Leader of the House of Commons
Leader of the House of Commons | |
---|---|
Incumbent Andrea Leadsom since 11 June 2017 | |
House of Commons of the United Kingdom | |
Style | The Right Honourable |
Formation | 4 April 1721 |
First holder | Robert Walpole |
Website | www.gov.uk |
The Leader of the House of Commons is generally a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Commons.
The House of Commons devotes approximately three-quarters of its time to Government business, such as bills introduced by the government and ministerial statements. The Leader of the House, with the parties' chief whips ("the usual channels"), is responsible for organising Government business and providing time for non-government (backbench) business to be put before the House. The Leader of the House additionally announces the next week's debate schedule in the Business Statement every Thursday.
Contents
1 Roles and honours
2 List of Leaders of the House of Commons (1721–present)
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
Roles and honours
Historically, the position was usually held by the Prime Minister if he or she sat in the House of Commons; in more recent years, the post has been held jointly with that of Lord President of the Council, Lord Privy Seal, or First Secretary of State.[clarification needed]
At times the nominal leadership was held by the Prime Minister but the day-to-day work was done by a Deputy. At other times a Deputy was appointed merely to enhance an individual politician's standing within the government. However, since 2010 the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons has been a ministerial role at the level of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State.[1] Since 8 January 2018 the post of Deputy Leader of the House of Commons has been vacant following a ministerial reshuffle.[2]
The current incumbent, Andrea Leadsom, is not a member of the cabinet but does attend cabinet meetings.[3] This office does not attract a ministerial salary,[4] and as such it is usually held jointly with another ministerial position (often a sinecure).
When there is either no Deputy Prime Minister or First Secretary of State, the Leader of the House may stand in for an absent Prime Minister at Prime Minister's Questions.
The Leader is assisted in the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons by the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons.
The Osmotherly Rules, which set out guidance on how civil servants should respond to parliamentary select committees, are jointly administered by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons and the Cabinet Office.[5]
List of Leaders of the House of Commons (1721–present)
Portrait | Name Constituency | Term of office | Other ministerial offices held as leader | Party | Ministry | Ref. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robert Walpole MP for King's Lynn | 4 April 1721 | 6 February 1742 |
| Whig | Walpole–Townshend | |||
Walpole | ||||||||
Samuel Sandys MP for Worcester | 12 February 1742 | 27 August 1743 |
| Whig | Carteret | |||
Henry Pelham MP for Sussex | 27 August 1743 | 6 March 1754 |
| Whig | ||||
Broad Bottom (I & II) | ||||||||
Thomas Robinson MP for Christchurch | 23 March 1754 | October 1755 |
| Whig | Newcastle I | |||
Henry Fox MP for Windsor | 14 November 1755 | 13 November 1756 |
| Whig | ||||
William Pitt 'the Elder' MP for Okehampton | 4 December 1756 | 6 April 1757 |
| Whig | Pitt–Devonshire | |||
Vacant | April 1757 | June 1757 | 1757 Caretaker | |||||
William Pitt 'the Elder' MP for Bath | 27 June 1757 | 6 October 1761 |
| Whig | Pitt–Newcastle | |||
George Grenville MP for Buckingham | October 1761 | May 1762 |
| Whig (Grenvillite) | ||||
Henry Fox MP for Dunwich | May 1762 | April 1763 |
| Whig | Bute (Tory–Whig) | |||
George Grenville MP for Buckingham | 16 April 1763 | 13 July 1765 |
| Whig (Grenvillite) | Grenville | |||
Henry Seymour Conway MP for Thetford | July 1765 | 20 October 1768 |
| Whig (Rockinghamite) | Rockingham I | |||
Chatham (Whig–Tory) | ||||||||
Frederick North Lord North MP for Banbury | October 1768 | 22 March 1782 |
| Tory | Grafton (Whig–Tory) | |||
North | ||||||||
Charles James Fox MP for Westminster | 27 March 1782 | July 1782 |
| Whig | Rockingham II | |||
Thomas Townshend MP for Whitchurch | 10 July 1782 | 6 March 1783 |
| Whig | Shelburne (Whig–Tory) | |||
Charles James Fox MP for Westminster | 2 April 1783 | 19 December 1783 |
| Whig | Fox–North | |||
Frederick North Lord North MP for Banbury |
| Tory | ||||||
William Pitt 'the Younger' MP for Appleby until 1784 MP for Cambridge University from 1784 | 19 December 1783 | 14 March 1801 |
| Tory (Pittite) | Pitt I | |||
Henry Addington MP for Devizes | 17 March 1801 | 10 May 1804 |
| Tory (Pittite) | Addington | |||
William Pitt 'the Younger' MP for Cambridge University | 10 May 1804 | 23 January 1806† |
| Tory (Pittite) | Pitt II | |||
Charles James Fox MP for Westminster | February 1806 | 13 September 1806† |
| Whig | All the Talents | |||
Charles Grey Viscount Howick MP for Northumberland | September 1806 | 31 March 1807 |
| Whig | ||||
Spencer Perceval MP for Northampton | April 1807 | 11 May 1812† |
| Tory | Portland II | |||
Perceval | ||||||||
Robert Stewart The Marquess of Londonderry MP for Down until 1821 MP for Orford from 1821 Marquess of Londonderry from 1821 | June 1812 | 12 August 1822† |
| Tory | Liverpool | |||
George Canning MP for Liverpool until 1823 MP for Harwich 1823–1826 MP for Newport 1826–1827 MP for Seaford from 1827 | 16 September 1822 | 8 August 1827† |
| Tory (Canningite) | ||||
Canning (Canningite–Whig) | ||||||||
William Huskisson MP for Liverpool | 3 September 1827 | 21 January 1828 |
| Tory (Canningite) | Goderich (Canningite–Whig) | |||
Sir Robert Peel MP for Oxford University until 1829 MP for Westbury froml 1829 | 26 January 1828 | 16 November 1830 |
| Tory | Wellington–Peel | |||
John Spencer Viscount Althorp MP for Northamptonshire until 1832 MP for South Northamptonshire froml 1832 | 22 November 1830 | 14 November 1834 |
| Whig | Grey | |||
Melbourne I | ||||||||
Sir Robert Peel MP for Tamworth | 10 December 1834 | 8 April 1835 |
| Conservative | Peel I | |||
Lord John Russell MP for Stroud | 18 April 1835 | 30 August 1841 |
| Whig | Melbourne II | |||
Sir Robert Peel MP for Tamworth | 30 August 1841 | 29 June 1846 |
| Conservative | Peel II | |||
Lord John Russell MP for City of London | 30 June 1846 | 21 February 1852 |
| Whig | Russell I | |||
Benjamin Disraeli MP for Buckinghamshire | 27 February 1852 | 17 December 1852 |
| Conservative | Who? Who? | |||
Lord John Russell MP for City of London | 28 December 1852 | 30 January 1855 |
| Whig | Aberdeen (Peelite–Whig) | |||
Henry John Temple The Viscount Palmerston MP for Tiverton | 6 February 1855 | 19 February 1858 |
| Whig | Palmerston I | |||
Benjamin Disraeli MP for Buckinghamshire | 26 February 1858 | 11 June 1859 |
| Conservative | Derby–Disraeli II | |||
Henry John Temple The Viscount Palmerston MP for Tiverton | 12 June 1859 | 18 October 1865† |
| Liberal | Palmerston II | |||
William Ewart Gladstone MP for South Lancashire | October 1865 | 26 June 1866 |
| Liberal | Russell II | |||
Benjamin Disraeli MP for Buckinghamshire | 6 July 1866 | 1 December 1868 |
| Conservative | Derby–Disraeli III | |||
William Ewart Gladstone MP for Greenwich | 3 December 1868 | 17 February 1874 |
| Liberal | Gladstone I | |||
Benjamin Disraeli MP for Buckinghamshire | 20 February 1874 | 21 August 1876 |
| Conservative | Disraeli II | |||
Stafford Northcote MP for Devonshire North | 21 August 1876 | 21 April 1880 |
| Conservative | ||||
William Ewart Gladstone MP for Midlothian | 23 April 1880 | 9 June 1885 |
| Liberal | Gladstone II | |||
Michael Hicks-Beach MP for Bristol West | 24 June 1885 | 28 January 1886 |
| Conservative | Salisbury I | |||
William Ewart Gladstone MP for Midlothian | 1 February 1886 | 2 July 1886 |
| Liberal | Gladstone III | |||
Lord Randolph Churchill MP for Paddington South | 3 August 1886 | 14 January 1887 |
| Conservative | Salisbury II | |||
W. H. Smith MP for Strand | 17 January 1887 | October 1891 |
| Conservative | ||||
Arthur Balfour MP for Manchester East | October 1891 | 11 August 1892 |
| Conservative | ||||
William Ewart Gladstone MP for Midlothian | 15 August 1892 | 2 March 1894 |
| Liberal | Gladstone IV | |||
Sir William Harcourt MP for Derby | 2 March 1894 | 21 June 1895 |
| Liberal | Rosebery | |||
Arthur Balfour MP for Manchester East | 29 June 1895 | 4 December 1905 |
| Conservative | Salisbury (III & IV) (Con.–Lib.U.) | [6] | ||
Balfour (Con.–Lib.U.) | ||||||||
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman MP for Stirling Burghs | 5 December 1905 | 5 April 1908 |
| Liberal | Campbell-Bannerman | [6] | ||
H. H. Asquith MP for East Fife | 5 April 1908 | 5 December 1916 |
| Liberal | Asquith (I–III) | [6] | ||
Asquith Coalition (Lib.–Con.–Lab.) | ||||||||
Bonar Law MP for Bootle until 1918 MP for Glasgow Central from 1918 | 10 December 1916 | 23 March 1921 |
| Conservative | Lloyd George (I & II) (Lib.–Con.–Lab.) | [6] | ||
Austen Chamberlain MP for Birmingham West | 23 March 1921 | 19 October 1922 |
| Conservative | [6] | |||
Bonar Law MP for Glasgow Central | 23 October 1922 | 20 May 1923 |
| Conservative | Law | [6] | ||
Stanley Baldwin MP for Bewdley | 22 May 1923 | 22 January 1924 |
| Conservative | Baldwin I | [6] | ||
Ramsay MacDonald MP for Aberavon | 22 January 1924 | 3 November 1924 |
| Labour | MacDonald I | [6] | ||
Stanley Baldwin MP for Bewdley | 4 November 1924 | 4 June 1929 |
| Conservative | Baldwin II | [6] | ||
Ramsay MacDonald MP for Seaham | 5 June 1929 | 7 June 1935 |
| Labour | MacDonald II | [6] | ||
National Labour | National I (N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N. –Lib. | |||||||
National II (N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N. –Lib. until 1932) | ||||||||
Stanley Baldwin MP for Bewdley | 7 June 1935 | 28 May 1937 |
| Conservative | National III (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) | [6] | ||
Neville Chamberlain MP for Birmingham Edgbaston | 28 May 1937 | 10 May 1940 |
| Conservative | National IV (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) | [6] | ||
Chamberlain War (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.) | ||||||||
Winston Churchill MP for Epping | 10 May 1940 | 19 February 1942 |
| Conservative | Churchill War (All parties) | |||
Sir Stafford Cripps MP for Bristol East | 19 February 1942 | 22 November 1942 |
| Independent | [6] | |||
Anthony Eden MP for Warwick and Leamington | 22 November 1942 | 26 July 1945 |
| Conservative | [6] | |||
Churchill Caretaker (Con.–N.Lib.) | ||||||||
Herbert Morrison MP for Lewisham East until 1950 MP for Lewisham South from 1950 | 27 July 1945 | 9 March 1951 |
| Labour | Attlee (I & II) | [6] | ||
James Chuter Ede MP for South Shields | 9 March 1951 | 26 October 1951 |
| Labour | [6] | |||
Harry Crookshank MP for Gainsborough | 28 October 1951 | 20 December 1955 |
| Conservative | Churchill III | [6] | ||
Eden | ||||||||
R. A. Butler MP for Saffron Walden | 20 December 1955 | 9 October 1961 |
| Conservative | [6] | |||
Macmillan (I & II) | ||||||||
Iain Macleod MP for Enfield West | 9 October 1961 | 20 October 1963 |
| Conservative | [6] | |||
Selwyn Lloyd MP for Wirral | 20 October 1963 | 16 October 1964 |
| Conservative | Douglas-Home | [6] | ||
Herbert Bowden MP for Leicester South West | 16 October 1964 | 11 August 1966 |
| Labour | Wilson (I & II) | [6] | ||
Richard Crossman MP for Coventry East | 11 August 1966 | 18 October 1968 |
| Labour | [6] | |||
Fred Peart MP for Workington | 18 October 1968 | 19 June 1970 |
| Labour | [6] | |||
Willie Whitelaw MP for Penrith and The Border | 20 June 1970 | 7 April 1972 |
| Conservative | Heath | [6] | ||
Robert Carr MP for Mitcham | 7 April 1972 | 5 November 1972 |
| Conservative | [6] | |||
Jim Prior MP for Lowestoft | 5 November 1972 | 4 March 1974 |
| Conservative | [6] | |||
Edward Short MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central | 5 March 1974 | 8 April 1976 |
| Labour | Wilson (III & IV) | [6] | ||
Michael Foot MP for Ebbw Vale | 8 April 1976 | 4 May 1979 |
| Labour | Callaghan | [6] | ||
Norman St John-Stevas MP for Chelmsford | 5 May 1979 | 5 January 1981 |
| Conservative | Thatcher I | [6] | ||
Francis Pym MP for Cambridgeshire | 5 January 1981 | 5 April 1982 |
| Conservative | [6] | |||
John Biffen MP for Oswestry until 1983 MP for Shropshire North from 1983 | 5 April 1982 | 13 June 1987 |
| Conservative | [6] | |||
Thatcher II | ||||||||
John Wakeham MP for South Colchester and Maldon | 13 June 1987 | 24 July 1989 |
| Conservative | Thatcher III | [6] | ||
Sir Geoffrey Howe MP for East Surrey | 24 July 1989 | 2 November 1990 |
| Conservative | [6] | |||
John MacGregor MP for South Norfolk | 2 November 1990 | 10 April 1992 |
| Conservative | [6] | |||
Major I | ||||||||
Tony Newton MP for Braintree | 10 April 1992 | 1 May 1997 |
| Conservative | Major II | [7] | ||
Ann Taylor MP for Dewsbury | 2 May 1997 | 27 July 1998 |
| Labour | Blair (I–III) | [8] | ||
Margaret Beckett MP for Derby South | 27 July 1998 | 8 June 2001 |
| Labour | [9] | |||
Robin Cook MP for Livingston | 8 June 2001 | 17 March 2003 |
| Labour | [10] | |||
John Reid MP for Hamilton North and Bellshill | 4 April 2003 | 13 June 2003 |
| Labour | [11] | |||
Peter Hain MP for Neath | 11 June 2003 | 6 May 2005 |
| Labour | [12] | |||
Geoff Hoon MP for Ashfield | 6 May 2005 | 5 May 2006 |
| Labour | [13] | |||
Jack Straw MP for Blackburn | 5 May 2006 | 27 June 2007 |
| Labour | [14] | |||
Harriet Harman MP for Camberwell and Peckham | 28 June 2007 | 11 May 2010 |
| Labour | Brown | [15] | ||
Sir George Young MP for North West Hampshire | 12 May 2010 | 3 September 2012 |
| Conservative | Cameron–Clegg (Con.–L.D.) | [16] | ||
Andrew Lansley MP for South Cambridgeshire | 4 September 2012 | 14 July 2014 |
| Conservative | [17] | |||
William Hague MP for Richmond (Yorks) | 14 July 2014 | 8 May 2015 |
| Conservative | [18] | |||
Chris Grayling MP for Epsom and Ewell | 9 May 2015 | 14 July 2016 |
| Conservative | Cameron II | [19] | ||
David Lidington MP for Aylesbury | 14 July 2016 | 11 June 2017 |
| Conservative | May I | [20] | ||
Andrea Leadsom MP for South Northamptonshire | 11 June 2017 | Incumbent |
| Conservative | May II | [21] |
See also
- Leader of the House of Lords
- Speaker of the British House of Commons
Minister for Parliamentary Business, the equivalent cabinet post in the Scottish Government
References
^ The first incumbent of the Deputy role was a Liberal Democrat MP, The Rt Hon. David Heath CBE, serving in the Coalition Government. "Parliamentary Secretary of State (Deputy Leader of the House of Commons)". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2016-09-16..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/parliamentary-secretary-deputy-leader-of-the-house-of-commons
^ Cabinet Ministers
^ Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975
^ Gay, Oonagh (4 August 2005). "The Osmotherly Rules (Standard Note: SN/PC/2671)" (PDF). Parliament and Constitution Centre, House of Commons Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagah David Butler and Gareth Butler, British Political Facts 1900–1994 (7th edn, Macmillan 1994) 65.
^ "Lord Newton of Braintree". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Baroness Taylor of Bolton". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Rt Hon Robin Cook". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Lord Reid of Cardowan". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Lord Hain". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Mr Geoffrey Hoon". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Rt Hon Jack Straw". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Lord Young of Cookham". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Lord Lansley". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Lord Hague of Richmond". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Rt Hon David Lidington MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^ "Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
External links
- Official website
- Deputy Leader of the House of Commons
- Parliamentary website