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Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)

The Leader of the Opposition (sometimes known as the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons) in the United Kingdom is the politician who leads His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The Leader of the Opposition is normally the leader of the second largest party in the House of Commons.

Leader of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government) (St Edwards Crown).svg
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom
Portrait of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Rishi Sunak
since 5 July 2024
Official Opposition
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Leader of the Opposition's Office
StyleLeader of the Opposition
(informal)
The Right Honourable
(formal)
Member of
AppointerLargest political party in the House of Commons that is not in government
Term lengthWhile leader of the largest political party in the House of Commons that is not in government
Inaugural holderThe Lord Grenville
FormationMarch 1807
1 July 1937 (Statutory)
DeputyShadow First Secretary of State
Salary£144,649[1]
(including £81,932 MP salary[2])
WebsiteHis Majesty's Official Opposition: The Shadow Cabinet

The current Leader of the Opposition is Rishi Sunak, the Leader of the Conservative Party. Sunak assumed the position on 5 July 2024, after his party lost the 2024 election.[3]

List of leaders of the opposition (1911–present)

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List of leaders of the opposition since the Parliament Act
Portrait Leader of the Opposition Term of office Elections Party Shadow cabinet
Start End Duration
  Sir Edward Carson[F] 19 October 1915 6 December 1916 1 year, 49 days — Conservative
  H. H. Asquith[1][G] 6 December 1916 14 December 1918 2 years, 9 days 1918 Independent Liberal
Sir Donald Maclean[H] 14 December 1918 12 February 1920 1 year, 61 days —
  H. H. Asquith[1] 12 February 1920 21 November 1922 2 years, 283 days 1922
  Ramsay MacDonald[2] 21 November 1922 22 January 1924 1 year, 63 days 1923 Labour
  Stanley Baldwin[3] 22 January 1924 4 November 1924 288 days 1924 Conservative
  Ramsay MacDonald[3] 4 November 1924 5 June 1929 4 years, 214 days 1929 Labour
  Stanley Baldwin[3] 5 June 1929 24 August 1931 2 years, 81 days — Conservative
  Arthur Henderson[J] 1 September 1931 25 October 1932 1 year, 55 days 1931 Labour
  George Lansbury[K] 25 October 1932 8 October 1935 3 years, 349 days —
  Clement Attlee[2][L] 25 October 1935 11 May 1940 4 years, 200 days 1935
Hastings Lees-Smith[†][M] 22 May 1940 18 December 1941 1 year, 211 days —
  Frederick Pethick-Lawrence[M] 21 January 1942 February 1942 12 days —
  Arthur Greenwood[M] February 1942 23 May 1945 3 years, 112 days —
  Clement Attlee[2] 23 May 1945 26 July 1945 65 days 1945
  Winston Churchill[3] 26 July 1945 26 October 1951 6 years, 93 days 1950 Conservative
1951
  Clement Attlee[1] 26 October 1951 25 November 1955 4 years, 31 days 1955 Labour
  Herbert Morrison[N] 25 November 1955 14 December 1955 20 days —
  Hugh Gaitskell[†] 14 December 1955 18 January 1963 7 years, 36 days 1959
  George Brown[N] 18 January 1963 14 February 1963 28 days —
  Harold Wilson[2] 14 February 1963 16 October 1964 1 year, 246 days 1964 Wilson I
  Sir Alec Douglas-Home[1] 16 October 1964 28 July 1965 286 days — Conservative Douglas-Home
  Edward Heath[2] 28 July 1965 19 June 1970 4 years, 327 days 1966 Conservative Heath I
1970
  Harold Wilson[3] 19 June 1970 4 March 1974 3 years, 259 days Feb 1974 Labour Wilson II
  Edward Heath[1] 4 March 1974 11 February 1975 345 days Oct 1974 Conservative Heath II
  Margaret Thatcher[2] 11 February 1975 4 May 1979 4 years, 83 days 1979 Thatcher
  James Callaghan[1] 4 May 1979 10 November 1980 1 year, 191 days — Labour Callaghan
  Michael Foot 10 November 1980 2 October 1983 2 years, 327 days 1983 Foot
  Neil Kinnock 2 October 1983 18 July 1992 8 years, 291 days 1987 Kinnock
1992
John Smith[†] 18 July 1992 12 May 1994 1 year, 299 days — Smith
  Margaret Beckett[N] 12 May 1994 21 July 1994 71 days — Beckett
  Tony Blair[2] 21 July 1994 2 May 1997 2 years, 286 days 1997 Blair
  John Major[1] 2 May 1997 19 June 1997 49 days — Conservative Major
  William Hague 19 June 1997 13 September 2001 4 years, 87 days 2001 Hague
  Iain Duncan Smith 13 September 2001 6 November 2003 2 years, 55 days — Duncan Smith
  Michael Howard 6 November 2003 6 December 2005 2 years, 31 days 2005 Howard
  David Cameron[2] 6 December 2005 11 May 2010 4 years, 157 days 2010 Cameron
  Harriet Harman[N] 11 May 2010 25 September 2010 138 days — Labour Harman I
  Ed Miliband 25 September 2010 8 May 2015 4 years, 226 days 2015 Miliband
  Harriet Harman[N] 8 May 2015 12 September 2015 128 days — Harman II
  Jeremy Corbyn 12 September 2015 4 April 2020 4 years, 206 days 2017 Corbyn
2019
  Sir Keir Starmer[2] 4 April 2020 5 July 2024 4 years, 93 days 2024 Starmer
  Rishi Sunak[1] 5 July 2024 Incumbent 94 days — Conservative Sunak

Leader Of The Opposition (United Kingdom) Media

  • Charles James Fox, Leader of the Opposition 1783–1806

  • "the opposition"Bonar Law as caricatured in Vanity Fair, April 1912

  • Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey after Sir Thomas Lawrence cropped

  • 1st Baron Grenville-cropped

  • George Ponsonby (1755-1817)

  • Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey after Sir Thomas Lawrence cropped

  • George Tierney by William Nutter, after Lemuel Francis Abbott

  • Robert Peel by RR Scanlan detail

  • Sir Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington

References

  1. ↑ "Appendix 3: Ministerial salaries – salary entitlements" (PDF). House of Commons Library. p. 51. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  2. ↑ "Pay and expenses for MPs". parliament.uk. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
  3. ↑ Rishi Sunak resigns after stunning UK election loss. Al Jazeera. 5 July 2024. https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/program/newsfeed/2024/7/5/rishi-sunak-resigns-after-stunning-uk-election-loss. Retrieved 5 July 2024. 


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