Sir Anthony Seldon to speak on the Museum of the Prime Minister

Image: Sir Anthony Seldon, courtesy of Wellington College Education

Future Cities Forum is delighted that Sir Anthony Seldon, a widely-respected authority on all matters relating to education, AI, Number 10 and Britain’s prime ministers, is to speak at our 'Cultural Cities' forum this week.

Sir Anthony the political biographer and historian of Downing Street, and Scottish entrepreneur Robert Kilgour are behind the initiative to create the Museum of the Prime Minister. The pair have set up a registered charity to drive the plans forward.

The mission of the charity is to establish a permanent museum “where visitors can explore the achievements, failures and decisions of British prime ministers”. It is hoped that museum will open in Westminster in 2030.

Seldon said the institution aimed to be “the most significant new national museum of the last decade”, while Kilgour has described it as “a museum about our past to educate our future”.

The cross-party advisory council also includes Labour peer Margaret Jay (Baroness Jay of Paddington), who is the daughter of former Labour prime minister James Callaghan, and Conservative peer Charlotte Vere (Baroness Vere of Norbiton).

Sir Anthony's first book on a prime minister, Churchill’s Indian Summer, was published forty years ago. He has since written or edited more than 50 books, many of which are best-sellers, including definitive insider accounts of the last seven prime ministers. Sir Anthony served as honorary historian of Number 10 Downing Street, chair of the National Archives Trust, and has interviewed most of the senior figures who have worked in Number 10 in the last fifty years. His most recent books are – The Path of Peace: Walking the Western Front Way (2022), Johnson at 10: The Inside Story (2023) and Truss at 10: How Not to Be Prime Minister (2024).

For 20 years he was a transformative headmaster, first at Brighton College and then Wellington College, one of the country’s leading independent schools. From 2015 to 2020 he served as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham. In 2023 he was appointed Head of Epsom College for 18 months following the sudden loss of the Head.  His foresight, vision and understanding of AI and its huge impact on education is renowned. He has now returned to Wellington College as the Founding Director of Wellington College Education to lead its development and evolution of global education, and to shape and refine what education should mean in the mid-21st century.

The Museums' Association reports:

'Historian Dan Snow has recently joined the advisory council for the planned Museum of the Prime Minister.

'He said: “I'm very happy to support the Museum of the Prime Minister and look forward to helping shape its future as a member of the advisory council. The history of one of the world's great political offices is rich and varied and this museum will bring to life the stories of those who have served as Britain's prime minister. It will ensure that future generations can connect with the personal journeys and monumental decisions that have defined our political heritage. It will ensure that future generations can connect with the personal journeys and monumental decisions that have defined our political heritage."

'Snow’s appointment comes as a separate temporary exhibition opened in Westminster Hall this May celebrating 300 years of parliament and the office of prime minister.

'The exhibition consists of a series of 12 panels covering the rise to prominence of Sir Robert Walpole, widely regarded as Britain's first prime minister, the establishment of the office of prime minister and historical information on a selection of former prime ministers.

'It also explores one of the great parliamentary rivalries, between the Conservative Benjamin Disraeli and the Liberal William Gladstone, who clashed in parliament across 20 years. A panel showing 10 Downing Street's famous black door provides photo opportunities for visitors, who are able to access a digital guide on Bloomberg Connects by a QR code.'