Leader of the Labour Party (UK)

Leader of the Labour Party
Incumbent Rt Hon. Ed Miliband MP since 25 September 2010
Inaugural holder	Keir Hardie
Formation	17 January 1906
Deputy	Rt Hon. Harriet Harman MP
Website	Ed Miliband MP Labour Party Leader

The Leader of the Labour Party is the most senior politician within the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. Since 25 September 2010, the office has been held by Ed Miliband, following the resignation of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Harriet Harman is currently the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.

Background

The post of Leader of the Labour Party was officially created in 1922. Before this time, between when Labour MPs were first elected in 1906 and the election in 1922, when substantial gains were made, the post was known as Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party.^[1]

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 in an electoral college, 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.

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.

In 1921, John Robert Clynes became the first Leader of the Labour Party to be born in England; prior to this, all Leaders had been born in Scotland. In 1924, Ramsay MacDonald became the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority administration. Clement Attlee would become the first 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 Labour Leaders to date are Tony Blair, who won three 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.

List of Leaders of the Labour Party

Leader	Portrait	Nation of Birth	Constituency	Took Office	Left Office	Prime Minister
Arthur Henderson		Scotland	Barnard Castle	22 January 1908	14 February 1910		Campbell-Bannerman until April 1908
							Asquith 1908–16
George Nicoll Barnes		Scotland	Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown	14 February 1910	6 February 1911
Ramsay MacDonald		Scotland	Leicester	6 February 1911	5 August 1914
Arthur Henderson		Scotland	Barnard Castle	5 August 1914	24 October 1917
							Lloyd George 1916–22
William Adamson		Scotland	West Fife	24 October 1917	14 February 1921
John Robert Clynes		England	Manchester Platting	14 February 1921	21 November 1922
							Law 1922–23
Ramsay MacDonald		Scotland	Aberavon	21 November 1922	1 September 1931
							Baldwin 1923–24
							himself 1924
							Baldwin 1924–29
							himself 1929–31
Arthur Henderson		Scotland	Burnley	1 September 1931	25 October 1932		MacDonald 1931–35
George Lansbury		England	Bow and Bromley	25 October 1932	8 October 1935
Clement Attlee		England	Limehouse	8 October 1935	14 December 1955		Baldwin 1935–37
							Chamberlain 1937–40
							Churchill 1940–45
							himself 1945–51
							Churchill 1951–55
							Eden 1955–57
Hugh Gaitskell		England	Leeds South	14 December 1955	18 January 1963
							Macmillan 1957–63
George Brown×		England	Belper	18 January 1963	14 February 1963
Harold Wilson		England	Huyton	14 February 1963	5 April 1976
							Douglas-Home 1963–64
							himself 1964–70
							Heath 1970–74
							himself 1974–76
James Callaghan		England	Cardiff South East	5 April 1976	10 November 1980		himself 1976–79
							Thatcher 1979–90
Michael Foot		England	Ebbw Vale	10 November 1980	2 October 1983
Neil Kinnock		Wales	Islwyn	2 October 1983	18 July 1992
							Major 1990–97
John Smith		Scotland	Monklands East	18 July 1992	12 May 1994
Margaret Beckett×		England	Derby South	12 May 1994	21 July 1994
Tony Blair		Scotland	Sedgefield	21 July 1994	24 June 2007
							himself 1997–2007
Gordon Brown		Scotland	Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath	24 June 2007	11 May 2010		himself
Harriet Harman×		England	Camberwell and Peckham	11 May 2010	25 September 2010		Cameron 2010–present
Ed Miliband		England	Doncaster North	25 September 2010	Incumbent

^×These assumed the role of party leader temporarily because of the death or resignation of the incumbent. In the case of George Brown and Margaret Beckett, both were serving as Deputy Leader, and assumed the role temporarily following the sudden deaths of Hugh Gaitskell and John Smith respectively. Harriet Harman was Deputy Leader when Gordon Brown resigned, becoming Leader while the process of electing a new Leader was ongoing.^[2]

Retirement

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 currently three living former Leaders of the Labour Party (with the period they were in office):

• The Rt Hon The Lord Kinnock (1983–1992)
• The Rt Hon Tony Blair (1994–2007)
• The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP (2007–2010)

See also

• History of the British Labour Party

References