Prime Ministerial Interests

Prime Ministerial Business Interests 1945 to 2025
It is widely known that government ministers may not further their business interests whilst
in office. Once politicians have stepped down, however, they can largely do as they please.
In fact, many ex-ministers take full advantage of lucrative offers of consultancy work or
handsomely remunerated directorships when they leave the House of Commons.
Here is a summary of the business ventures which might have appealed to each of our post-
war Prime Ministers.
Rishi Sunak
Sunak’s many investments include his multinational food conglomerate which sells the
flavoured medicinal mouthwash “Rishi Washi”. It is said to taste unpleasant and to be
entirely ineffective, but the dividend yield for shareholders is maintained by purchasing
poor quality ingredients and cutting costs to a bare minimum.
Liz Truss
Truss was instrumental in developing the board game “Trusst Me!” – the goal of the game is
to help Kamikaze Kwarteng devise a budget to prevent the economy from crashing.
According to the packaging, “it’s harder than it looks!”
Boris Johnson
“Johnson’s Baby Counter” is the indispensable accessory for those who cannot keep count
of their offspring. It has been used to provide evidence in paternity and child maintenance
court cases and the JBC count is usually accepted as factually correct by Wikipedia and all
newspapers apart from the Daily Mail which is unconcerned with facts.
Theresa May
The TM Dance Academy was established in Maidenhead by the Conservative Party’s very
own Dancing Queen. So far, none of the pupils has achieved much at all.
David Cameron
David Cameron’s private equity firm has many business interests but the principal
investment was in “Cameron’s Mackintosh”. CM resulted from the hostile takeover of
fashion company “Brown Is The Colour” (see Gordon Brown). Following the takeover, CM
ceased production of all lines except the raincoat and it laid off 93% of the work force. It
was hoped that these austerity measures would save the company. They didn’t.
Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown was originally Vice Chairman and Finance Director of “Tony’s Togs” (see Tony
Blair). When Blair stepped down, Brown became CEO and Chairman and the company
rebranded as “Brown Is The Colour”. Brown and Blair had formed Tony’s Togs together and

the original agreement was for Blair to be CEO for five years and then to hand over control
to Brown. Blair finally stepped down after ten years just before the infamous “fashion
crash”. Following the crash, Brown prepared a detailed rescue plan designed to safeguard all
jobs and to continue all product lines. However, the shareholders had had enough and sold
out to David Cameron’s private equity firm (see above).
Tony Blair
Apart from establishing “Tony’s Togs”, Blair also set up “The Blair Which Project” (TBWP).
TBWP was the leading consumer choice magazine for many years. The magazine fell out of
favour after the now infamous issue dealing with weapons of mass destruction.
John Major
Major is perhaps best known as the Honorary Chairman of the Brixton Trainspotting Society
but he also established a company which sells soapboxes for budding orators.
Margaret Thatcher
“The Ironing Ladies” was a loose federation of women (although it was later forced to admit
men) who wanted to be recognised for their economic contribution to society. Initially, this
recognition came from charging for what was previously termed housework. In time, the
federation became considerably more ambitious and firms which started life as Ironing
Ladies businesses have become FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 companies.
James Callaghan
Callaghan was one of the founders of a PR firm named “Crisis” which was established to
provide interview coaching to aspiring politicians – this should not be confused with the
homelessness charity with the same name. It is always sensible to ask oneself “Crisis, which
Crisis?”
Harold Wilson
After resigning, Wilson became an entertainer touring the country with his show “Harold’s
Game For A Laugh”. The main selling point was Wilson’s gift for mimicry. He was most
famous for impersonating Mike Yarwood and several of his erstwhile Labour Party
colleagues. The show was very popular in the clubs of the Scilly Isles but not at all popular
with Denis “Silly Billy” Healey.
Ted Heath
Following the industrial unrest and power cuts in the early 1970s, Heath invested heavily in
a handful of candle manufacturers. Luckily for us but unluckily for Heath, the power cuts
were largely over and there was no rush for candles.

Alec Douglas-Home
“ADH’s Homes from Home” was a network of upmarket holiday homes which came with a
full complement of uniformed domestic staff. The target customers were the aristocracy,
however, Douglas-Home failed to appreciate that the aristocracy generally had plenty of
properties and had little need for a “Home from Home”. He became increasingly dismayed
at having to deal with “new money” and he sold his stake to invest in farmland to avoid
Death Duties.
Harold Macmillan
It would have been great if Supermac had, like David Cameron, been a retailer of raincoats…
However, he became a professional footballer playing for Newcastle United, Arsenal and
England. Had Supermac devoted himself to the beautiful game before he turned 70, he may
have been an unlikely member of the 1966 World Cup winning team.
Anthony Eden
“Gardens of Eden” was a moderately successful landscaping business founded by Eden. It
did not reach its full potential because Eden refused to deal with any form of water feature.
Winston Churchill
Churchill was a prolific and well-respected writer. He also gave his name to “The Churchill
Diet”. During the post-war austerity years, Churchill heard that families were having trouble
preparing healthy nutritious meals. He prepared a series of menus with accompanying wine
and cigar suggestions to help in the war against malnutrition. Unfortunately, most
households were unable to source oysters, venison, vintage wines or Cuban cigars and The
Churchill Diet failed to gain traction outside the members of the Blenheim Palace/Chartwell
set.
Clement Attlee
Attlee is best known for his group of companies “The Welfare State”. Those in need of its
services and those who think they or those they care for might become clients, believe the
Welfare State to be Attlee’s greatest achievement. Unfortunately, many others feel that
they and their loved ones will thrive without the Welfare State and they refuse to pay for it.
As a result, it is slowly dying…

Keir Starmer
It is rumoured that before becoming an MP, Starmer was about to launch a luxury alcoholic
beverage “The Sir Keir Royale”. Many had high hopes for the SKR and the planned
advertising campaign made many bold promises. Some insiders say that, despite the hype, it
tastes rather like “Rishi Washi”.