Economic output (GVA) during each first minister's tenure
4 first ministers, ranked by how economic output (GVA) changed from their first day in office, next to the United Kingdom over the same months. Politare shows what happened during a tenure; it does not claim the office-holder caused it.
| # | First minister | Country | In office | Total | vs UK | Per year | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lab Jack McConnell | Scotland | 22 Nov 2001 – 16 May 2007 | +22.1% 2001 → 2006 | +3.6 pts UK +18.5% | +4.1%/yr | |
| 2 | Lab Rhodri Morgan | Wales | 9 Feb 2000 – 10 Dec 2009 | +20.9% 1999 → 2009 | −4.2 pts UK +25.1% | +1.9%/yr | |
| 3 | UUP David Trimble | Northern Ireland | 1 Jul 1998 – 1 Jul 2001 from 1998 | +14.5% 1998 → 2001 | +4.6 pts UK +9.9% | +4.6%/yr | |
| 4 | Lab Carwyn Jones | Wales | 10 Dec 2009 – 13 Dec 2018 | +10.1% 2009 → 2018 | −1.8 pts UK +11.9% | +1.1%/yr | |
| 5 | Con David Cameron | England | 11 May 2010 – 13 Jul 2016 | +10.0% 2009 → 2016 | +0.8 pts UK +9.3% | +1.4%/yr | |
| 6 | Con Theresa May | England | 13 Jul 2016 – 24 Jul 2019 | +4.5% 2016 → 2019 | +0.0 pts UK +4.5% | +1.5%/yr | |
| 7 | SNP Nicola Sturgeon | Scotland | 20 Nov 2014 – 29 Mar 2023 | +4.3% 2014 → 2022 | −6.3 pts UK +10.6% | +0.5%/yr | |
| 8 | Lab Mark Drakeford | Wales | 13 Dec 2018 – 20 Mar 2024 | +0.6% 2018 → 2023 | −3.0 pts UK +3.6% | +0.1%/yr | |
| 9 | SNP Alex Salmond | Scotland | 16 May 2007 – 20 Nov 2014 | +0.5% 2006 → 2014 | −0.5 pts UK +1.0% | +0.1%/yr | |
| 10 | Con Boris Johnson | England | 24 Jul 2019 – 6 Sep 2022 | −0.6% 2019 → 2022 | +0.1 pts UK −0.7% | −0.2%/yr |
Showing 10 of 12 tenures.
Sorted by total, highest first. Every row is indexed to the last count complete before the first day in office ("from" marks a start that had to move because that count had no data, or because the period cut it); the United Kingdom is measured over the same months. Levels are per cent changes, rates are differences in %; "per year" compounds levels and divides rates. Tenures with under 12 months, or under three observations, are left out. £bn, in today's money · ONS regional gross value added (balanced) via nomis (NM_2400_1), current prices, adjusted for inflation with the UK CPI (D7BT), calendar years dated at mid-year · nation data · as of Jul 2026.