TheLeader of the House of Commonsis aminister of the Crownof theGovernment of the United Kingdomwhose main role is organising government business in theHouse of Commons.The Leader is always a member or attendee of thecabinet of the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom Leader of the House of Commons | |
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since 5 July 2024 | |
Cabinet Office Office of the Leader of the House of Commons | |
Style | The Right Honourable |
Formation | 4 April 1721 |
First holder | Sir Robert Walpole |
Salary | £159,038 per annum(2022)[1] (including £86,584MPsalary)[2] |
Website | www |
The House of Commons devotes approximately three-quarters of its time to debating and explaining government business, such asbillsintroduced by the government and ministerial statements.[citation needed]The Leader of the House of Commons, with the parties'chief whips( "theusual channels"), is responsible for organising government business and providing time for non-government (backbench) business to be put before the House of Commons.[3]
The position of leader of the House of Commons is currently held byLucy Powell,who was appointed on 5 July 2024 byKeir Starmer.
Responsibilities
editThe current responsibilities of the Leader of the House of Commons are as follows:
- Planning and supervising the Government'sLegislative Programme;
- Chairing theCabinet Committeeon Parliamentary Business and Legislation;
- Managing the business of the House of Commons and preparing weekly statements on upcoming business;
- Facilitating motions and debate in the Chamber;
- Serving as the Government's representative in the House, namely as a voting member of theHouse of Commons Commission,thePublic Accounts Commission,the Members Estimate Committee, and theSpeaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority;
- Reforming parliamentary procedure and operations;
- Representing the House of Commons within Government, be it contributing to the Civil Service's efforts to build parliamentary capability or receiving MPs' requests for assistance on ministerial correspondence and questions; and
- Ministerial responsibility for thePrivy Council Office.[4]
TheOsmotherly Rules,which set out guidance on how civil servants should respond toparliamentary select committees,are jointly updated by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and theCabinet Office.[5]
History
editThe title was not established until about the middle of the 19th century, although the institution is much older.[6]
Until 1942, the title was usually held by the prime minister if he sat in the House of Commons, however, in more recent years, the title has been held by a separate politician.[6]
The title holder is not formally appointed by the Crown[clarification needed]and the title alone does not attract a salary,[6]so is now usually held in addition to asinecure,currentlyLord President of the Council.
List of Leaders of the House of Commons (1721–present)
editTimeline
edit![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/awhz3xk14dj3s0t3gnm0g3em2lo5rkf.png)
Deputy Leader of the House of Commons
editFrom 1922, when the prime minister was also Leader of the House of Commons, day-to-day duties were frequently carried out by aDeputy Leader of the House of Commons.[6]At other times, a Deputy Leader of the House of Commons was appointed merely to enhance an individual politician's standing within the government.[citation needed]
The title has been in use since 1942, but was not used from the 2019 dissolution of theSecond May ministryto 2022, when it was revived byBoris Johnson.[27]This was shortlived however, as it was abolished by Liz Truss after she became Prime Minister a few months later.[28]
List of Deputy Leaders of the House of Commons
editDeputy Leader | Term Start | Term End |
---|---|---|
Paddy Tipping | 23 December 1998 | 11 June 2001 |
Stephen Twigg | 11 June 2001 | 29 May 2002 |
Ben Bradshaw | 29 May 2002 | 13 June 2003 |
Phil Woolas | 13 June 2003 | 9 May 2005 |
Nigel Griffiths | 10 May 2005 | 13 March 2007 |
Paddy Tipping | 28 March 2007 | 27 June 2007 |
Helen Goodman | 28 June 2007 | 5 October 2008 |
Chris Bryant | 5 October 2008 | 9 June 2009 |
Barbara Keeley | 9 June 2009 | 11 May 2010 |
David Heath | 14 May 2010 | 4 September 2012 |
Tom Brake | 4 September 2012 | 8 May 2015 |
Thérèse Coffey | 11 May 2015 | 17 July 2016 |
Michael Ellis | 17 July 2016 | 9 January 2018 |
Chris Heaton-Harris | 9 January 2018 | 9 July 2018 |
Mark Spencer | 15 July 2018 | 24 July 2019 |
Peter Bone | 8 July 2022 | 27 September 2022 |
See also
edit- Leader of the House of Lords
- Speaker of the House of Commons
- Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
- Minister for Parliamentary Business,the equivalent cabinet post in theScottish Government
References
edit- ^"Salaries of Members of His Majesty's Government – Financial Year 2022–23"(PDF).15 December 2022.
- ^"Pay and expenses for MPs".parliament.uk.Retrieved15 December2022.
- ^"Leader of the House of Commons – GOV.UK".gov.uk.Retrieved2 January2021.
- ^"Leader of the House of Commons".Government of the United Kingdom.Retrieved22 January2023.
- ^Gay, Oonagh (4 August 2005)."The Osmotherly Rules (Standard Note: SN/PC/2671)"(PDF).Parliament and Constitution Centre, House of Commons Library.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 30 May 2009.Retrieved22 May2009.
- ^abcd"Leader of the House of Commons".parliament.uk.Retrieved28 September2020.
- ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiDavid Butler and Gareth Butler, British Political Facts 1900–1994 (7th edn, Macmillan 1994) 65.
- ^"Lord Newton of Braintree".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Baroness Taylor of Bolton".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Rt Hon Robin Cook".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Lord Reid of Cardowan".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Lord Hain".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Mr Geoffrey Hoon".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Rt Hon Jack Straw".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Lord Young of Cookham".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Lord Lansley".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Lord Hague of Richmond".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Rt Hon David Lidington MP".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP".UK Parliament.Retrieved10 December2017.
- ^"Rt Hon Mel Stride MP".UK Parliament.Retrieved23 May2019.
- ^"Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP".UK Parliament.Retrieved29 July2019.
- ^"Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP".UK Parliament.Retrieved5 July2022.
- ^"Penny Mordaunt".UK Parliament.Retrieved6 September2022.
- ^"Parliamentary Secretary of State (Deputy Leader of the House of Commons) – GOV.UK".gov.uk.
- ^Commentator, Tim Shipman, Chief Political."The rebels' smartphone spreadsheet that means Liz Truss is still in deep trouble".The Times.ISSN0140-0460.Retrieved8 October2022.
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