortly leave the job that it has been the honor of my life to hold theresa may had a painful departure from power in the midst of the brexit deadlock the second female prime minister but certainly not the last but she followed john major's example and the next day was spotted watching the cricket at lord's she has stayed in parliament occasionally making spiky interventions and debates why then is the new national security adviser a political appointee with no proven expertise in national security mrs may has a lucrative sideline in corporate speeches earning between 38 000 and 136 000 pounds a pop and she's said to have an eye on another big job secretary general of nato a role yet to be held by a woman the only official engagement when all former prime ministers gather together is remembrance sunday when they meet alongside the royal family at the cenotaph to commemorate service men and women who have lost their lives in wars and conflicts when boris johnson's premiership comes to an end his wife carrie and their two children wilfred and romy will move out of their newly and expensively refurbished downing street flat mr johnson will lose almost half of his 161 401 pound salary he will keep the 81 932 pounds he receives as mp for uxbridge and west rice slip unless of course he decides to stand down from parliament but what might he do next the international speaking circuit is a sure-fire way for former world leaders to cash in yesterday i went as as we all must to peppa pig world in the past mr johnson has earned big writing columns for the daily telegraph and authoring books he was supposed to be writing one about william shakespeare its publication has been repeatedly delayed but the most painful adjustment of all is surely losing the power from being here at the heart of the action making massive decisions meeting world leaders to life away from government with far fewer commitments where the phone doesn't ring quite as much and also knowing whatever the next challenge nothing will compete with this

Channel: Sky News

Views: 1,411,679

Keywords: POLITICS, UK POLITICS, BORIS JOHNSON, THERESA MAY, DAVID CAMERON, GORDON BROWN, TONY BLAIR, JOHN MAJOR, MARGARET THATCHER, PRIME MINISTER, POLITICAL CAREER, CONSERVATIVES, LABOUR, JOE PIKE, DOWNING STREET, PERKS, SECURITY, CHEQUERS, SKY NEWS UK, PARTYGATE, LOCKDOWN PARTIES

Id: JIQw-NBUMRs

Length: 7min 53sec (473 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 23 2022