Originally published at: Labour vs Conversative: the numbers behind the election – InvestEngine Insights
Which party is better for markets? This chart shows the average annualised returns for the UK market under both Conservative and Labour leadership since 1970:
While the chart shows Labour being more friendly for UK plc, since 1970 the Conservatives have been in power for twice as long as labour. Labour have only seen 4 PMs since 1970 and have been in power for 18 years versus 8 PMs for the Conservatives over 36 years. Meaning that despite lower annualised returns, because they’ve been in power for longer, cumulatively investors would’ve been better off investing under Conservatives. £100 would have grown to £4,902 under the Conservatives, but only £447 under Labour:
However, letting political beliefs get in the way of a buy-and-hold strategy has been costly. If investors had simply held that £100 through all political regimes, the same £100 would be worth £21,893 today:
Which Prime Ministers have been the best for markets? The table below shows all Prime Ministers since 1970 ranked by UK market annualised returns:
| Prime Minister | Party | Total return over term | Annualised return |
| Harold Wilson | Labour | 47% | 20% |
| Jim Callaghan | Labour | 74% | 20% |
| Margaret Thatcher | Conservative | 488% | 17% |
| John Major | Conservative | 159% | 16% |
| Rishi Sunak | Conservative | 24% | 13% |
| David Cameron/Nick Clegg | Conservative/Liberal Democrat | 54% | 9% |
| Theresa May | Conservative | 26% | 8% |
| Tony Blair | Labour | 92% | 7% |
| Edward Heath | Conservative | 26% | 6% |
| Boris Johnson | Conservative | 10% | 3% |
| David Cameron | Conservative | 1% | 1% |
| Gordon Brown | Labour | -9% | -3% |
| Liz Truss | Conservative | -4% | -25% |
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