Leader of the Labour Party (UK)

Leader of the Labour Party
Incumbent Jeremy Corbyn MP since 12 September 2015
Precursor	Ed Miliband
Inaugural holder	Keir Hardie
Formation	17 January 1906
Deputy	Tom Watson MP

The Leader of the Labour Party is the most senior politician within the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. Since 12 September 2015, the office has been held by Jeremy Corbyn MP, who represents the constituency of Islington North.

Harriet Harman was the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and also Acting Leader since the resignation of Ed Miliband on 8 May 2015 following the 2015 general election. On 12 September 2015, she was replaced by Jeremy Corbyn, who won the Labour leadership election. Tom Watson is now the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, elected on the same day.

History

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]

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.

Selection

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 15% of Labour MPs in order to appear on the ballot.

Role

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.

Leaders of the Labour Party (1906–present)

A list of Leaders (including Acting Leaders) since 1906.^[2]

Leader (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Constituency	Took Office	Left Office	Prime Minister (term)
Keir Hardie (1856–1915)		Merthyr Tydfil	17 February 1906	22 January 1908		C.-Bannerman 1905–08
Arthur Henderson (1863–1935) (1st time)		Barnard Castle	22 January 1908	14 February 1910
						Asquith 1908–16
George Nicoll Barnes (1859–1940)		Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown	14 February 1910	6 February 1911
Ramsay MacDonald (1866–1937) (1st time)		Leicester	6 February 1911	5 August 1914
Arthur Henderson (1863–1935) (2nd time)		Barnard Castle	5 August 1914	24 October 1917
						Lloyd George 1916–22
William Adamson (1863–1936)		West Fife	24 October 1917	14 February 1921
J. R. Clynes (1869–1949)		Manchester Platting	14 February 1921	21 November 1922
						Law 1922–23
Ramsay MacDonald (1866–1937) (2nd time)		Aberavon	21 November 1922	1 September 1931
						Baldwin 1923–24
						himself 1924
						Baldwin 1924–29
						himself 1929–31
Arthur Henderson (1863–1935) (3rd time)		Burnley	1 September 1931	25 October 1932		MacDonald 1931–35
George Lansbury (1859–1940)		Bow and Bromley	25 October 1932	8 October 1935
Clement Attlee (1883–1967)		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 (1906–1963)		Leeds South	14 December 1955	18 January 1963 (Died in office.)
						Macmillan 1957–63
George Brown× (1914–1985)		Belper	18 January 1963	14 February 1963
Harold Wilson (1916–1995)		Huyton	14 February 1963	5 April 1976
						Douglas-Home 1963–64
						himself 1964–70
						Heath 1970–74
						himself 1974–76
James Callaghan (1912–2005)		Cardiff South East	5 April 1976	10 November 1980		himself 1976–79
						Thatcher 1979–90
Michael Foot (1913–2010)		Ebbw Vale	10 November 1980	2 October 1983
Neil Kinnock (1942–)		Islwyn	2 October 1983	18 July 1992
						Major 1990–97
John Smith (1938–1994)		Monklands East	18 July 1992	12 May 1994 (Died in office.)
Margaret Beckett× (1943–)		Derby South	12 May 1994	21 July 1994
Tony Blair (1953–)		Sedgefield	21 July 1994	24 June 2007
						himself 1997–2007
Gordon Brown (1951–)		Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath	24 June 2007	11 May 2010		himself
Harriet Harman× (1950–) (1st time acting)		Camberwell and Peckham	11 May 2010	25 September 2010		Cameron 2010–present
Ed Miliband (1969–)		Doncaster North	25 September 2010	8 May 2015
Harriet Harman× (1950–) (2nd time acting)		Camberwell and Peckham	8 May 2015	12 September 2015
Jeremy Corbyn (1949–)		Islington North	12 September 2015	Incumbent

Note: ^×Deputy 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. George Brown and Margaret Beckett acted as leader following deaths of Hugh Gaitskell and John Smith, respectively. Harriet Harman acted as leader when Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband resigned.

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

• The Rt Hon The Lord Kinnock (1983–92)
• The Rt Hon Tony Blair (1994–2007)
• The Rt Hon Gordon Brown (2007–10)
• The Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP (2010–15)

See also

• History of the British Labour Party
• Charles Clarke and Toby S. James (2015). British Labour Leaders. Biteback: London.

References