Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)

Last updated
Leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party
Conservatives logo.svg
Logo for the Conservative Party
Official portrait of Kemi Badenoch MP, 2024.jpg
Incumbent
Kemi Badenoch
since 2 November 2024
Type Party leader
Status Chief executive officer
Inaugural holder Robert 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, who was elected to the position on 2 November 2024, following her victory against Robert Jenrick in the party's leadership election. [1]

Contents

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 the party's rules, a member can vote in its leadership elections even if they are not a British citizen, 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 it currently is, the leader of the Conservative Party usually acts (as the second-largest party) as the Leader of the Opposition, and chairs the shadow cabinet. Concordantly, when the party is in government, the leader would usually become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Minister for the Union, as well as appointing 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 is the first British Indian party leader and prime minister. [6] The only Conservative leaders not to contest a general election (excluding temporary acting leaders) are Iain Duncan Smith and Truss (both of whom resigned before an election was called).

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)

Overall leader
(birth–death)
PortraitConstituency or titleTook officeLeft officeGovernment
Party Prime Minister Term
Sir Robert Peel
(1788–1850)
Robert Peel by RR Scanlan detail.jpg Tamworth 18 December 1834 [a] 29 June 1846 Con himself1834–35
Whig Melbourne 1835–41
Con himself1841–46
Edward Smith-Stanley
(1799–1869)
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby-1865.jpg Baron Stanley
(1846–1851)
29 June 184627 February 1868 Whig Russell 1846–52
14th Earl of Derby
(1851–1868)
Con himself1852
Peel Aberdeen 1852–55
Whig Palmerston 1855–58
Con himself1858–59
Lib Palmerston1859–65
Lib Russell1865–66
Con himself1866–68
Benjamin Disraeli
(1804–1881)
Disraeli.jpg Buckinghamshire
(1868–1876)
27 February 186819 April 1881 [b] Con himself1868
Lib Gladstone 1868–74
Con himself1874–80
1st Earl of Beaconsfield
(1876–1881)
Lib Gladstone1880–85
vacant
Leader in the House of Lords
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Leader in the House of Commons
Stafford Northcote
19 April 188123 June 1885
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil
(1830–1903)
Robert cecil.jpg 3rd Marquess of Salisbury 23 June 188511 July 1902 Con himself1885–86
Lib Gladstone1886
Con himself1886–92
Lib Gladstone1892–94
Lib Rosebery 1894–95
Con himself1895–1902
Arthur Balfour
(1848–1930)
A.J. Balfour LCCN2014682753 (cropped).jpg Manchester East
(1902–1906)
11 July 190213 November 1911 Con himself1902–05
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 191110 December 1916 [c]
Lib Lloyd George 1916–22
Andrew Bonar Law
(1858–1923)
Andrew Bonar Law 02.jpg 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 192123 October 1922 [c]

Leaders of the party (1922–present)

Leader
(birth–death)
PortraitConstituency or titleTook officeLeft officeGovernment
Party Prime Minister Term
Andrew Bonar Law
(1858–1923)
Andrew Bonar Law 02.jpg Glasgow Central 23 October 1922 28 May 1923 Con himself1922–23
Stanley Baldwin
(1867–1947)
Stanley Baldwin ggbain.35233 (cropped).jpg Bewdley 28 May 1923
(Party meeting)
31 May 1937 Con himself1923–24
Lab MacDonald 1924
Con himself1924–29
Lab MacDonald1929–35
NLab
Con himself1935–37
Neville Chamberlain
(1869–1940)
Chamberlain Neville.jpg Birmingham Edgbaston 31 May 1937
(Party meeting)
9 October 1940 Con himself1937–40
Churchill 1940
Winston Churchill
(1874–1965)
Sir Winston Churchill (cropped).jpg Epping
(1940–1945)
9 October 1940
(Party meeting)
21 April 1955 Con himself1940–45
Woodford
(1945–1955)
Lab Attlee 1945–51
Con himself1951–55
Anthony Eden
(1897–1977)
Anthony Eden (retouched).jpg Warwick and Leamington 21 April 1955
(Party meeting)
22 January 1957 Con himself1955–57
Harold Macmillan
(1894–1986)
Harold Macmillan (cropped).jpg Bromley 22 January 1957
(Party meeting)
11 November 1963 Con himself1957–63
Alec Douglas-Home
(1903–1995)
Alec Douglas-Home (c1963) (cropped).jpg Earl of Home
(1963)
11 November 1963
(Party meeting)
27 July 1965 Con himself1963–64
Kinross and Western Perthshire
(1963–1965)
Lab Wilson 1964–70
Edward Heath
(1916–2005)
Sir Edward Heath.jpg Bexley
(1965 – 1974)
27 July 1965 11 February 1975
Con himself1970–74
Sidcup
(1974–1975)
Lab Wilson1974–76
Margaret Thatcher
(1925–2013)
Margaret Thatcher (1983).jpg Finchley 11 February 1975 27 November 1990
Lab Callaghan 1976–79
Con herself1979–90
John Major
(b. 1943)
John Major 1993 (3).jpg Huntingdon 27 November 1990 19 June 1997
Con himself1990–97
Lab Blair 1997–2007
William Hague
(b. 1961)
William Hague Foreign Secretary (2010).jpg Richmond (Yorks) 19 June 1997 13 September 2001
Iain Duncan Smith
(b. 1954)
Official portrait of Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP crop 2.jpg Chingford and Woodford Green 13 September 2001 6 November 2003
Michael Howard
(b. 1941)
Official portrait of Lord Howard of Lympne crop 2, 2023.jpg Folkestone and Hythe 6 November 2003 7 October 2005 [7]
David Cameron
(b. 1966)
David Cameron Official Portrait 2023 (cropped).jpg Witney 6 December 2005 11 July 2016
Lab Brown 2007–10
Coal himself2010–15
Con 2015–16
Theresa May
(b. 1956)
Official portrait of Baroness May of Maidenhead crop 2.jpg Maidenhead 11 July 2016 7 June 2019 Con herself2016–19
7 June 2019
(Acting)
23 July 2019
Boris Johnson
(b. 1964)
Boris Johnson official portrait (cropped).jpg Uxbridge and South Ruislip 23 July 2019 5 September 2022 Con himself2019–22
Liz Truss
(b. 1975)
Liz Truss official portrait (cropped)2.jpg South West Norfolk 5 September 2022 24 October 2022 Con herself 2022
Rishi Sunak
(b. 1980)
Portrait of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (cropped).jpg Richmond (Yorks)
(2015–2024)
24 October 2022 24 July 2024 Con himself2022–24
Richmond and Northallerton
(2024)
24 July 2024
(Acting)
2 November 2024
Lab Starmer 2024–present
Kemi Badenoch
(b. 1980)
Official portrait of Kemi Badenoch MP crop 3, 2024 (cropped).jpg North West Essex 2 November 2024 Incumbent

Timeline

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 PeelLeader of the Conservative Party (UK)

Houses of Lords and Commons leaders

Leaders in the House of Lords (1834–present)

Those asterisked were considered the overall leader of the party.

PortraitLeaderTerm of office LOTO Other ministerial offices held as Leader of the House of Lords
Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond, 6th Duke of Lennox, and 1st Duke of Gordon.jpg The Duke of Richmond and Lennox 26 February
1870
21 August
1876
1870–1874Lord President of the Council (21 February 1874 – 28 April 1880)
Benjamin Disraeli by Cornelius Jabez Hughes, 1878.jpg The Earl of Beaconsfield*21 August
1876
19 April
1881
1880–1881Prime Minister (20 February 1874 – 21 April 1880)
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (12 August 1876 – 4 February 1878)
Robert-Gascoyne-Cecil-3rd-Marquess-of-Salisbury (cropped).jpg The Marquess of Salisbury*9 May
1881
12 July
1902
1881–1885
1886
1892–1895
Prime Minister (23 June 1885 – 28 January 1886)
Foreign Secretary (24 June 1885 – 6 February 1886)
Prime Minister (25 July 1886 – 11 August 1892)
Foreign Secretary (14 January 1887 – 11 August 1892)
Prime Minister (25 June 1895 – 11 July 1902)
Foreign Secretary (29 June 1895 – 12 November 1900)
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (12 November 1900 – 11 July 1902)
Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire.jpg The Duke of Devonshire 12 July
1902
10 October
1903
Lord President of the Council (29 June 1895 – 19 October 1903)
President of the Board of Education (3 March 1900 – 8 August 1902)
Marquess of Lansdowne.jpg The Marquess of Lansdowne 10 October
1903
10 December
1916
1905–1915Foreign Secretary (12 November 1900 – 4 December 1905)
Minister without Portfolio (25 May 1915 – 10 December 1916)
George Curzon2.jpg The Earl Curzon of Kedleston
(1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston from 1921)
10 December
1916
20 March
1925
1924President of the Air Board (15 May 1916 – 3 January 1917)
Lord President of the Council (10 December 1916 – 23 October 1919)
Foreign Secretary (23 October 1919 – 22 January 1924)
Lord President of the Council (3 November 1924 – 20 March 1925)
Lord Salisbury.jpg The Marquess of Salisbury 27 April
1925
17 June
1931
1929–1931Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (6 November 1924 – 4 June 1929)
Hailsham1.JPG The Viscount Hailsham 17 June
1931
7 June
1935
1931War Secretary (5 November 1931 – 7 June 1935)
7th Marquess of Londonderry.jpg The Marquess of Londonderry 7 June
1935
22 November
1935
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
1st Earl of Halifax 1947.jpg The Viscount Halifax 22 November
1935
21 February
1938
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (22 November 1935 – 28 May 1937)
Lord President of the Council (22 May 1937 – 9 March 1938)
Stanhope7.JPG The Earl Stanhope 21 February
1938
14 May
1940
President of the Board of Education (28 May 1937 – 27 October 1938)
First Lord of the Admiralty (27 October 1938 – 3 September 1939)
Lord President of the Council (3 September 1939 – 10 May 1940)
Thomas Inskip MP.jpg The Viscount Caldecot 14 May
1940
3 October
1940
Dominions Secretary
1st Earl of Halifax 1947.jpg The Viscount Halifax 3 October
1940
22 December
1940
Foreign Secretary (21 February 1938 – 22 December 1940)
George Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd.png The Lord Lloyd 22 December
1940
8 February
1941
Colonial Secretary (12 May 1940 – 4 February 1941)
Walter Guinness, 1st Baron Moyne.png The Lord Moyne 8 February
1941
22 February
1942
Colonial Secretary
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury.jpg Viscount Cranborne
(5th Marquess of Salisbury from 1947)
21 February
1942
29 March
1957
1945–1951Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (21 February 1942 – 24 September 1943)
Colonial Secretary (21 February 1942 – 22 November 1942)
Dominions Secretary (24 September 1943 – 26 July 1945)
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (28 October 1951 – 7 May 1952)
Commonwealth Relations Secretary (12 March 1952 – 24 November 1952)
Lord President of the Council (25 November 1952 – 29 March 1957)
Alec Douglas-Home (c1963).jpg The Earl of Home 29 March
1957
27 July
1960
Commonwealth Relations Secretary (7 April 1955 – 27 July 1960)
Lord President of the Council (until 17 September 1957, from 14 October 1959)
Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham Allan Warren.jpg The Viscount Hailsham 27 July
1960
20 October
1963
Lord President of the Council
– Minister for Science (14 October 1959 – 20 October 1963)
Peter Carington 1984.jpg The Lord Carrington 20 October
1963
20 June
1970
1964–1970Minister without Portfolio (20 October 1963 – 16 October 1964)
George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe.jpg The Earl Jellicoe 20 June
1970
23 May
1973
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
The Lord Windlesham 23 May
1973
4 March
1974
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
Peter Carington 1984.jpg The Lord Carrington 4 March
1974
4 May
1979
1974–1979
Christopher Soames.jpg The Lord Soames 5 May
1979
14 September
1981
Lord President of the Council
The Baroness Young 14 September
1981
11 June
1983
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (14 September 1981 – 7 April 1982)
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (7 April 1982 – 11 June 1983)
The Viscount Whitelaw 11 June
1983
10 January
1988
Lord President of the Council
The Lord Belstead 10 January
1988
28 November
1990
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
The Lord Waddington 28 November
1990
11 April
1992
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
Official portrait of Lord Wakeham crop 2.jpg The Lord Wakeham 11 April
1992
20 July
1994
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 2013-crop.jpg Viscount Cranborne
(7th Marquess of Salisbury from 2003)
20 July
1994
3 December
1998
1997–1998Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (20 July 1994 – 2 May 1997)
Official portrait of Lord Strathclyde crop 2, 2023.jpg The Lord Strathclyde 3 December
1998
7 January
2013
1998–2010Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (12 May 2010 – 7 January 2013)
Jonathan Hill 2015.jpg The Lord Hill of Oareford 7 January
2013
15 July
2014
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Official portrait of Baroness Stowell of Beeston crop 2, 2022.jpg The Baroness Stowell of Beeston 15 July
2014
14 July
2016
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
Official portrait of Baroness Evans of Bowes Park crop 2, 2023.jpg The Baroness Evans of Bowes Park 14 July
2016
6 September
2022
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
Official portrait of Lord True crop 2.jpg The Lord True 6 September
2022
IncumbentLord Keeper of the Privy Seal

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

#Date of meetingName of leader electedCategory attending meetingLocation of meetingChairProposerSeconderRefs
19 February 1848 The Marquess of Granby Protectionist commonersResidence of George Bankes [9]
[10]
21 February 1849 Benjamin Disraeli Residence of the Lord Stanley of Bickerstaffe [11]
The Marquess of Granby
John Charles Herries
313 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]
421 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]
628 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]
731 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]
921 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]
1022 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" The Marquess of Salisbury, Leader of the House of Lords The Marquess of Salisbury Rab Butler (Privy Councillor since 1939) [19]
1111 November 1963 Sir 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

#Date of meetingName of leader electedCategory attending meetingLocation of meetingChairProposerSeconderNotes
19 March 1846 The Lord Stanley of Bickerstaffe PeersResidence of the Duke of Richmond The Earl of Eglinton [21]
215 February 1869 The Earl Cairns 23 peers The Earl of Malmesbury The Earl of Malmesbury [22]
326 February 1870 The Duke of Richmond Peers Carlton Club The Marquess of Salisbury The Earl of Derby [23]
49 May 1881 The Marquess of Salisbury Conservative members of the House of LordsResidence of the Marquess of Abergavenny The Marquess of Abergavenny The Duke of Richmond The Earl Cairns [24]

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

NameTerm beganTerm endedConcurrent 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

Notes

  1. 1 2 Date of the Tamworth Manifesto.
  2. Died in office
  3. 1 2 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.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Whitelaw</span> British politician (1918–1999)

William Stephen Ian Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw,, was a British Conservative Party politician who served in a wide number of Cabinet positions, most notably as Home Secretary from 1979 to 1983 and as de facto Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1988. He was Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby</span> British statesman (1799–1869)

Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, known as Lord Stanley from 1834 to 1851, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served three times as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. To date, he is the longest-serving leader of the Conservative Party (1846–68). He is one of only four British prime ministers to have three or more separate periods in office. However, his ministries each lasted less than two years and totalled three years and 280 days. Derby introduced the state education system in Ireland, and reformed Parliament.

The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, or sometimes simply the 22, is the parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the British House of Commons. The committee, consisting of all Conservative backbench Members of Parliament (MPs), meets weekly while Parliament is in session and provides a way for backbenchers to co-ordinate and discuss their views independently of frontbenchers. Its executive membership and officers are by consensus limited to backbench MPs; however, since 2010, frontbench Conservative MPs have an open invitation to attend meetings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harriet Harman</span> British politician life peer and podcast host (born July 1950)

Harriet Ruth Harman, Baroness Harman,, is a British politician and solicitor. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) for more than 40 years, from 1982 to 2024, making her the second longest-serving female MP in British history after Baroness Beckett. Harman was MP for Camberwell and Peckham from 1997 to 2024 and MP for Peckham from 1982 to 1997. A member of the Labour Party, she was Deputy Labour Leader and Chair of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2015, and also briefly served as Leader of the Opposition in 2010 and 2015, after the resignations of Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband, respectively. She served in various Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet positions. She has been a member of the House of Lords since 2024. The same year, Harman succeeded Labour Party MP Jess Phillips as co-host of the Sky News podcast Electoral Dysfunction, alongside political editor Beth Rigby and former Scottish Conservatives Leader Baroness Davidson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1852 United Kingdom general election</span>

The 1852 United Kingdom general election was a watershed in the formation of the modern political parties of Britain. Following 1852, the Tory/Conservative party became, more completely, the party of the rural aristocracy, while the Whig/Liberal party became the party of the rising urban bourgeoisie in Britain. The results of the election were extremely close in terms of the numbers of seats won by the two main parties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)</span> Politician who leads the UK official opposition

The Leader of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition, more commonly referred to as the Leader of the Opposition, is the person who leads the Official Opposition in the United Kingdom. The position is seen as the shadow head of government of the United Kingdom and thus the shadow prime minister of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Derby–Disraeli ministry</span>

The Conservative government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that began in 1866 and ended in 1868 was led by Lord Derby in the House of Lords and Benjamin Disraeli in the House of Commons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dawn Butler</span> British politician (born 1969)

Dawn Petula Butler is a British Labour Party politician who is Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent East. She previously served as MP for Brent Central (2015–2024) and Brent South (2005–2010).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Philp</span> British politician

Christopher Ian Brian Mynott Philp is a British politician who has served as Shadow Home Secretary since November 2024. He held the post of Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire from October 2022 to July 2024. He was previously appointed to Liz Truss's cabinet from September to October 2022 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and then as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General. A member of the Conservative Party, he is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Croydon South following his election in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Conservative Party (UK)</span> Aspect of British political history

The Conservative Party is the oldest political party in the United Kingdom and arguably the world. The current party was first organised in the 1830s and the name "Conservative" was officially adopted, but the party is still often referred to as the Tory party. The Tories had been a coalition that more often than not formed the government from 1760 until the Reform Act 1832. Modernising reformers said the traditionalistic party of "Throne, Altar and Cottage" was obsolete, but in the face of an expanding electorate 1830s–1860s it held its strength among royalists, devout Anglicans and landlords and their tenants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Cleverly</span> British politician (born 1969)

James Spencer Cleverly is a British politician and Army Reserve officer who served as Home Secretary from November 2023 to July 2024 and as Foreign Secretary from 2022 to 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Braintree since 2015. He previously served as Education Secretary from July to September 2022, Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party alongside Ben Elliot from 2019 to 2020, and in other junior ministerial positions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leader of the Labour Party (UK)</span> Elected head of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom

The leader of the Labour Party is the highest position within the United Kingdom's Labour Party. The current holder of the position is Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, who was elected to the position on 4 April 2020, following his victory in the party's leadership election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom</span> Females in the British House of Commons

The representation of women in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom has been an issue in the politics of the United Kingdom at numerous points in the 20th and 21st centuries. Originally debate centred on whether women should be allowed to vote and stand for election as Members of Parliament. The Parliament Act 1918 gave women over 21 the right to stand for election as a Member of Parliament. The United Kingdom has had three female Prime Ministers: Margaret Thatcher (1979–1990), Theresa May (2016–2019), and Liz Truss (2022). The publication of the book Women in the House by Elizabeth Vallance in 1979 highlighted the under-representation of women in Parliament. In more modern times concerns about the under-representation of women led the Labour Party to introduce and, decades later, abandon all-women short lists, something which was later held to breach discrimination laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mel Stride</span> British politician (born 1961)

Melvyn John Stride is a British politician who has served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in Kemi Badenoch’s Shadow Cabinet since November 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Devon since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Dowden</span> British politician (born 1978)

Sir Oliver James Dowden, is a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he previously held various ministerial positions under Prime Ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak between 2018 and 2024. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hertsmere since 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kemi Badenoch</span> British politician (born 1980)

Olukemi Olufunto Adegoke Badenoch is a British politician who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Conservative Party since November 2024. The first black person to hold those offices, she previously served in the Cabinet under Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak from 2022 to 2024. She has been Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Essex, previously Saffron Walden, since 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Lopez (politician)</span> British politician (born 1984)

Julia Louise Lopez is a British Conservative Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hornchurch and Upminster since 2017. She served as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from July until November 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election</span> British leadership election to replace Boris Johnson

The July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election was triggered by Boris Johnson's announcement on 7 July 2022 that he would resign as Leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following a series of political controversies.

The 2024 Conservative Party leadership election was announced on 5 July 2024 when then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared his intention to resign as Conservative Party leader following the party's defeat at the 2024 general election. The leadership race commenced on 24 July and concluded on 31 October. On 2 November, Kemi Badenoch was announced as the winner of the members' ballot, becoming the first Black leader of any major UK political party, the fourth female Conservative leader and the second consecutive Conservative leader to be non-White.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Rishi Sunak</span> UK shadow cabinet in 2024

Rishi Sunak was Leader of the Opposition as Leader of the Conservative Party from 5 July to 2 November 2024, following his resignation as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the aftermath of the Conservative Party's defeat in the 2024 general election. He formed his shadow cabinet on 8 July 2024. Sunak served as Leader of the Opposition in a caretaker capacity until his successor was elected in the 2024 Conservative leadership election; the result was announced on 2 November.

References

  1. "Tory leadership election live: Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick await final results". The Guardian. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  2. 1 2 "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. 1 2 "Parliamentary career for Lord Lilley". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  38. Mark D'Arcy. "Democracy Live – Peter Lilley MP". BBC News. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  39. 1 2 3 4 "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.