Leader_of_the_Conservative_Party_(UK)

Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)

Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)

Head of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom

The leader of the Conservative Party (officially the leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the highest position within the United Kingdom's Conservative Party. The current holder of the position is Rishi Sunak, who was elected to the position on 24 October 2022, following his unopposed victory in the party's leadership election.[1]

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From the party's formation in 1834 until 1922, the leader of the Conservative Party was not a formal position; instead, there was a party leader in each chamber of Parliament, and they were considered equal unless one took precedence over the other, such as when one was serving as prime minister. Following the passage of the Parliament Act 1911, the reduction of power in the House of Lords suggested that the Conservative leader in the House of Commons would be preeminent, but this fact was not formalised until 1922.

Since 1922, a leader of the Conservative Party has been formally elected, even when the party is in opposition. Originally, the party leader was appointed opaquely by other high-ranking members of the party. This process was gradually democratised in the late 20th century; in 1965, the appointment was linked to a vote by party MPs, and in 1998, the process was opened to all party members to decide between the last two candidates selected by parliamentarians.[2][3] Under party rules, members can vote in the Conservative leadership even if they are not British citizens, do not live in the UK and do not have the right to vote in a UK general election.[4][5]

When the Conservative Party is in government, as it currently is, 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. Concordantly, when the Party is in opposition, the leader of the Conservative Party usually acts (as the second largest party) as the Leader of the Opposition, and chairs the shadow cabinet. As of October 2022, three of the party's leaders have been women: Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May, and Liz Truss, all of whom have served as prime minister. Rishi Sunak is the first British Asian party leader and prime minister.[6]

Selection process

Under the party's constitution,[2] leaders are elected by serving MPs and party members whose membership started at least three months prior to the closing of a ballot. Candidates must be serving MPs. A former leader who has resigned may not stand in the contest triggered by their departure.

Those who wish to stand must notify the 1922 Committee, a body representing backbench Conservative Party MPs, which has broad powers to set the rules of the leadership race (e.g. the minimum number of nominees candidates need).

The party's practice is for MPs to eliminate candidates through multiple rounds of voting until two remain, from whom the winner is then chosen by a ballot of party members.

The 1922 Committee's chairman acts as the returning officer for all stages of the leadership election process.

Overall leaders of the party (1834–1922)

More information Overall leader(birth–death), Portrait ...

Leaders of the party (1922–present)

More information Leader (birth–death), Portrait ...

Timeline

Rishi SunakLiz TrussBoris JohnsonTheresa MayDavid CameronMichael HowardIain Duncan SmithWilliam HagueJohn MajorMargaret ThatcherEdward HeathAlec Douglas-HomeHarold MacmillanAnthony EdenWinston ChurchillNeville ChamberlainStanley BaldwinBonar LawArthur BalfourRobert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of SalisburyBenjamin DisraeliEdward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of DerbyRobert Peel

Houses of Lords and Commons leaders

See also: Leader of the House of Lords and Leader of the House of Commons

Leaders in the House of Lords (1834–present)

Those asterisked were considered the overall leader of the party.

More information Portrait, Term of office ...

Leaders in the House of Commons (1834–1922)

Those asterisked were considered the overall leader of the party.

Elections of Conservative leaders by party meeting

House of Commons

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House of Lords

More information #, Date of meeting ...

Deputy Leaders of the Conservative Party

Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party is sometimes an official title of a senior Conservative politician of the United Kingdom.

Some are given this title officially by the party, such as Peter Lilley,[25] while others are given the title as an unofficial description by the media, such as William Hague.[26] The first politician to hold the office as such was Reginald Maudling, appointed by Edward Heath in 1965.[27] Distinct from being "second-in-command", there is formally no current position of deputy party leader in the party's hierarchy.[28]

The term has sometimes been mistakenly used to refer to the party's deputy chair.[29]

List of deputy leaders

More information Name, Term began ...

See also

Notes

  1. Date of the Tamworth Manifesto.
  2. Died in office
  3. Date on which Law became Leader of the House of Commons.
  4. Granby resigned "either in the end of December [1851] or on one of the first days of January [1852]".[8]
  5. Date on which Balfour failed to be elected in Manchester East.

References

  1. [1]
    "Rishi Sunak, UK's next PM, faces major economic problems". AP NEWS. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  2. [2]
    "Constitution of the Conservative Party" (PDF). January 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 September 2021.
  3. [3]
    Alexandre-Collier, Agnès (1 November 2018). "Brexit reveals the fractures of the British Conservatives". Le Monde diplomatique (in French). Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  4. [4]
    Nevett, Joshua (12 August 2022). "Tory leadership election: Meet the overseas voters picking the next PM". BBC News.
  5. [5]
    Smith, Hannah (10 August 2022). "Who can vote in the Conservative leadership contest?".
  6. [6]
    "Rishi Sunak: A quick guide to the UK's new prime minister". BBC News. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  7. [7]
    Johnston, Neil (5 September 2022). "Leadership elections: Conservative Party" (PDF). House of Commons Library (UK). Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  8. [8]
    Monypenny, William Flavelle; Buckle, George Earle (1914). The life of Benjamin Disraeli, earl of Beaconsfield, Volume III. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 312–3.
  9. [9]
    "A Cabinet Council was held at half-past 2 o'clock." Times [London, England] 10 Feb. 1848: 4. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 25 July 2014.
  10. [10]
    Malmesbury, The Right Hon. [James Howard Harris,] the [3rd] Earl of (1885). Memoirs of an Ex-Minister. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. pp. 151–2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. [11]
    Monypenny, William Flavelle; Buckle, George Earle (1914). The life of Benjamin Disraeli, earl of Beaconsfield, Volume III. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 138–9.
  12. [12]
    "The Unionist Leadership." Times [London, England] 14 Nov. 1911: 9. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  13. [13]
    "Unionist M.P.s' New Leader." Times [London, England] 22 Mar. 1921: 12. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  14. [14]
    "Unionists Elect Mr. Bonar Law." Times [London, England] 24 Oct. 1922: 18. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 25 July 2014.
  15. [15]
    "Conservative Leader." Times [London, England] 29 May 1923: 19. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  16. [16]
    "The New Leader And The Old." Times [London, England] 1 June 1937: 17+. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  17. [17]
    "Conservative Leader." Times [London, England] 10 Oct. 1940: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  18. [18]
    Our Political Correspondent. "Sir A. Eden as Leader." Times [London, England] 22 Apr. 1955: 12. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  19. [19]
    "Mr. Macmillan states Party philosophy". The Times. London. 23 January 1957.
  20. [20]
    Our Political Correspondent. (12 November 1963). "Prime Minister is Ageless". The Times. London. p. 12.
  21. [21]
    Malmesbury, The Right Hon. [James Howard Harris,] the [3rd] Earl of (1885). Memoirs of an Ex-Minister. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. p. 124.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. [22]
    Malmesbury, The Right Hon. [James Howard Harris,] the [3rd] Earl of (1885). Memoirs of an Ex-Minister. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. p. 645.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. [23]
    "We are enabled to state that, in compliance with." Times [London, England] 28 Feb. 1870: 9. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 26 July 2014.
  24. [24]
    "Meeting Of The Conservative Peers." Times [London, England] 10 May 1881: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 25 July 2014.
  25. [25]
    "Peter Lilley, Member of Parliament for Hitchin and Harpenden". The Conservative Party. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016. He stood for the Conservative Leadership in 1997; becoming Shadow Chancellor then Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party Responsible for Policy Renewal until 2000.
  26. [26]
    Andrew Porter (14 January 2009). "David Cameron anoints William Hague as his deputy". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  27. [27]
    Blake, Robert (14 August 1965). "A Watershed in English Politics". The Illustrated London News. Vol. 247. p. 20. The most striking feature, however, of Mr. Heath's reconstruction is the appointment of a Deputy Leader. This is the first time that such a position has been created in the Conservative hierarchy [...]
  28. [28]
    Guardian editorial (17 June 2015). "The Guardian view on party deputy leaders: a job about nothing". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  29. [29]
    Ann Gripper (11 May 2015). "David Cameron's 2015 cabinet: Meet the ministers appointed in all Conservative post-election reshuffle". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 17 July 2016. Robert Halfon will become deputy leader of the Conservative Party.
  30. [30]
    Ball, Stuart (1998). The Conservative Party Since 1945. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 187.
  31. [31]
    "Heath Faces Cabinet Reshuffle". 24 July 1972. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  32. [32]
    Wood, J. R. T. (24 December 1966). A Matter of Weeks Rather Than Months: The Impasse between Harold Wilson and Ian Smith. ISBN 9781466934092. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  33. [33]
    Report on World Affairs. Vol. 56. Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. 1975. p. 71.
  34. [34]
    "Willie Whitelaw dies aged 81". The Guardian. Press Association. 1 July 1991. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  35. [35]
    Young, Hugo (18 November 2008). The Hugo Young Papers: Thirty Years of British Politics – Off the Record. ISBN 9780141903606. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  36. [36]
    "Thatcher's No. 2 Cabinet minister resigns". Upi.com. 10 January 1988. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  37. [37]
    "Parliamentary career for Lord Lilley". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  38. [38]
    Mark D'Arcy. "Democracy Live – Peter Lilley MP". BBC News. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  39. [39]
    "Parliamentary career for The Marquess of Lothian". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  40. [40]
    "Peerage for the Rt Hon Michael Ancram". Gov.uk. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
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