Leader of the Labour Party (UK)

The leader of the Labour Party is the highest political office within the British Labour Party. The current holder of the position is Andy Burnham since 17 July 2026, following his victory in the 2026 Labour Party leadership election.

The position of leader was officially codified in the Labour Party's constitution in 1922. Before this, from when Labour MPs were first elected at the 1906 general election and the 1922 general election (the first election that saw substantial gains for the Labour Party), the position of leader was known as Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP).Thorpe, Andrew. (2001) A History of the British Labour Party, Palgrave, Following the 1970 general election, the positions of party leader and PLP chair were separated.

In 1921, J. R. Clynes became the first Leader of the Labour Party to have been born in England; all leaders before him had been born in Scotland. Following the 1924 general election, Ramsay MacDonald became the first party leader to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, leading a minority government which lasted nine months. Following the 1945 general election, Clement Attlee became the first leader to form a majority government. In 1983, Neil Kinnock became the first party leader to have been born in Wales. The only two party leaders not to have contested general elections (excluding acting leaders) are George Lansbury, who resigned, and John Smith, who died in office.

To date, the only leaders to have led the party to victory in general elections are Ramsay MacDonald, Clement Attlee, Harold Wilson, Tony Blair and Keir Starmer. Out of the five, Wilson won four general elections out of five contested, in 1964, 1966, February 1974 (forming a minority government) and October 1974. Blair won three consecutive electoral victories in 1997, 2001 (both landslide victories), and 2005. Attlee, the first leader to lead Labour to a majority in 1945, also won in 1950. Starmer led Labour to a landslide victory in 2024, although his victory was tempered by a percentage share of the popular vote that was the lowest of any party forming a majority government in British electoral history. Both James Callaghan and Gordon Brown also served as prime minister, but did not win general elections. Three Labour leaders subsequently stood against official Labour Party candidates at general elections, George Barnes, MacDonald and Jeremy Corbyn.

When the Labour Party forms the Government of the United Kingdom, the leader is expected to serve as prime minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service, as well as appointing and chairing the Cabinet. Concordantly, when the party is in Opposition, the leader is expected to act as the Leader of the Opposition and to chair the Shadow Cabinet.

Selection process The leader of the Labour Party, along with their deputy, is elected using an alternative vote system.Leeds de Melo, J (2003), Primary elections and party conferences — Democracy in political parties: UK, France, Germany and Italy, Routledge, 202 p. Before 1980, the party leader was elected solely by members of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP).

From 1980 to 2014 an electoral college was used to elect the leader, with a third of 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.

Beginning with the 2015 leadership election, the party now uses a "one member, one vote" system, in which the votes of MPs, party members and members of affiliated organisations are all weighted equally. While the votes of Labour MPs are no longer counted separately, leadership candidates must first receive the nomination of at least 20% of MPs in order to appear on the ballot.

The PLP does not have the equivalent of the Conservative Party's 1922 Committee to call a binding vote of confidence for the party leader; Jeremy Corbyn did not resign despite 80% of Labour MPs voting against him. A potential challenger to the current leader would need the support of 20% of MPs to call an election to choose a replacement; the current leader would automatically be on the ballot unless deciding otherwise.

Leaders of the Labour Party (1906–present)

A list of leaders (including acting leaders) since 1906.

No. Leader(birth–death)ConstituencyTook officeLeft officeElectionsTenurePrime Minister 1 Keir Hardie(1856–1915) Merthyr Tydfil 17 January 1906 22 January 190819062 years, 5 daysCampbell-Bannerman 2Arthur Henderson(1863–1935)Barnard Castle22 January 190814 February 1910Jan 19102 years, 24 daysAsquith 3 George Barnes(1859–1940) Glasgow Blackfriars and Hutchesontown 14 February 1910 6 February 1911Dec 1910358 days4 Ramsay MacDonald(1866–1937) Leicester 6 February 1911 5 August 1914―3 years, 181 days(2)Arthur Henderson(1863–1935)Barnard Castle5 August 191424 October 1917―3 years, 81 daysLloyd George 5 William Adamson(1863–1936) West Fife 24 October 1917 14 February 192119183 years, 113 days6J. R. Clynes(1869–1949)Manchester Platting14 February 192121 November 192219221 year, 281 daysLaw (4)Ramsay MacDonald(1866–1937)Aberavon21 November 1922(elected)28 August 19311923192419298 years, 280 daysBaldwin Himself Baldwin Himself (2) Arthur Henderson(1863–1935) Burnley(1931)None(1931–1932) 28 August 1931(unopposed) 25 October 193219311 year, 59 daysMacDonald 7George Lansbury(1859–1940)Bow and Bromley25 October 1932(unopposed)8 October 1935―2 years, 349 daysBaldwin 8Clement Attlee(1883–1967)Limehouse(1935–1950)Walthamstow West(1950–1955)25 October 1935(elected)7 December 19551935194519501951195520 years, 44 daysChamberlain Churchill Himself Churchill Eden ― Herbert Morrison(acting)(1888–1965) Lewisham South 7 December 1955 14 December 1955―7 days9Hugh Gaitskell(1906–1963)Leeds South14 December 1955(elected)18 January 1963(died in office)19597 years, 36 daysMacmillan ― George Brown(acting)(1914–1985) Belper 18 January 1963 14 February 1963―28 days10Harold Wilson(1916–1995)Huyton14 February 1963(elected)5 April 1976196419661970Feb 1974Oct 197413 years, 50 daysDouglas-Home Himself Heath Himself 11James Callaghan(1912–2005)Cardiff South East5 April 1976(elected)10 November 198019794 years, 221 days Himself Thatcher 12 Michael Foot(1913–2010) Ebbw Vale 10 November 1980(elected) 2 October 198319832 years, 327 days13Neil Kinnock(b. 1942)Islwyn2 October 1983(elected)18 July 1992198719928 years, 291 daysMajor 14 John Smith(1938–1994) Monklands East 18 July 1992(elected) 12 May 1994(died in office)―1 year, 299 days ― Margaret Beckett(acting)(b. 1943) Derby South 12 May 1994 21 July 1994―71 days15Tony Blair(b. 1953)Sedgefield21 July 1994(elected)24 June 200719972001200512 years, 341 days Himself 16 Gordon Brown(b. 1951) Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath 24 June 2007(unopposed) 11 May 201020102 years, 319 days Himself ― Harriet Harman(acting)(b. 1950) Camberwell and Peckham 11 May 2010 25 September 2010―138 daysCameron 17 Ed Miliband(b. 1969) Doncaster North 25 September 2010(elected) 8 May 201520154 years, 226 days ― Harriet Harman(acting)(b. 1950) Camberwell and Peckham 8 May 2015 12 September 2015―128 days18Jeremy Corbyn(b. 1949)Islington North12 September 2015(elected)4 April 2020201720194 years, 206 daysMay Johnson 19Keir Starmer(b. 1962)Holborn and St Pancras4 April 2020(elected)17 July 20262024 Truss Sunak Himself 20Andy Burnham(b. 1970)Makerfield17 July 2026(unopposed)Incumbent― Himself

Timeline

Leaders by time in office This list ranks leaders of the Labour Party (not including acting leaders) by their time in office. Leaders that also served as Prime Minister are in bold. Rank Leader Time in office 1 8th Clement Attlee 20 years, 44 days 2 10th Harold Wilson 13 years, 50 days 3 15th Tony Blair 12 years, 341 days 4 4th Ramsay MacDonald 12 years, 96 days 5 13th Neil Kinnock 8 years, 291 days 6 9th Hugh Gaitskell 7 years, 36 days 7 2nd Arthur Henderson 6 years, 164 days 8 19th Keir Starmer 6 years, 104 days 9 17th Ed Miliband 4 years, 226 days 10 11th James Callaghan 4 years, 221 days 11 18th Jeremy Corbyn 4 years, 206 days 12 5th William Adamson 3 years, 113 days 13 7th George Lansbury 2 years, 349 days 14 12th Michael Foot 2 years, 327 days 15 16th Gordon Brown 2 years, 319 days 16 1st Keir Hardie 2 years, 5 days 17 14th John Smith 1 year, 299 days 18 6th J. R. Clynes 1 year, 281 days 19 3rd George Barnes 358 days 20 20th Andy Burnham

Leaders in the House of Lords

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, Harold Wilson and James Callaghan. However, Neil Kinnock was also elevated to the House of Lords, despite never being prime minister, and Michael Foot declined a similar offer.

Leader of the Labour Party (UK)

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