Leader of the Labour Party | |
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Member of | National Executive Committee |
Precursor | Chair of the PLP |
Inaugural holder | Keir Hardie |
Formation | 17 January 1906 |
The Leader of the Labour Party is the head of the Labour Party of the United Kingdom. The incumbent is Keir Starmer, who was elected in April 2020 to succeed Jeremy Corbyn, having previously spent 9 months as Shadow Minster of Immigration and 3 years, 5 months as Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, in Corbyn's shadow cabinet.
The post of Leader of the Labour Party was officially created in 1922. Before this, between when Labour MPs were first elected in 1906 and the general election in 1922, when substantial gains were made, the post was known as Chairman of the Parliamentary 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. Clynes became the first leader of the Labour Party to have been born in England; all party leaders before him had been born in Scotland. In 1924, Ramsay MacDonald became the first ever Labour prime minister, leading a minority government which lasted nine months. Clement Attlee would become the first Labour leader to lead a majority government in 1945. The first to be born in Wales was Neil Kinnock, who was elected in 1983. The most electorally successful leaders of the Labour Party to date are Tony Blair, who won three consecutive electoral victories in 1997, 2001 (both landslide victories), and 2005, and Harold Wilson, who won four general elections out of five contested, in 1964, 1966, February 1974 and October 1974.
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 an alternative vote system. From 1980 to 2014 an electoral college was used, with a third of the votes allocated to the Party's MPs and MEPs, a third to individual members of the Labour Party, and a third to individual members of all affiliated organisations, including socialist societies and trade unions. The 2015 leadership election used 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.[2]
When the Labour Party is in opposition, as it currently is, the leader of the Labour Party usually acts as the Leader of the Opposition, and chairs the shadow cabinet. Concordantly, when the Party is in government, the leader would usually become the prime minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service, as well as appointing the cabinet.
A list of leaders (including acting leaders) since 1906.[3]
No. | Leader (birth-death) |
Portrait | Constituency | Took office | Left office | Prime Minister (term) | |
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1 | Keir Hardie (1856-1915) |
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Merthyr Tydfil | 17 February 1906 | 22 January 1908 | Campbell-Bannerman | |
2 | Arthur Henderson (1863-1935) (1st time) |
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Barnard Castle | 22 January 1908 | 14 February 1910 | ||
Asquith | |||||||
3 | George Barnes (1859-1940) |
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Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown | 14 February 1910 | 6 February 1911 | ||
4 | Ramsay MacDonald (1866-1937) (1st time) |
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Leicester | 6 February 1911 | 5 August 1914 | ||
*2 | Arthur Henderson (1863-1935) (2nd time) |
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Barnard Castle | 5 August 1914 | 24 October 1917 | ||
Lloyd George | |||||||
5 | William Adamson (1863-1936) |
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West Fife | 24 October 1917 | 14 February 1921 | ||
6 | J. R. Clynes (1869-1949) |
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Manchester Platting | 14 February 1921 | 21 November 1922 | ||
Law | |||||||
*4 | Ramsay MacDonald (1866-1937) (2nd time) |
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Aberavon | 21 November 1922 (elected) |
28 August 1931 | ||
Baldwin | |||||||
himself 1924 | |||||||
Baldwin 1924-1929 | |||||||
himself 1929-1931 | |||||||
*2 | Arthur Henderson (1863-1935) (3rd time) |
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Burnley (1931) None[a] (1931-1932) |
28 August 1931 (unopposed) |
25 October 1932 | MacDonald 1931-1935 | |
7 | George Lansbury (1859-1940) |
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Bow and Bromley | 25 October 1932 (unopposed) |
8 October 1935 | ||
Baldwin 1935-1937 | |||||||
8 | Clement Attlee (1883-1967) |
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Limehouse (1935-1950) Walthamstow West (1950-1955) |
8 October 1935 (elected) |
7 December 1955[4] | ||
Chamberlain | |||||||
Churchill | |||||||
himself 1945-1951 | |||||||
Churchill 1951-1955 | |||||||
Eden | |||||||
[b] | Herbert Morrison[c] (1888-1965) |
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Lewisham South | 7 December 1955 | 14 December 1955 | ||
9 | Hugh Gaitskell (1906-1963) |
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Leeds South | 14 December 1955 (elected) |
18 January 1963 (died in office) |
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Macmillan | |||||||
[b] | George Brown[c] (1914-1985) |
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Belper | 18 January 1963 | 14 February 1963 | ||
10 | Harold Wilson (1916-1995) |
Huyton | 14 February 1963 (elected) |
5 April 1976 | |||
Douglas-Home | |||||||
himself 1964-1970 | |||||||
Heath | |||||||
himself 1974-1976 | |||||||
11 | James Callaghan (1912-2005) |
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Cardiff South East | 5 April 1976 (elected) |
10 November 1980 | himself 1976-1979 | |
Thatcher | |||||||
12 | Michael Foot (1913-2010) |
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Ebbw Vale | 10 November 1980 (elected) |
2 October 1983 | ||
13 | Neil Kinnock (b. 1942) |
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Islwyn | 2 October 1983 (elected) |
18 July 1992 | ||
Major | |||||||
14 | John Smith (1938-1994) |
Monklands East | 18 July 1992 (elected) |
12 May 1994 (died in office) |
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[b] | Margaret Beckett[c] (b. 1943) (acting) |
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Derby South | 12 May 1994 | 21 July 1994 | ||
15 | Tony Blair (b. 1953) |
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Sedgefield | 21 July 1994 (elected) |
24 June 2007 | ||
himself | |||||||
16 | Gordon Brown (b. 1951) |
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Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath | 24 June 2007 (unopposed) |
11 May 2010 | himself | |
[b] | Harriet Harman[c] (b. 1950) (acting: 1st time) |
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Camberwell and Peckham | 11 May 2010 | 25 September 2010 | Cameron | |
17 | Ed Miliband (b. 1969) |
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Doncaster North | 25 September 2010 (elected) |
8 May 2015 | ||
[b] | Harriet Harman[c] (b. 1950) (acting: 2nd time) |
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Camberwell and Peckham | 8 May 2015 | 12 September 2015 | ||
18 | Jeremy Corbyn (b. 1949) |
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Islington North | 12 September 2015 (elected) |
4 April 2020 | ||
May | |||||||
Johnson | |||||||
19 | Keir Starmer (b. 1962) |
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Holborn and St Pancras | 4 April 2020 (elected) |
Incumbent |
* Arthur Henderson and Ramsay MacDonald were leaders after their initial tenures twice and once more respectively, therefore, their subsequent tenures do not count separately.
It is not uncommon for a retired leader of the Labour Party to be granted a peerage upon their retirement, particularly if they served as prime minister; examples of this include Clement Attlee and Harold Wilson. However, Neil Kinnock was also elevated to the House of Lords, despite never being prime minister, and Michael Foot declined a similar offer.
There are seven living former party leaders: five elected and two acting. From oldest to youngest:
Leader | Term of office | Date of birth |
---|---|---|
Neil Kinnock | 1983-1992 | 28 March 1942 |
Jeremy Corbyn | 2015-2020 | 26 May 1949 |
Gordon Brown | 2007-2010 | 20 February 1951 |
Tony Blair | 1994-2007 | 6 May 1953 |
Ed Miliband | 2010-2015 | 24 December 1969 |
Acting leader | Term of office | Date of birth |
Margaret Beckett | 1994 | 15 January 1943 |
Harriet Harman | 2010 & 2015 | 30 July 1950 |