Leader of the Labour Party (UK)


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, succeeding Jeremy Corbyn.
Harriet Harman was the deputy leader of the Labour Party and acting leader since the resignation of Ed Miliband on 8 May 2015 following Labour's defeat at the 2015 general election. On 12 September 2015, she was replaced by Jeremy Corbyn, who won the 2015 Labour leadership election. On the same day, Tom Watson was elected as the deputy leader of the Labour Party, a role he held until the 2019 general election. Corbyn's leadership was challenged in mid-2016, but he was re-elected in that year's leadership election with a larger majority. After a historic election defeat in 2019, Corbyn called for the search of his replacement in the following year. In the 2020 Labour Party leadership election, Keir Starmer was elected as Leader.

History

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. In 1970, the positions of leader of the Labour Party and Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party were separated.
In 1921, J. R. Clynes became the first leader of the Labour Party to have been born in England; prior to this, all party leaders 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, and 2005, and Harold Wilson, who won three general elections out of five contested, in 1964, 1966 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 10% 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 since 1906.
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.

Living former party leaders

There are seven living former party leaders: five elected and two acting. From oldest to youngest:
LeaderTerm of officeDate of birth
Neil Kinnock1983–1992
Jeremy Corbyn2015–2020
Gordon Brown2007–2010
Tony Blair1994–2007
Ed Miliband2010–2015
Acting leaderTerm of officeDate of birth
Margaret Beckett1994
Harriet Harman2010 & 2015