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Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)

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Leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party
Logo for the Conservative Party
Incumbent
Kemi Badenoch
since 2 November 2024
TypeParty leader
StatusChief executive officer
Member ofConservative Party
Inaugural holderRobert Peel (de facto)
Bonar Law (de jure)
Formation1834 (de facto)
1922 (de jure)

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 Kemi Badenoch, whom the party elected on 2 November 2024 when she outpolled Robert Jenrick.[1]

From the party's formation in 1834 until 1922, the leader of the Conservative Party was not a formal position; instead, separate individuals led the party within 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 become preeminent, but this situation was not formalised until 1922.

Since 1922, leaders of the Conservative Party have 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 top two candidates selected by parliamentarians.[2][3] Under the party's rules, members of the party can vote for a leader even if they are not British citizens, do not reside in the UK, and do not have the right to vote in British elections.[4][5]

When the Conservative Party is in opposition, as is the case as of 2025, the leader of the Conservative Party usually acts (as the head of second-largest party) as the Leader of the Opposition, and chairs the shadow cabinet. Concordantly, when the party is in government, the leader usually becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Minister for the Union, as well as selecting members of the Cabinet. Four of the party's leaders have been women: Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May, Liz Truss and Kemi Badenoch, all of whom, except Badenoch, have served as prime minister. Rishi Sunak was the first British Indian party leader and prime minister.[6] The only Conservative leaders (excluding temporary acting-leaders) not to contest a general election have been Neville Chamberlain, Iain Duncan Smith and Truss (each of whom resigned before the calling of an election).

Selection process

[edit]

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)

[edit]
Overall leader
(birth–death)
 Portrait Constituency or title Took office Left office Government
Party Prime Minister Term
Sir Robert Peel
(1788–1850)
 Tamworth
2nd Baronet 		18 December 1834[a] 29 June 1846 Con himself 1834–35
Whig Melbourne 1835–41
Con himself 1841–46
Edward Smith-Stanley
(1799–1869)
 Baron Stanley
(1846–1851)
 29 June 1846 27 February 1868 Whig Russell 1846–52
14th Earl of Derby
(1851–1868)
 Con himself 1852
Peel Aberdeen 1852–55
Whig Palmerston 1855–58
Con himself 1858–59
Lib Palmerston 1859–65
Lib Russell 1865–66
Con himself 1866–68
Benjamin Disraeli
(1804–1881)
 Buckinghamshire
(1868–1876)
 27 February 1868 19 April 1881[b] Con himself 1868
Lib Gladstone 1868–74
Con himself 1874–80
1st Earl of Beaconsfield
(1876–1881)
 Lib Gladstone 1880–85
vacant
Leader in the House of Lords
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Leader in the House of Commons
Stafford Northcote
 19 April 1881 23 June 1885
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil
(1830–1903)
 3rd Marquess of Salisbury 23 June 1885 11 July 1902 Con himself 1885–86
Lib Gladstone 1886
Con himself 1886–92
Lib Gladstone 1892–94
Lib Rosebery 1894–95
Con himself 1895–1902
Arthur Balfour
(1848–1930)
 Manchester East
(1902–1906)
 11 July 1902 13 November 1911 Con himself 1902–05
City of London
(1906–1911)
 Lib C.-Bannerman 1905–08
Lib Asquith 1908–16
vacant
Leader in the House of Lords
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
Leader in the House of Commons
Bonar Law
 13 November 1911 10 December 1916[c]
Lib Lloyd George 1916–22
Andrew Bonar Law
(1858–1923)
 Bootle
(1916–1918)
 10 December 1916[c] 21 March 1921
Glasgow Central
(1918–1921)
vacant
Leader in the House of Lords
George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
Leader in the House of Commons
Austen Chamberlain
 21 March 1921 23 October 1922 [c]

Leaders of the party (1922–present)

[edit]
Leader
(birth–death) 		Portrait Constituency or title Took office Left office Government
Party Prime Minister Term
Andrew Bonar Law
(1858–1923)
 Glasgow Central 23 October 1922 28 May 1923 Con himself 1922–23
Stanley Baldwin
(1867–1947)
 Bewdley 28 May 1923
(Party meeting)
 31 May 1937 Con himself 1923–24
Lab MacDonald 1924
Con himself 1924–29
Lab MacDonald 1929–35
NLab
Con himself 1935–37
Neville Chamberlain
(1869–1940)
 Birmingham Edgbaston 31 May 1937
(Party meeting)
 9 October 1940 Con himself 1937–40
Churchill 1940
Winston Churchill
(1874–1965)
 Epping
(1940–1945)
 9 October 1940
(Party meeting)
 21 April 1955 Con himself 1940–45
Woodford
(1945–1955)
 Lab Attlee 1945–51
Con himself 1951–55
Anthony Eden
(1897–1977)
 Warwick and Leamington 21 April 1955
(Party meeting)
 22 January 1957 Con himself 1955–57
Harold Macmillan
(1894–1986)
 Bromley 22 January 1957
(Party meeting)
 11 November 1963 Con himself 1957–63
Alec Douglas-Home
(1903–1995)
 14th Earl of Home
(1963)
 11 November 1963
(Party meeting)
 27 July 1965 Con himself 1963–64
Kinross and Western Perthshire
(1963–1965)
Lab Wilson 1964–70
Edward Heath
(1916–2005)
 Bexley
(1965 – 1974)
 27 July 1965 11 February 1975
Con himself 1970–74
Sidcup
(1974–1975)
Lab Wilson 1974–76
Margaret Thatcher
(1925–2013)
 Finchley 11 February 1975 27 November 1990
Lab Callaghan 1976–79
Con herself 1979–90
John Major
(b. 1943)
 Huntingdon 27 November 1990 19 June 1997
Con himself 1990–97
Lab Blair 1997–2007
William Hague
(b. 1961)
 Richmond (Yorks) 19 June 1997 13 September 2001
Iain Duncan Smith
(b. 1954)
 Chingford and Woodford Green 13 September 2001 6 November 2003
Michael Howard
(b. 1941)
 Folkestone and Hythe 6 November 2003 7 October 2005[7]
David Cameron
(b. 1966)
 Witney 6 December 2005 11 July 2016
Lab Brown 2007–10
Coal himself 2010–15
Con 2015–16
Theresa May
(b. 1956)
 Maidenhead 11 July 2016 7 June 2019 Con herself 2016–19
7 June 2019
(Acting)
23 July 2019
Boris Johnson
(b. 1964)
 Uxbridge and South Ruislip 23 July 2019 5 September 2022 Con himself 2019–22
Liz Truss
(b. 1975)
 South West Norfolk 5 September 2022 24 October 2022 Con herself 2022
Rishi Sunak
(b. 1980)
 Richmond (Yorks)
(2015–2024) 		24 October 2022 24 July 2024 Con himself 2022–24
Richmond and Northallerton
(2024)
24 July 2024
(Acting)
2 November 2024
 Lab Starmer 2024–present
Kemi Badenoch
(b. 1980)
 North West Essex 2 November 2024 Incumbent

Timeline

[edit]
Kemi BadenochRishi 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

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

Leaders in the House of Lords (1834–present)

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Main article: Leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords

Leaders in the House of Commons (1834–1922)

[edit]

Those asterisked were considered the overall leader of the party.

Elections of Conservative leaders by party meeting

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House of Commons

[edit]
# Date of meeting Name of leader elected Category attending meeting Location of meeting Chair Proposer Seconder Refs
1 9 February 1848 The Marquess of Granby Protectionist commoners Residence of George Bankes N/a N/a N/a [9]
[10]
2 1 February 1849 Benjamin Disraeli N/a Residence of the Lord Stanley of Bickerstaffe N/a N/a N/a [11]
The Marquess of Granby
John Charles Herries
3 13 November 1911 Bonar Law Unionist Members of Parliament Carlton Club, Pall Mall Henry Chaplin, senior Privy Councillor on the Unionist benches (appointed 1885) Walter Long Austen Chamberlain [12]
4 21 March 1921 Austen Chamberlain Unionist Members of Parliament Carlton Club, Pall Mall Lord Edmund Talbot, Conservative Chief Whip Captain Ernest George Pretyman Sir Edward Coates: "a back bencher and one of the rank and file" [13]
5 23 October 1922 Bonar Law Unionist peers, MPs, and candidates Hotel Cecil, The Strand The Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, Leader of the House of Lords The Marquess Curzon of Kedleston Stanley Baldwin: "chosen ... to be the spokesman for the House of Commons" [14]
6 28 May 1923 Stanley Baldwin "Conservative Party" Hotel Cecil, The Strand The Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, Leader of the House of Lords The Earl of Derby Captain Ernest George Pretyman: "a member of the House of Commons who [had] been a colleague in that House of Mr Bonar Law for something over 25 years" [15]
7 31 May 1937 Neville Chamberlain "peers and MPs who receive the Conservative whip, ... prospective candidates who have been adopted by constituency associations, and ... members of the executive committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist associations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland." Caxton Hall, Caxton Street The Viscount Halifax, Leader of the House of Lords The Earl of Derby Winston Churchill (Privy Councillor since 1907) [16]
8 9 October 1940 Winston Churchill "Peers and MPs who receive the Conservative whip, ... prospective candidates who have been adopted by constituency associations, and ... members of the Executive Committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland." London The Viscount Halifax, Leader of the House of Lords The Viscount Halifax Sir George Courthope: "one of the senior back benchers of the party" [17]
9 21 April 1955 Sir Anthony Eden "Conservative and National Liberal members of the two Houses of Parliament, Conservative and National Liberal parliamentary candidates and members of the executive committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations" Church House, Dean's Yard, Westminster The Marquess of Salisbury, Leader of the House of Lords The Marquess of Salisbury Rab Butler (Privy Councillor since 1939) [18]
10 22 January 1957 Harold Macmillan "Conservative and Unionist members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, ... prospective parliamentary candidates and ... members of the executive committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations. National Liberal members of both Houses of Parliament and adopted prospective candidates were also present" N/a The Marquess of Salisbury, Leader of the House of Lords The Marquess of Salisbury Rab Butler (Privy Councillor since 1939) [19]
11 11 November 1963 Alec Douglas-Home "members of both Houses of Parliament taking the Conservative whip, prospective candidates who [had] been adopted by constituency associations, members of the executive of the mass party, and National Liberal MPs and adopted prospective candidates" Church House, Dean's Yard, Westminster The Lord Carrington, Leader of the House of Lords The Lord Carrington Geoffrey Lloyd: "the senior Conservative Privy Councillor in the Commons next in line to Sir Winston Churchill" (appointed 1943) [20]

House of Lords

[edit]
# Date of meeting Name of leader elected Category attending meeting Location of meeting Chair Proposer Seconder Notes
1 9 March 1846 The Lord Stanley of Bickerstaffe Peers Residence of the Duke of Richmond The Earl of Eglinton N/a N/a [21]
2 15 February 1869 The Earl Cairns 23 peers N/a The Earl of Malmesbury The Earl of Malmesbury N/a [22]
3 26 February 1870 The Duke of Richmond Peers Carlton Club N/a The Marquess of Salisbury The Earl of Derby [23]
4 9 May 1881 The Marquess of Salisbury Conservative members of the House of Lords Residence of the Marquess of Abergavenny The Marquess of Abergavenny The Duke of Richmond The Earl Cairns [24]

Deputy Leaders of the Conservative Party

[edit]

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

[edit]
Name Term began Term ended Concurrent office(s) Leader
Reginald Maudling 4 August 1965[30] 18 July 1972[31] Deputy Leader of the Opposition (1965–1970)[32]
Shadow Foreign Secretary (1965)
Shadow Defence Secretary (1968–1969)
Home Secretary (1970–1972) 		Edward Heath
Not in use from 1972 to 1975
The Viscount Whitelaw 12 February 1975[33] 7 August 1991[34] Deputy Leader of the Opposition (1975–1979)[35]
Shadow Home Secretary (1976–1979)
Home Secretary (1979–1983)
Leader of the House of Lords (1983–1988)[36] 		Margaret Thatcher
John Major
Not in use from 1991 to 1998
Peter Lilley 2 June 1998[37] 15 June 1999[37] Deputy Leader of the Opposition (1998–1999)[38] William Hague
Not in use from 1999 to 2001
Michael Ancram 18 September 2001[39] 6 December 2005[39] Deputy Leader of the Opposition (2001–2005)[40]
Shadow Foreign Secretary (2001–2005)[39]
Shadow Defence Secretary (2005)[39] 		Iain Duncan Smith
Michael Howard
Not in use since 2005

See also

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Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Date of the Tamworth Manifesto.
  2. ^ Died in office
  3. ^ a b c 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

[edit]
  1. ^ "Tory leadership election live: Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick await final results". The Guardian. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Constitution of the Conservative Party" (PDF). January 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 September 2021.
  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. ^ Nevett, Joshua (12 August 2022). "Tory leadership election: Meet the overseas voters picking the next PM". BBC News.
  5. ^ Smith, Hannah (10 August 2022). "Who can vote in the Conservative leadership contest?".
  6. ^ "Rishi Sunak: A quick guide to the UK's new prime minister". BBC News. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  7. ^ Johnston, Neil (5 September 2022). "Leadership elections: Conservative Party" (PDF). House of Commons Library (UK). Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  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. ^ "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. ^ 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. ^ 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. ^ "The Unionist Leadership." Times [London, England] 14 Nov. 1911: 9. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  13. ^ "Unionist M.P.s' New Leader." Times [London, England] 22 Mar. 1921: 12. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  14. ^ "Unionists Elect Mr. Bonar Law." Times [London, England] 24 Oct. 1922: 18. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 25 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Conservative Leader." Times [London, England] 29 May 1923: 19. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  16. ^ "The New Leader And The Old." Times [London, England] 1 June 1937: 17+. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  17. ^ "Conservative Leader." Times [London, England] 10 Oct. 1940: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  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. ^ "Mr. Macmillan states Party philosophy". The Times. London. 23 January 1957.
  20. ^ "Prime Minister is Ageless". The Times. London. 12 November 1963. p. 12.
  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. ^ 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. ^ "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. ^ "Meeting Of The Conservative Peers." Times [London, England] 10 May 1881: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 25 July 2014.
  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. ^ Andrew Porter (14 January 2009). "David Cameron anoints William Hague as his deputy". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  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. ^ Guardian editorial (17 June 2015). "The Guardian view on party deputy leaders: a job about nothing". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  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. ^ Ball, Stuart (1998). The Conservative Party Since 1945. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 187.
  31. ^ "Heath Faces Cabinet Reshuffle". 24 July 1972. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  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. ^ Report on World Affairs. Vol. 56. Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. 1975. p. 71.
  34. ^ "Willie Whitelaw dies aged 81". The Guardian. Press Association. 1 July 1991. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  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. ^ "Thatcher's No. 2 Cabinet minister resigns". Upi.com. 10 January 1988. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  37. ^ a b "Parliamentary career for Lord Lilley". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  38. ^ Mark D'Arcy. "Democracy Live – Peter Lilley MP". BBC News. Archived from the original on 26 October 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  39. ^ a b c d "Parliamentary career for The Marquess of Lothian". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  40. ^ "Peerage for the Rt Hon Michael Ancram". Gov.uk. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2019.

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