| Leader of the Labour Party | |
|---|---|
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| Status | Party leader |
| Member of | National Executive Committee |
| Precursor | Chair of the PLP |
| Inaugural holder | Keir Hardie |
| Formation | 17 January 1906 |
| Deputy | Deputy Leader of the Labour Party |
The leader of the Labour Party is the highest position within the United Kingdom's Labour Party. The current holder of the position is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, who was elected to the position on 4 April 2020, following his victory in the party's leadership election.
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 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 recent party leader to not be from England is Gordon Brown, who was born in Scotland. The only Labour leaders not to contest a general election (excluding temporary acting leaders) are George Lansbury (who stood down) and John Smith (who died in office).[a]
Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson, Tony Blair and Sir Keir Starmer remain the only four leaders to have led the party to victory in general elections. Out of the four, Blair is the most successful, having won three consecutive electoral victories in 1997, 2001 (both landslide victories), and 2005. Wilson won four general elections out of five contested, in 1964, 1966, February 1974 and October 1974. Attlee, the first leader to lead Labour to a majority won the general elections of 1945 and 1950. In addition, Labour also won the popular vote in 1951 by securing nearly 49 percent of the voteshare (however Labour won fewer seats than the Conservatives). Starmer, having been appointed after a poor party result in 2019, led a revival in fortunes and oversaw a landslide in 2024.
When the Labour Party is in government, as it currently is, the leader usually becomes the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, first lord of the Treasury and minister for the civil service, as well as appointing the cabinet. Concordantly, when the Labour Party is in opposition, the leader would usually act (as the second-largest party) as the leader of the Opposition, and chair the shadow cabinet.
- ^ Thorpe, Andrew. (2001) A History of the British Labour Party, Palgrave, ISBN 0-333-92908-X
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