Leader of the Labour Party (UK)
| Leader of the Labour Party | |
|---|---|
| Status | Party leader |
| Member of | National Executive Committee |
| Precursor | Chair of thePLP |
| Inaugural holder | Keir Hardie |
| Formation | 17 January 1906 |
| Deputy | Deputy Leader of the Labour Party |
Theleader of the Labour Partyis the highest position within the United Kingdom'sLabour Party.The current holder of the position isPrime Minister of the United Kingdom,Sir Keir Starmer,who was elected to the position asJeremy Corbyn's immediate successor as Labour leader on 4 April 2020, following his victory in the party'sleadership election.
The post of Leader of the Labour Party was officially created in 1922. Before this, between when Labour MPs were first elected in1906and the general election in1922,when substantial gains were made, the post was known as Chairman of theParliamentary Labour Party.[1]In 1970, the positions of leader of the Labour Party and chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party were separated.
In 1921,John R. Clynesbecame the first leader of the Labour Party to have been born inEngland;all party leaders before him had been born inScotland.In1924,Ramsay MacDonaldbecame the firstLabourprime minister,leading a minority government which lasted nine months.Clement Attleewould become the first Labour leader to lead a majority government in1945.The first to be born inWaleswasNeil Kinnock,who was elected in1983.The most recent party leader to not be from England isGordon Brown,who was born in Scotland.
Clement Attlee,Harold Wilson,Tony BlairandSir Keir Starmerremain the only four leaders to have led the party to victory in general elections. Out of the four, Blair is the most successful, having won three consecutive electoral victories in1997,2001(bothlandslide victories), and2005.Wilson won four general elections out of five contested, in1964,1966,February 1974andOctober 1974.Attlee, the first leader to lead Labour to a majority won the general elections of1945and1950.In addition, Labour also won the popular vote in1951by securing nearly 49 percent of the voteshare (however Labour won less seats than the Conservatives). Starmer, having been appointed after a poor party result in2019,led a revival in fortunes and oversaw a landslide in2024.
The only Labour leaders not to contest a general election (excluding temporary acting leaders) areGeorge Lansbury(who stood down) andJohn Smith(who died in office).[a]
When the Labour Party is ingovernment,as it currently is, the leader would usually become the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,first lord of the Treasuryandminister for the civil service,as well as appointing thecabinet.Concordantly, When the Labour Party is inopposition,the leader usually acts (as the second-largest party) as theleader of the Opposition,and chairs theshadow cabinet.
Selection process[edit]
Unlike other British political party leaders, the Labour leader does not have the power to dismiss or appoint their deputy. Both the leader and deputy leader are elected by analternative votesystem.[2]
From 1980 to 2014 an electoral college was used, with a third of the votes allocated to the Party'sMPsandMEPs,a third to individual members of the Labour Party, and a third to individual members of all affiliated organisations, includingsocialist societiesandtrade unions.
The2015 leadership electionused a "one member, one vote" system, in which the votes of party members and members of affiliated organisations are counted equally. MPs' and MEPs' votes are not counted separately, although a candidate needs to receive the support of 10% of Labour MPs in order to appear on the ballot.[3]
Leaders of the Labour Party (1906–present)[edit]
- Note:the right-hand column does not allocate height proportional to time in office.
A list of leaders (including acting leaders) since 1906.[4]
| No. | Leader (birth–death) |
Constituency | Took office | Left office | Prime Minister(term) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keir Hardie (1856–1915) |
|
Merthyr Tydfil | 17 February 1906 | 22 January 1908 | Campbell-Bannerman1905–1908 | |
| 2 | Arthur Henderson (1863–1935) (1st time) |
|
Barnard Castle | 22 January 1908 | 14 February 1910 | ||
| Asquith1908–1916 | |||||||
| 3 | George Barnes (1859–1940) |
|
Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown | 14 February 1910 | 6 February 1911 | ||
| 4 | Ramsay MacDonald (1866–1937) (1st time) |
|
Leicester | 6 February 1911 | 5 August 1914 | ||
| (2) | Arthur Henderson (1863–1935) (2nd time) |
|
Barnard Castle | 5 August 1914 | 24 October 1917 | ||
| Lloyd George1916–1922 | |||||||
| 5 | William Adamson (1863–1936) |
|
West Fife | 24 October 1917 | 14 February 1921 | ||
| 6 | J. R. Clynes (1869–1949) |
|
Manchester Platting | 14 February 1921 | 21 November 1922 | ||
| Law1922–1923 | |||||||
| (4) | Ramsay MacDonald (1866–1937) (2nd time) |
|
Aberavon | 21 November 1922 (elected) |
28 August 1931 | ||
| Baldwin1923–1924 | |||||||
| Himself1924 | |||||||
| Baldwin1924–1929 | |||||||
| Himself1929–1931 | |||||||
| (2) | Arthur Henderson (1863–1935) (3rd time) |
|
Burnley (1931) None[b] (1931–1932) |
28 August 1931 (unopposed) |
25 October 1932 | MacDonald1931–1935 | |
| 7 | George Lansbury (1859–1940) |
|
Bow and Bromley | 25 October 1932 (unopposed) |
8 October 1935 | ||
| Baldwin1935–1937 | |||||||
| 8 | Clement Attlee (1883–1967) |
|
Limehouse (1935–1950) Walthamstow West (1950–1955) |
8 October 1935 (elected) |
7 December 1955[5] | ||
| Chamberlain1937–1940 | |||||||
| Churchill1940–1945 | |||||||
| Himself1945–1951 | |||||||
| Churchill1951–1955 | |||||||
| Eden1955–1957 | |||||||
| ― | Herbert Morrison[c] (1888–1965) |
|
Lewisham South | 7 December 1955 | 14 December 1955 | ||
| 9 | Hugh Gaitskell (1906–1963) |
|
Leeds South | 14 December 1955 (elected) |
18 January 1963 (died in office) |
||
| Macmillan1957–1963 | |||||||
| ― | George Brown[c] (1914–1985) |
|
Belper | 18 January 1963 | 14 February 1963 | ||
| 10 | Harold Wilson (1916–1995) |
 |
Huyton | 14 February 1963 (elected) |
5 April 1976 | ||
| Douglas-Home1963–1964 | |||||||
| Himself1964–1970 | |||||||
| Heath1970–1974 | |||||||
| Himself1974–1976 | |||||||
| 11 | James Callaghan (1912–2005) |
|
Cardiff South East | 5 April 1976 (elected) |
10 November 1980 | Himself1976–1979 | |
| Thatcher1979–1990 | |||||||
| 12 | Michael Foot (1913–2010) |
|
Ebbw Vale | 10 November 1980 (elected) |
2 October 1983 | ||
| 13 | Neil Kinnock (b. 1942) |
|
Islwyn | 2 October 1983 (elected) |
18 July 1992 | ||
| Major1990–1997 | |||||||
| 14 | John Smith (1938–1994) |
|
Monklands East | 18 July 1992 (elected) |
12 May 1994 (died in office) |
||
| ― | Margaret Beckett[c] (b. 1943) (acting) |
|
Derby South | 12 May 1994 | 21 July 1994 | ||
| 15 | Tony Blair (b. 1953) |
|
Sedgefield | 21 July 1994 (elected) |
24 June 2007 | ||
| Himself1997–2007 | |||||||
| 16 | Gordon Brown (b. 1951) |
|
Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | 24 June 2007 (unopposed) |
11 May 2010 | Himself2007–2010 | |
| ― | Harriet Harman[c] (b. 1950) (acting: 1st time) |
|
Camberwell and Peckham | 11 May 2010 | 25 September 2010 | Cameron2010–2016 | |
| 17 | Ed Miliband (b. 1969) |
|
Doncaster North | 25 September 2010 (elected) |
8 May 2015 | ||
| ― | Harriet Harman[c] (b. 1950) (acting: 2nd time) |
|
Camberwell and Peckham | 8 May 2015 | 12 September 2015 | ||
| 18 | Jeremy Corbyn (b. 1949) |
|
Islington North | 12 September 2015 (elected) |
4 April 2020 | ||
| May2016–2019 | |||||||
| Johnson2019–2022 | |||||||
| 19 | SirKeir Starmer (b. 1962) |
|
Holborn and St Pancras | 4 April 2020 (elected) |
Incumbent | ||
| TrussSep–Oct 2022 | |||||||
| Sunak2022–2024 | |||||||
| Himself2024– | |||||||
Timeline[edit]
Leaders in the House of Lords[edit]
Retirement[edit]
It is not uncommon for a retired leader of the Labour Party to be granted apeerageupon their retirement, particularly if they served asprime minister;examples of this includeClement AttleeandHarold Wilson.However,Neil Kinnockwas also elevated to theHouse of Lords,despite never being prime minister, andMichael Footdeclined a similar offer.
See also[edit]
- History of the Labour Party (UK)
- Labour Party leadership of Keir Starmer
- Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)
- Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Notes[edit]
- ^SeeLabour's electoral performance.
- ^Henderson was defeated in his Burnley seat in the 1931 election, and did not return to Parliament during his third term as leader.George Lansburyacted as the Labour parliamentary leader, until formally succeeding Henderson as party leader.
- ^abcdeDeputy Leaders who assumed the role of party leader temporarily because of the death or resignation of the incumbent, serving until the election of a new leader. As they were not elected or appointed in an official capacity, they are not included in the order count.Herbert Morrisonacted as leader for the seven days betweenClement Attlee's resignation andHugh Gaitskell's election as leader.George BrownandMargaret Beckettacted as leader following deaths of Gaitskell andJohn Smith,respectively.Harriet Harmanacted as leader twice whenGordon BrownandEd Milibandresigned.
References[edit]
- ^Thorpe, Andrew. (2001)A History of the British Labour Party,Palgrave,ISBN0-333-92908-X
- ^Leeds de Melo, J (2003), Primary elections and party conferences — Democracy in political parties: UK, France, Germany and Italy, Routledge, 202 p.
- ^"Labour proposals 'all-but guarantee leftwing Corbyn successor'".www.msn.com.Retrieved2018-07-01.
- ^Boothroyd, David."Leaders of the Labour Party".election.demon.co.uk.United Kingdom Election Results.Archivedfrom the original on 6 August 2020.Retrieved30 June2015.
- ^Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (2010),Attlee: A Life in Politics,London: I B Tauris, p. 260
Further reading[edit]
- Clarke, Charles;James, Toby S. (2015).British Labour Leaders.London: Biteback.