1994 Labour Party deputy leadership election

1994 Labour Party deputy leadership election

← 1992 30 June – 21 July 1994 (1994-06-30 – 1994-07-21) 2007 →

Candidate John Prescott Margaret Beckett Overall result 56.5% 43.5% Affiliated unions 56.6% 43.4% Party members 59.5% 40.5% MPs & MEPs 53.8% 46.2%

Deputy Leader before election Margaret Beckett Elected Deputy Leader John Prescott

A deputy leadership election for the Labour Party in the United Kingdom took place in 1994, following the sudden death of incumbent leader John Smith. Margaret Beckett was the serving Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, having been elected in 1992, and following Smith's death became the acting leader. On 25 May she announced that a contest for the deputy leadership would take place alongside the leadership election, which allowed her to stand for both positions.^[1]

Nominations opened on 10 June and ballot papers were sent out on 30 June.^[2] Elections were held concurrently for both Leader and Deputy Leader of the Party, with the results announced on 21 July 1994. There were three candidates for Leader: Margaret Beckett, Tony Blair and John Prescott, but out of these three, only Blair did not simultaneously stand for Deputy Leader and did not endorse either Beckett or Prescott for Deputy. Blair went on to win the leadership election, and Prescott won the deputy leadership. Both Prescott and Beckett held roles in Blair's cabinet for his entire time in office.