List of British Jewish politicians

This is a list of Jews who served as politicians in the United Kingdom and its predecessor states or who were born in the United Kingdom and had notable political careers abroad.

Jewish party leaders Benjamin Disraeli (1868–1881) – Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – Converted to Anglicanism at 11Kiewe, A. (1996). Benjamin Disraeli’s Speech on the Jewish Disabilities Act: Contextualizing The Inventional Approach. Journal of Communication & Religion, 19(1), pg 1. https://doi.org/10.5840/jcr19961917 Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel (1931–1935) – Leader of the Liberal Party Michael Howard (2003–2005) – Leader of the Conservative Party Ed Miliband (2010–2015) – Leader of the Labour Party Zack Polanski (2025–present) Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales

Jewish MPs A law in place until the 1850s stated that no member of the Jewish religion could be elected to Parliament. Some Christian denominations were similarly prohibited. If elected, a member would be excluded if he refused to swear an oath of abjuration with a strong Christian wording.

British Members of Parliament listed chronologically by first election date (in brackets)

Pre–1900

Sampson Eardley (1770–1802) – Father was Jewish. Eardley was baptised. Tory MP. Lord George Gordon (1774–1780) – Converted to Judaism Manasseh Masseh Lopes (1802–1806, 1807–1808, 1812–1819, 1820–1829) – Lopes converted to Christianity in 1802, and later the same year he entered Parliament as a Tory MP Ralph Lopes (1814–1819, 1831–1837, 1841–1847, 1849–1854) – Conservative MP. David Ricardo (1819–1823) – Ricardo converted to Christianity in 1793. Whig MP David Ricardo (the younger) (1832–1833) – His father had been Jewish, but Ricardo was baptised. Liberal MP Benjamin Disraeli (1837–1876)– Conservative MP and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Born Jewish but baptised at an early age. John Lewis Ricardo (1841–1862) – Liberal MP Ralph Bernal Osborne (1841–1874) – His grandfather was Jewish, but Bernal Osborne was baptised. Liberal MP Lionel de Rothschild (1847–1868, 1869–1874) – Liberal MP. Osman Ricardo (1847–1865) – His father had been Jewish, but Ricardo was baptised. Whig MP. David Salomons (1851–1852, 1859–1873) – Liberal MP. Massey Lopes (1857–1885) – Conservative MP Mayer Amschel de Rothschild (1859–1874) – Liberal MP Bernhard Samuelson (1859–1895) – Liberal MP Francis Henry Goldsmid (1860–1878) – Liberal MP Albert Grant (1865–1868, 1874) – Conservative MP Frederick Goldsmid (1865–1866) – Liberal MP Nathan Rothschild (1865–1885) – Liberal MP Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda (1865–1880) – Liberal MP Julian Goldsmid (1866–1896) – Liberal and later Liberal Unionist MP Henry Samuelson (1868–1885) – Liberal MP George Jessel (1868–1873) – Liberal MP Henry Lopes (1868–1876) – Conservative MP John Simon (1868–1888) – Liberal MP Farrer Herschell (1874–1885) – Liberal MP Saul Isaac (1874–1880) – Conservative MP Henry Drummond Wolff (1874–1885) – Conservative MP Arthur Cohen (1880–1888) – Liberal MP Henry de Worms (1880–1895) – Conservative MP Harry Levy-Lawson (1885–1892, 1893–1895, 1905–1906, 1910–1916) – Liberal and later Liberal Unionist MP Lionel Louis Cohen (1885–1887) – Conservative MP Lewis Henry Isaacs (1885–1892) – Conservative MP James Alfred Jacoby (1885–1909) – Liberal MP Samuel Montagu (1885–1900) – Liberal MP Ferdinand de Rothschild (1885–1898) – Liberal and later Liberal Unionist Party MP Herbert Jessel (1896–1906, 1910–1918) – Liberal Unionist and later Conservative MP Sydney Stern (1891–1895) – Liberal MP Herbert Leon (1891–1895) – Liberal MPBritish Jews in the First World War, accessed 10/10/19 Benjamin Cohen (1892–1906) – Conservative MP Coningsby Disraeli (1892–1906) – Conservative MP Henry Lopes (1892–1900) – Conservative MP Gustav Wilhelm Wolff (1892–1910) – Conservative MP Harry Marks (1895–1900, 1904–1910) – Conservative MP Harry Samuel (1895–1906, 1910–1922) – Conservative MP Arthur Strauss (1895–1900, 1910–1918) – Liberal Unionist Party and later Conservative MP Sigismund Mendl (1898–1900) – Liberal MP Walter Rothschild (1899–1910) – Liberal Unionist and later Conservative MP Edward Sassoon (1899–1912) – Liberal Unionist MP

1900–1939

Eric Hambro (1900–1907) Conservative MP Francis Lucas (1900–1906) Conservative MP Stuart Samuel (1900–1916) Liberal MP Herbert Samuel (1902–1918 & 1929–1935) Liberal MP and Leader of the Liberal Party Rufus Isaacs (1904–1913) Liberal MP Charles Henry (1906–1919) Liberal MP Arthur Lever (1906–1910 & 1922–1923) Liberal MP Maurice Levy (1906–1918) Liberal MP Philip Magnus (1906–1922) Conservative MP Alfred Mond (1906–1928) Liberal and then Conservative MP Edwin Samuel Montagu (1906–1922) Liberal MP Horatio Myer (1906–1910) Liberal MP Harry Primrose (1906–1910) Liberal MP Herbert Raphael (1906–1918) Liberal MP Bertram Straus (1906–1910) Liberal MP Edward Strauss (1906–1910, 1910–1923, 1927–1929 & 1931–1939) Liberal and then Liberal National MP Felix Cassel (1910–1916) Conservative MP Sydney Goldman (1910–1918) Conservative MP Frank Goldsmith (1910–1918) Conservative MP Trebitsch Lincoln (1910) Liberal MP Neil Primrose (1910–1917) Liberal MP Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (1910–1923) Conservative MP Maurice de Forest (1911–1918) – Liberal MP Leo Amery (1911–1945) Conservative MP Samuel Samuel (1913–1934) Conservative MP Sir Percy Harris, 1st Baronet (1916–1918 & 1922–1945) Liberal MP Brunel Cohen (1918-1931), Conservative MP Gerald Hurst (1918–1923 & 1924–1935) Conservative MP Edward Manville (1918–1923) Conservative MP Arthur Samuel (1918–1937) Conservative MP Walter de Frece (1920–1931) Conservative MP Robert Gee (1921–1922 & 1924–1927) – Conservative MP Maurice Alexander (1922–1923) Liberal MP Alfred Butt (1922–1936), Conservative MP Manny Shinwell (1922–1924, 1928–1931 & 1935–1970) Labour MP Leonard Benjamin Franklin (1923–1924) Liberal MP Ernest Spero (1923–1924 & 1929–1930) Liberal and then Labour MP Leslie Haden-Guest (1923–1927 & 1937–1950) Labour MP Leslie Hore-Belisha (1923–1945), Liberal and then Liberal National MP Henry Mond (1923–1924 & 1929–1931) Liberal and then Conservative MP Joseph Sunlight (1923–1924) Liberal MP Moss Turner-Samuels (1923–1924 & 1945–1957) Labour MP Harry Day (1924–1931 & 1935–1939) Labour MP Samuel Finburgh (1924-1929) Conservative MP Frank Meyer (1924–1929) Conservative MP Isidore Salmon (1924–1941) Conservative MP Henry Slesser (1924–1929) Labour MP Michael Marcus (1929–1931) Labour MP Harry Louis Nathan (1929–1935 & 1937–1940), Liberal and then Labour MP Marion Phillips (1929–1931) Labour MP James de Rothschild (1929–1945) Liberal MP George Strauss (1929–1931 & 1934–1979) Labour MP Alfred Beit (1931–1945) Conservative MP Alfred Chotzner (1931–1934) Conservative MP Louis Gluckstein (1931–1945) Conservative MP Barnett Janner (1931–1935 & 1945–1970) Liberal and then Labour MPConcise Dictionary of National Biography: "Jewish leader" Dudley Joel (1931–1941) Conservative MPJewish Chronicle July 25, 1941, p.12, "Jews in the Navy" Thomas Levy (1931–1945) Conservative MP Abraham Lyons (1931–1945) Conservative MP Marcus Samuel (1934–1942) Conservative MP Henry Strauss (1935–1945 & 1946–1955) Conservative MP Sydney Silverman (1935–1968) Labour MPConcise Dictionary of National Biography: "of Jewish parentage" Daniel Frankel (1935–1945) Labour MP Lewis Silkin (1936–1950) Labour MPEncyclopaedia Judaica vol 14 cols 1539–1540 Daniel Lipson (1937–1950) Independent Conservative MP

1940–1973

John Mack (1942–1951) Labour MP Herschel Lewis Austin (1945–1950) Labour MP Louis Comyns (1945–1950) Labour MP John Diamond (1945–1951 & 1957–1970) Labour MPThe Independent (London), 06/04/04 Maurice Edelman (1945–1976) Labour MPConcise Dictionary of National Biography: "son of Jews who had emigrated from eastern Europe" Mont Follick, (1945–1955) Labour MP Harold Lever (1945–1979) Labour MP George Jeger (1945–1971) Labour MP Santo Jeger (1945–1953) Labour MP Benn Levy (1945–1950) Labour MP Marcus Lipton (1945–1978) Labour MP Ian Mikardo (1945–1959 & 1964–1987) Labour MP Maurice Orbach (1945–1959 & 1964–1979) Labour MP Phil Piratin (1945–1950) Communist Party of Great Britain MP Samuel Segal (1945–1950) Labour MP Julius Silverman (1945–1983) Labour MP Barnett Stross (1945–1966) Labour MP David Weitzman (1945–1979) Labour MP Austen Albu, (1948–1974) Labour MP Julian Amery (1950–1992) Conservative MP Leslie Lever (1950–1970) Labour MP Gerald Nabarro (1950–1973) Conservative MP Frank Allaun (1955–1983) Labour MP Henry d'Avigdor-Goldsmid (1955–1974) Conservative MPOxford Dictionary of National Biography: "Harry, as he was always called, united both in blood as well as name the vitality, attitudes, and temperaments of two Jewish banking dynasties" Keith Joseph (1956–1987) Conservative MPJYB 1988 p192, 227 Philip Goodhart (1957–1992) Conservative MPFlade, Roland. The Lehmans: From Rimpar to the New World: A Family History, 2nd Enlarged Ed., 1999; reviewed by the American Jewish Historical Society . Accessed 14 Nov 2006. Leo Abse (1958–1987) Labour MP Michael Cliffe (1958–1964) Labour MP Myer Galpern (1959–1979) Labour MP David Ginsburg (1959–1983) Labour and later Social Democratic Party MP John Mendelson (1959–1978) Labour MP John Silkin (1963–1987) Labour MPJYB 1986 p186, 269 Joel Barnett (1964–1983), Labour MPJYB 2005 p212 Edmund Dell (1964–1979) Labour MP Jack Dunnett (1964–1983), Labour MP Reginald Freeson (1964–1987), Labour MPJYB 2005 p212, 241-2. David Kerr (1964–1970) Labour MP Robert Maxwell (1964–1970) Labour MP Henry Solomons (1964–1965) Labour MP Maurice Miller (1964–1987) Labour MP Paul Rose (1964–79) Labour MP Samuel Silkin (1964–1983) Labour MPJYB 1986 p185, 269-70. Robert Sheldon (1964–2001), Labour MP Renée Short (1964–1987) Labour MP Raphael Tuck (1964–1979) Labour MP Stanley Henig (1966-1970) Labour MP Edward Lyons (1966–1983) Labour and later Social Democratic Party MP Eric Moonman (1966–1970 & 1974–1979) Labour MP Robert Adley (1970–1993) Conservative MP Jack d'Avigdor-Goldsmid (1970–1974) Conservative MP Sally Oppenheim-Barnes (1970–1987) Conservative MPJYB 2005 p. 212, 282–3. Stanley Clinton-Davis (1970–1983) Labour MP Michael FidlerObituary, Jewish Chronicle, September 8, 1989, p.18. (1970–1974) Conservative MP Geoffrey Finsberg (1970–1992) Conservative MP Greville Janner (1970–1997) Labour MP Toby Jessel (1970–1997) Conservative MP Gerald Kaufman (1970–2017), Labour MP Anthony Meyer (1970–1997), Conservative MPSpectator, 2/12/1989 p5: "Sir Anthony... is a representative of the enlightened haute juiverie" Harold Soref (1970–1974) Conservative MP Christopher Tugendhat (1970–1977) Conservative MP Neville Sandelson (1971–1983) Labour and later Social Democratic Party MP Clement Freud (1973–1987) Liberal MP Tim Sainsbury (1973–1997) Conservative MP

1974–2000

Leon Brittan (1974–1988), Conservative MP Ivan Lawrence (1974–1997), Conservative MP Nigel Lawson (1974–1992), Conservative MP Millie Miller (1974–1977),Jewish Chronicle, October 18, 1974, p.5: List of Jewish MPs. Labour MP Malcolm Rifkind (1974–1997 & 2005–2015), Conservative MP Anthony Steen (1974–2010), Conservative MP Alf Dubs (1979–1987), Labour MP Sheila Faith (1979–1983), Conservative MP David Winnick (1979–2017), Labour MP Mark Wolfson (1979–1997), Conservative MP Martin Brandon-Bravo (1983–1992), Conservative MP Alex Carlile (1983–1997), Liberal and later Liberal Democrat MP Harry Cohen (1983–2010), Labour MP Edwina Currie (1983–1997), Conservative MP Michael Howard (1983–2010), Conservative MP and Leader of the Conservative Party Phillip Oppenheim (1983–1997), Conservative MP David Sumberg (1983–1997), Conservative MP Mildred Gordon (1987-1997) Labour MP Irvine Patnick (1987–1997), Conservative MP Gerry Steinberg (1987–2005), Labour MP Michael Fabricant (1992–2024), Conservative MP Peter Mandelson (1992–2004), Labour MP Barbara Roche (1992–2005), Labour MP Margaret Hodge (1994–2024), Labour MP