With Britain again in limbo after the resignation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, it’s Larry the cat who is holding the fort and continuing to keep the vermin at bay at No.10 Downing Street.

According to myriad memes, the longtime resident has even assumed the role of Acting PM in addition to his official title of Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, with some going so far as to tout him as a potential frontrunner for the top job.

“Today’s agenda: More naps. Stronger treat security. Better bird diplomacy. Zero tolerance for vacuum,” states one update on @larry­­_downingstreet, a cheeky Instagram fan page with more than 44,000 followers.

The grey and white tabby has called the British prime minister’s residence home since 2011, when he was adopted by then PM David Cameron. In the years since he has become famous for photobombing visiting world leaders – including Australia’s Anthony Albanese, former US president Barack Obama and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The 19-year-old mouser appears to live a charmed life, nonchalantly roaming about Downing Street and frequently spotted outside No.10’s famous black door.

Larry’s greatest claim to fame, however, is the fact that he has outlasted six British prime ministers: Cameron (2010-16), Theresa May (2016-19), Boris Johnson (2019-22), Liz Truss (2022), Rishi Sunak (2022-24) and Starmer (2024-2026).

“Looking back over the past decade, it’s hard not to wonder whether Larry the Cat has been the most stabilising presence in British politics,” The Washington Post suggested this week.

Another one bites the dust. pic.twitter.com/qjVMNYcjdg

— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) June 22, 2026

Larry has also weathered the tumult of Brexit, the Covid pandemic and “partygate” – the scandal that erupted over Johnson’s hosting of rule-breaking gatherings at Downing Street during lockdown and which ultimately led to his downfall.

“Well, at least the British people have YOU, Lord Larry, to hold things stable while the politicians run around with their hair on fire and try to figure out what to do next,” observed an American fan on YouTube.

“If only the US had such a benevolent entity to do the same for us.”

When US President Donald Trump visited 10 Downing Street in 2019, Larry crashed his official doorstep photo and also reportedly took a nap under his armoured car.

 

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A post shared by Larrydowningstreet (@larry_downingstreet)

As pressure has mounted in recent weeks for embattled Starmer to step down, posts have proliferated on social media  pages dedicated to Larry.

One Instagram meme posted three weeks ago showed him reading a self-authored book titled 100 Ways to Evict a Prime Minister, while another featured a thought bubble with the comment: “I popped outside for five minutes and apparently there may be another leadership crisis”.

“If it carries on like this, I’m going to stop making the effort to learn their names,” declared another post published by @larry­­_downingstreet after Starmer’s resignation.

Two Facebook groups touting “Larry the Cat for PM” have more than 120,000 members between them, while YouTube account Britclip shared a satirical video this week in which Larry offers his own account of the pandemonium that ensued after Starmer’s announcement:

“My manservant announced his resignation this morning, in what I can only describe as a flurry of unnecessary drama and early-morning optimism, thereby clearing the way for what the human press insist on calling the ‘coronation’ of Andy Burnham as Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade — a statistic that would, I suspect, make even the most stoic historian quietly reach for a stiff drink.”

The Boss claims another photobomb victim in my very own @AlboMP. All in a day’s work for him. pic.twitter.com/CxPb4Rl2Jw

— Justin Ng (@justin_ng) September 26, 2025

Larry’s fans have lapped it all up, with some wondering whether Burnham – who is tipped to  become the country’s seventh leader in 10 years as early as next month – is a cat lover and will treat him with the respect he deserves.

Reports already suggest Burnham will bring his rescue dog Axel to London with him, prompting the Larry the Cat’s X account (with almost 900,000 followers) to complain “that wasn’t part of our deal Burnham!”.

According to the British government website, aside from greeting guests and testing antique furniture for napping quality, Larry’s day-to-day duties also include “contemplating a solution to the mouse occupancy of the house”.

Given such important responsibilities, his advancing years, and the fact that the British public regularly send him treats and gifts, it seems unlikely a new prime minister would be bold enough to evict much-loved Larry.

“A cat-hating PM – that seems to me to be political suicide,” Philip Howell, a Cambridge University professor who has studied the history of human-animal relations, said earlier this year.

Howell added that as a non-partisan “official pet”, Larry’s approval ratings would be higher than most prime ministers.

“He represents stability, and that’s at a premium.”