British prime ministers like to think they leave a legacy. They give speeches outside the famous black door of 10 Downing Street, promise stability, and then watch their careers implode within a few years. Meanwhile, a four-legged civil servant has quietly maintained control of the entire operation.
With Keir Starmer stepping down as prime minister after less than two years in office, Westminster enters yet another period of absolute chaos. But the true constant of British politics remains untouched. Larry the Cat, the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, is staying right where he is.
He's now waiting for his seventh prime minister.
The Relentless Churn of Number 10
Think about the sheer scale of political turnover Britain has seen over the last decade. Since the Brexit referendum in 2016, the leadership of the country has looked like a revolving door.
David Cameron resigned after losing the referendum. Theresa May took over and spent three agonizing years failing to get a deal through Parliament. Boris Johnson brought a massive majority, got bogged down in scandals like Partygate, and was forced out. Liz Truss came next, collapsed the pound, and lost a race against a supermarket lettuce in just 49 days. Rishi Sunak tried to steady things but got crushed in the 2024 election.
Then came Keir Starmer. He entered office with a giant parliamentary majority and a promise to make politics boring again. Instead, his government got trapped by political controversies, internal warfare, and a rapid drop in public confidence. Now, he's gone too.
Through all of it, Larry hasn't packed a single bag. He doesn't need to. He belongs to the house, not the politicians.
Why the Chief Mouser Can't Be Fired
A common misconception is that Larry is the personal pet of whoever happens to be prime minister. If that were true, he'd have been moving house constantly.
When David Cameron left office in 2016, he explicitly cleared this up during his final Prime Minister's Questions. Larry is a civil servant. His official title is Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, making him a permanent fixture of the state machinery. He's funded voluntarily by the Downing Street staff, meaning British taxpayers aren't footing the bill for his food.
This institutional status gives him complete job security. Politicians answer to the electorate and their own mutinous parties. Larry answers to no one. He has outlasted six prime ministers and is about to welcome number seven. The satirical social media account run in his name summed it up perfectly after Starmer's exit, joking that it's getting too exhausting to even learn their names anymore.
A History of Minimal Mouse Catching
Larry arrived at Downing Street in 2011 from the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. He was brought in because television cameras kept spotting rats scurrying past the front door during live news broadcasts. The government needed a quick public relations fix and a working predator.
They got the public relations win, but the predatory skills have always been up for debate.
Within weeks of his arrival, insiders leaked reports that Larry lacked a killer instinct. He spent the vast majority of his time sleeping on antique furniture or inspecting the warmth of the pavement. The British tabloids quickly labeled him "Lazy Larry". Things got so bad during the Cameron years that the prime minister reportedly had to throw a fork at a mouse during a cabinet dinner because Larry was nowhere to be found.
He does occasionally do his job. He made his first confirmed kill in April 2011, and he was even spotted catching a mouse at the impressive age of 19. But his real value isn't his pest control record. It's his ability to humanize an environment that often feels entirely disconnected from ordinary life.
The Public Relations Genius of a Tabby Cat
British politics can be incredibly grim. It's full of scripted talking points, economic crises, and scandals. Larry breaks through that noise simply by existing on the doorstep.
When international leaders visit Downing Street, they have to navigate the cat. He famously took a nap under Donald Trump's armored limousine, grounding the vehicle until he decided to move. He has stared down police officers, ignored foreign dignitaries, and regularly upstaged prime ministers during their most critical moments. When Rishi Sunak stood in the pouring rain to announce the 2024 general election, Larry was waiting right by the door, entirely unbothered by the unfolding political disaster.
An Ipsos opinion poll conducted before that election showed Larry had a net favorability rating of 40%. For context, Keir Starmer was at minus 7% and Rishi Sunak was sitting at a dismal minus 36%. The public genuinely prefers the cat to the politicians running the country.
Surviving Rivalries and Health Scares
Life at the top hasn't been entirely peaceful for Larry. He has survived major turf wars within his own street.
For years, he engaged in a bitter rivalry with Palmerston, the Chief Mouser at the Foreign Office. The two cats were frequently photographed by reporters engaging in full-blown street brawls, resulting in torn fur and vet visits. Palmerston eventually retired to the countryside in 2020, leaving Larry as the undisputed king of the block. He also had to manage the arrival of various prime ministerial pets, including Rishi Sunak's Labrador and the Starmer family's Siberian kitten. None of them ever managed to take his spotlight.
Because of his advanced age, Westminster observers watch his health closely. Rumors circulated that officials had drafted a media plan for how to handle the news of his eventual passing. Downing Street officials have dismissed the panic, insisting he remains happy and active.
What Happens Next in Downing Street
As the Labour Party scrambles to figure out who will take over from Starmer, the daily routine inside Number 10 won't change much for its oldest resident.
The next prime minister will walk through that black door, set up a transition team, and attempt to fix a stalled economy. They'll try to manage an incredibly volatile political climate. They'll give interviews about their grand visions for the future of the nation.
And Larry will be sitting on a radiator, waiting to see how long this one lasts.
If you want to track how the transition of power impacts the daily operations of the UK government, watch the front steps of Downing Street. Don't focus on the politicians in suits. Watch the cat. His presence tells you everything you need to know about who really holds the lease on the building. You can follow the live updates from the Westminster press corps to see exactly when prime minister number seven arrives to pay duties to the true boss of the United Kingdom.
