List of Leaders of the Opposition of the United Kingdom by length of tenure

This article lists each Leader of the Opposition of the United Kingdom, from the Parliament Act 1911 granting legislative preeminence to the House of Commons,[1] and the Ministers of the Crown Act 1937 the leader of the second largest faction within it a statutory title and salary,[2] rather than the customary role as HM Official Opposition,[3] in order of term length. This is based on the difference between dates; if counted by number of calendar days all the figures would be one greater.

Of the 34 Leaders of the Opposition, 6 served more than 5 years (1826.25 days), 4 have lost more than one general election, and 7 have served less than a year.

Ordered by tenure

Rank	Leader of Opposition	Length served (days)	General elections lost	Separate PM terms[4]	Party[5]	Start	Refs
29	Keir Starmer	133 (incumbent)	-	0	Labour	2020	[6]
9	Jeremy Corbyn	1666	2	0	Labour	2015	[7][8][9]
8	Ed Miliband	1686	1	0	Labour	2010	[10][9]
28	Harriet Harman	265	-	0	Labour	2010	[9]
10	David Cameron	1627	0	1	Conservative	2005	[11][12][13]
21	Michael Howard	762	1	0	Conservative	2003	[12][13]
19	Iain Duncan Smith	785	-	0	Conservative	2001	[12][13]
11	William Hague	1548	1	0	Conservative	1997	[12][13]
31	John Major	39	1	1	Conservative	1997	[12]
18	Tony Blair	1017	0	1	Labour	1994	[9][13]
30	Margaret Beckett	71	-	0	Labour	1994	[9]
22	John Smith	664	-	0	Labour	1992	[9][13]
1	Neil Kinnock	3213	2	0	Labour	1983	[9][13]
17	Michael Foot	1057	1	0	Labour	1980	[9][13]
24	James Callaghan	556	1	1	Labour	1979	[9][13]
12	Margaret Thatcher	1544	0	1	Conservative	1975	[12][13]
5	Edward Heath	2133	1	1	Conservative	1965	[13]
27	Alec Douglas-Home	285	1	1	Conservative	1964	[14][15]
6	Harold Wilson	1974	1	2	Labour	1963	[13]
32	George Brown	27	-	0	Labour	1963	[15]
3	Hugh Gaitskell	2592	1	0	Labour	1955	[13]
33	Herbert Morrison	18	-	0	Labour	1955	[15]
4	Winston Churchill	2283	2	2	Conservative	1945	[15]
14	Arthur Greenwood	1200	-	0	Labour	1942	[16]
34	Frederick Pethick-Lawrence	10	-	0	Labour	1942	[16][17]
23	Hastings Lees-Smith	575	-	0	Labour	1940	[16][18]
2	Clement Attlee	3151	3	1	Labour	1935	[19]
16	George Lansbury	1078	-	0	Labour	1931	[13]
25	Arthur Henderson	420	-	0	Labour	1931	[13]
15	Stanley Baldwin	1097	-	3	Conservative	1924	[20]
26	Donald Maclean	425		0	Liberal	1918	[21]
20	Edward Carson	414	-	0	Conservative	1915	[22]
7	H. H. Asquith	1751	1	1	Liberal	1916	[23]
13	Bonar Law	1289	0	1	Conservative (Scot. Unionist)	1911	[24][13]

See also

• List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom by length of tenure

References

1. "Parliament act 1911". Gov.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
2. "Ministers of the Crown Act 1937". Modern Law Review. Blackwell Publishing. 1 (2): 145–148. 1937. ISSN 0026-7961. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
3. "Her Majesty's Official Opposition". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
4. "Past Prime Ministers". Gov.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
5. "United Kingdom Election Results". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
6. "Keir Starmer elected as new Labour leader". BBC News. 4 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
7. Watson, Ian. "Jeremy Corbyn: 'I will not lead Labour at next election'". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
8. "Jeremy Corbyn wins Labour leadership contest". BBC News. 12 September 2015. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
9. "Labour Party leaders and officials since 1975". Parliament.uk. House of Commons library. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
10. "Ed Miliband is elected leader of the Labour Party". BBC News. 25 September 2010. Archived from the original on 26 September 2010.
11. "Cameron chosen as new Tory leader". BBC News. 6 December 2005. Retrieved 25 November 2006.
12. "Conservative Party leaders and officials since 1975". Parliament.UK. House of Commons Library. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
13. "Leader of the Opposition". Hansard 1803-2005. Parliament.UK. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
14. Thorpe, D.R. (1996). Alec Douglas-Home. Sinclair-Stevenson. p. 384. ISBN 9781856192774. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
15. Heppell, T. (2012). Leaders of the Opposition: From Churchill to Cameron. Springer. ISBN 9780230369009. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
16. Thorpe, Andrew (2008). A History of the British Labour Party (3rd ed.). Macmillan International Higher Education. p. 107. ISBN 9781137248152. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
17. Ruston, Alan. "Frederick Pethick-Lawrence". Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
18. Sugarman, Daniel. "MP Hastings Bertrand Lees-Smith saved dozens of lives, but had no idea". The JC. The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
19. Clarke, Charles (2015). British Labour Leaders. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 9781849549677. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
20. Baldwin, Stanley (2004). Baldwin Papers: A Conservative Statesman, 1908-1947. CUP. p. 140. ISBN 9780521580809. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
21. Bentley, Michael (2007). The Liberal Mind 1914-29. Cambridge University Press. p. 67. ISBN 9780521037426. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
22. Mulhall, Ed. "Carson, Redmond, the Coalition and the War, 1915". RTÉ. Boston College. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
23. Bandow, Doug. "Would WWI or WWII Have Happened Without This Prime Minister?". CATO institute. American Spectator (Online). Retrieved 20 December 2019.
24. "People - Mr Bonar Law". Hansard 1803-2005. Parliament.UK. Retrieved 13 December 2019.