THE INCREDIBLE SULK

Perfected by Ted Heath (1970-74), who holds the all-comers record for Refusing To Move On, this is more of a state of mind than a job. It typically involves displaying epic resentment of your successors and offering barely coded criticism at every opportunity. Fitness for this role depends a great deal on how you lost office. Few prime ministers leave the job at a time wholly of their own choosing, and all of them believe the people removing them have made a mistake, but according to Lord Norton of Louth, the Conservative peer and academic, some departures hurt more than others. “If you’ve lost an election, that’s the electors’ fault, you accept that,” he said. “Whereas if you’re ousted by your own party, then there might be that resentment that Heath clearly had, and, to some extent, Margaret Thatcher [1979-90] as well.”