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] |