1976 Labour Party leadership election (UK)

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1976 Labour Party leadership election
  1963 25 March – 5 April 1976 (1976-03-25 1976-04-05) 1980  
  James Callaghan and James Chichester-Clark 1970 (cropped).jpg Michael Foot (1981).jpg Roy Jenkins 1977b.jpg
Candidate James Callaghan Michael Foot Roy Jenkins
First ballot84 (26.8%)90 (28.7%)56 (17.8%)
Final ballot176 (56.2%)137 (43.8%)Withdrew

  Tony Benn 1967.jpg Denis Healey.jpg Ford A9572 Anthony Crosland crop.jpg
Candidate Tony Benn Denis Healey Anthony Crosland
First ballot37 (11.8%)30 (9.6%)17 (5.3%)
Final ballotWithdrewEliminatedEliminated

Leader before election

Harold Wilson

Elected Leader

James Callaghan

The 1976 Labour Party leadership election occurred when Harold Wilson resigned as Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister. It is the only occasion the Labour Party has had a leadership election with more than one candidate whilst in government.

Harold Wilson former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, was a British Labour politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1970 and 1974 to 1976.

Leader of the Labour Party (UK) Most senior politician within the Labour Party in the United Kingdom

The Leader of the Labour Party is the most senior political figure within the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. Since 12 September 2015, the office has been held by Jeremy Corbyn, who has represented the constituency of Islington North since 1983.

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Head of UK Government

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, until 1801 known as the Prime Minister of Great Britain, is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister directs both the executive and the legislature, and together with their Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party and ultimately to the electorate.

Contents

Candidates

In the first ballot, held on 25 March, six candidates vied for the leadership:

Tony Benn British Labour Party politician

Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn was a British politician, writer, and diarist. He was a Member of Parliament for 47 years between the 1950 and 2001 general elections and a Cabinet minister in the Labour governments of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan in the 1960s and 1970s. Originally a moderate, he was identified as being on the party's hard left from the early 1980s onward, and was widely seen as a key proponent of democratic socialism within the party.

Bristol South East was a constituency in the city of Bristol that returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

James Callaghan 20th-century former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff,, often known as Jim Callaghan, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980.

Result

First ballot: 25 March 1976 [1]
CandidateVotes%
Michael Foot 9028.7
James Callaghan 8426.8
Roy Jenkins 5617.8
Tony Benn 3711.8
Denis Healey 309.6
Anthony Crosland 175.3
Majority61.9
Turnout314100
Second ballot required

As a result of the first ballot, Crosland was eliminated, while Jenkins and Benn withdrew from the contest. The remaining three candidates would face each other in a second ballot, five days later.

Second ballot: 30 March 1976
CandidateVotes%
James Callaghan 14145.2
Michael Foot 13342.6
Denis Healey 3812.2
Majority82.6
Turnout31299.4
Third ballot required

Because no candidate achieved an absolute majority, the candidate with the lowest number of votes was eliminated (in this case Healey). A final run-off ballot was held six days later.

Third ballot: 5 April 1976
CandidateVotes%
James Callaghan 17656.2
Michael Foot 13743.8
Majority3912.4
Turnout31399.7
James Callaghan elected

Immediately upon his election as Labour leader, Callaghan succeeded Wilson as Prime Minister.

Notes

  1. Quinn, Tom. "Labour Party Leadership Elections 1922–2016". University of Essex.

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References