How tall have previous UK prime ministers been including Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill

A viral tweet has left people baffled about the heights of former UK leaders
Surena Chande19 July 2022

The heights of politicians are often questioned by the public with many people often being left surprised by their actual measurements compared to how tall they appear to be on TV.

In fact, some have accused the publicists of politicians, such as Rishi Sunak, of making them appear far taller in campaign shots than they really are.

The former chancellor’s height was recently discussed on social media, with many only just discovering that he’s 5ft 5inches tall, despite seeming to be taller than his peers in photos and videos.

Conservative leadership bid
Rishi Sunak is 170cm tall, but often appears to be taller in his campaign imagery
PA

Now, a tweet that has gone viral claims Margaret Thatcher was minus-6ft tall, and also includes the supposed heights of other former UK prime ministers.

Here’s the lowdown on the actual heights of former leaders of the nation.

How tall have previous UK prime ministers been including Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill

A tweet, which has gone viral, has shown fake screenshots of former UK prime ministers’ heights, showing them to be far taller than they actually were.

The tweet, posted on Monday, July 18, 2022, has received over 19,000 likes and almost 1,000 retweets, with some users being duped into believing that former Tory party leader Margaret Thatcher was minus-6ft tall.

Many have since realised this was a crude way of pointing out that she is ‘six feet under’, a way of saying someone is dead.

One person tweeted: “The dark joke here is flying over everyone’s head”.

It also stated that former PM Theresa May was 5ft 8inches, while claiming Winston Churchill was 5ft 7inches.

Here are the actual heights of former UK Prime Ministers dating back to when Mr Churchill first ruled.

  • Theresa May (2016 to 2019) – 5ft 6inches
  • David Cameron (2010 to 2016) – 6ft ½ inches
  • Gordon Brown (2007 to 2010) – 5ft 11inches
  • Tony Blair (1997 to 2007) – 6ft
  • John Major (1990 to 1997) – 5ft 11inches
  • Margaret Thatcher (1979 to 1990) – 5ft 5inches
  • James Callaghan (1976 to 1979) – 6ft 1inch
  • Harold Wilson (1964 to 1970) – 5ft 8inches
  • Alec Douglas-Home (1963 to 1964) – 6ft 1inch
  • Harold Macmillan (1957 to 1963) – unknown
  • Winston Churchill (1940 to 1945, then 1951 to 1955) – 5ft 6inches

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