Rdxfbgrtj

Lord President of the Council
Royal Arms used by the Privy Council Office
Incumbent Andrea Leadsom since 11 June 2017
Privy Council Office
Style	The Right Honourable
Appointer	Monarch of the United Kingdom on advice of the Prime Minister
Inaugural holder	Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk
Formation	14 August 1530
Website	Official website

United Kingdom
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of the United Kingdom
Constitution Constitution Cabinet Manual Erskine May Taxation European Communities Act 1972
The Crown British Monarchy Monarch Queen Elizabeth II Heir apparent The Prince of Wales Royal family Succession to the British throne Royal prerogative
Executive HM Government Prime Minister Theresa May Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond Cabinet Current ministry Her Majesty's Civil Service Departments Executive agencies Public bodies List of current heads of government in the United Kingdom and dependencies Privy Council Crown-in-Council Queen Elizabeth II
Legislature Parliament (56th Parliament) Crown-in-Parliament Queen Elizabeth II House of Lords Lord Speaker The Lord Fowler House of Commons Speaker John Bercow Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition Shadow Cabinet Member of Parliament (MP) State Opening of Parliament Prime Minister's Questions Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament relating to the EU Statutory Instruments English Grand Committee Scottish Grand Committee Welsh Grand Committee Northern Ireland Grand Committee English law Reserved matters
Judiciary Supreme Court President The Baroness Hale of Richmond Deputy President The Lord Mance Judges of the Supreme Court Courts of the United Kingdom Courts of England and Wales Courts of Scotland Courts of Northern Ireland
Pound Sterling Bank of England Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney Deputy Governor of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee Chief Cashier of the Bank of England Royal Mint
Devolution Joint Ministerial Committee Legislative consent motions Scotland Government Parliament Act of the Scottish Parliament Scottish statutory instrument Scottish law Wales Government National Assembly Act of the National Assembly for Wales Welsh law Northern Ireland Executive Assembly Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly Northern Ireland law England Governance of England English votes for English laws Greater London Authority Executive Mayor Mayoral cabinet Assembly London Plan Combined authorities Metro mayors Cornwall Council
Administrative Geography England Subdivisions of England Local government in England Scotland Subdivisions of Scotland Local government in Scotland Wales Local government in Wales Northern Ireland Local government in Northern Ireland
Elections Parliamentry constituencies Political parties Last election Next election Referendums
Crown Dependencies  Guernsey  Alderney  Sark  Herm  Isle of Man  Jersey Common Travel Area
Overseas Territories  Akrotiri and Dhekelia  Anguilla  Bermuda  British Antarctic Territory  British Indian Ocean Territory  British Virgin Islands  Cayman Islands  Falkland Islands  Gibraltar  Montserrat  Pitcairn Islands  Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha  Saint Helena  Ascension Island  Tristan da Cunha  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands  Turks and Caicos Islands British Overseas Territories Act 2002 British Overseas Territories citizen Visa requirements for British Overseas Territories citizens
Foreign relations Foreign policy History Australia–United Kingdom relations Canada-United Kingdom relations European Union–United Kingdom relations France–United Kingdom relations Ireland-United Kingdom relations New Zealand-United Kingdom relations United Kingdom–United States relations Politics of the European Union The Commonwealth Member states of the Commonwealth United Kingdom and the United Nations United Nations Security Council P5 G7 G20
United Kingdom portal Other countries Atlas
v t e

The Lord President of the Council is the fourth of the Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom, ranking below the Lord High Treasurer but above the Lord Privy Seal. The Lord President usually attends and is responsible for presiding over meetings of the Privy Council, presenting business for the monarch's approval. In the modern era, the holder is by convention always a member of one of the Houses of Parliament, and the office is normally a Cabinet post.

The office and its history

The Privy Council meets once a month, wherever the Sovereign may be residing at the time, to give formal approval to Orders in Council.^[1] Only a few Privy Counsellors need attend such meetings, and only when invited to do so at the Government's request. As the duties of the Lord President are not onerous, the post has often been given to a government minister whose responsibilities are not department-specific. In recent years it has been most typical for the Lord President also to serve as Leader of the House of Commons or Leader of the House of Lords. The Lord President has no role in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.

Unlike some of the other Great Officers of State, the office of Lord President is not very ancient, the first certain appointment to the office being that of the Duke of Suffolk's in 1529.^[2] (Although there is a reference to Edmund Dudley serving as 'president of the council' in 1497, it was only in 1529 that the role was given the style and precedence of a Great Officer of State by Act of Parliament (An Act that the President of the King's Counsel shall be associate with the Chancellor and Treasurer of England, and the Keeper of the King's Privy Seal).^[3]) Prior to 1679 there were several periods in which the office was left vacant.

In the 19th century, the Lord President was generally the cabinet member responsible for the education system, amongst their other duties. This role was gradually scaled back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but remnants of it remain, such as the oversight of the governance of various universities.

During times of National or Coalition Government the office of Lord President has sometimes been held by the leader of a minority party (e.g. Baldwin 1931-1935, MacDonald 1935-1937, Attlee 1943-1945, Clegg 2010-2015).

A particularly vital role was played by the Lord President of the Council during the Second World War. The Lord President served as chairman of the Lord President's Committee. This committee acted as a central clearing house which dealt with the country's economic problems. This was vital to the smooth running of the British war economy and consequently the entire British war effort.

Winston Churchill, clearly believing that this wartime co-ordinating role was beneficial, introduced a similar but expanded system in the first few years of his post-war premiership.^[4] The so-called 'overlord ministers' included Frederick Leathers as 'Secretary of State for the Co-ordination of Transport, Fuel and Power' and Frederick Marquis, 1st Baron Woolton as Lord President. Woolton's job was to co-ordinate the then separate ministries of agriculture and food.^[5] The historian Peter Hennessy quotes a PhD thesis by Michael Kandiah saying that Woolton was 'arguably the most successful of the Overlords' partly because his ministries were quite closely related, indeed they were merged in 1955 as the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.^[6]

On several occasions since 1954, non-British Ministers have served briefly as acting Lords President of the Council, solely to preside over a meeting of the Privy Council held in a Commonwealth realm.^[7][8][9] Examples of this practice are the meetings in New Zealand in 1990 and 1995, when Geoffrey Palmer and James Bolger respectively were acting Lords President.

Before the United Kingdom general election, 2010, the Lord President was Peter Mandelson, who was also First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.^[10] This was the first time that the Lord President had not been a leader of one of the two Houses since the period 20 October 1963 to 16 October 1964, when Quintin Hogg (2nd Viscount Hailsham until November 1963), after resigning his post as Leader of the House of Lords, held the office along with the offices of Minister for Sport and, from 1 April 1964, also of Secretary of State for Education and Science.^[11]

Andrea Leadsom's appointment in June 2017 was the first in some time where the post holder was not a full Cabinet member.^[12]

Visitorial role

The Lord President also serves as the Visitor for several British universities, including:^[13]

• University of Birmingham


• University of Bristol


• University of Hull


• Imperial College London


• Keele University


• University of Leeds


• University of Leicester


• University of Liverpool


• 
  University of London (but not King's College London or University College London)


• University of Nottingham


• University of Reading


• University of Sheffield


• University of Southampton


• University of Sussex


• 
  University of Wales (but not Lampeter)

Partial list of Lord Presidents of the Council

Lord Presidents of the Council (c.1530–1702)

Lord President of the Council

Portrait	Name Birth–Death	Term of office
	Charles Brandon 1st Duke of Suffolk (c. 1484–1545)	1530	14 August 1545
	William Paulet 1st Marquess of Winchester (c. 1485–1572)	January 1546	February 1550
	John Dudley 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504–1553)	February 1550	July 1553
	Henry Montagu 1st Earl of Manchester (c. 1563–1642)	September 1621	July 1628
	James Ley 1st Earl of Marlborough (c. 1552–1629)	July 1628	14 December 1628
	Edward Conway 1st Viscount Conway (1564–1631)	14 December 1628	3 January 1631
	Anthony Ashley-Cooper 1st Earl of Shaftesbury (1621–1683)	21 April 1679	15 October 1679
	John Robartes 1st Earl of Radnor (1606–1685)	24 October 1679	24 August 1684
	Laurence Hyde 1st Earl of Rochester (1642–1711)	24 August 1684	18 February 1685
	George Savile 1st Marquess of Halifax (1633–1695)	18 February 1685	4 December 1685
	Robert Spencer 2nd Earl of Sunderland (1641–1702)	4 December 1685	October 1688
	Richard Graham 1st Viscount Preston (1648–1695)	October 1688	December 1688
	Thomas Osborne 1st Duke of Leeds [nb 1] (1632–1712)	14 February 1689	18 May 1699
	Thomas Herbert 8th Earl of Pembroke (c. 1656–1733)	18 May 1699	29 January 1702
	Charles Seymour 6th Duke of Somerset (1662–1748)	29 January 1702	13 July 1702

Lord Presidents of the Council (1702–present)

Lord President of the Council

Portrait		Name Birth–Death	Term of office		Other ministerial portfolios held during tenure	Party	Ministry	Monarch (Reign)
		The Right Honourable Thomas Herbert 8th Earl of Pembroke KG PC (c. 1656–1733)	13 July 1702	25 November 1708		—	Godolphin–Marlborough (Tory–Whig)	Anne (1702–1714)
		The Right Honourable John Somers 1st Baron Somers PC (1651–1716)	25 November 1708	21 September 1710		Whig
		The Right Honourable Laurence Hyde 1st Earl of Rochester KG PC (1642–1711)	21 September 1710	13 June 1711		Tory	Oxford–Bolingbroke
		His Grace John Sheffield 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby KG PC (1648–1721)	13 June 1711	23 September 1714		—
								George I (1714–1727)
		The Right Honourable Daniel Finch 2nd Earl of Nottingham PC (1647–1730)	23 September 1714	6 July 1716		Tory	Townshend I
		The Right Honourable William Cavendish 2nd Duke of Devonshire KG PC (1672–1729)	6 July 1716	16 March 1718		Whig
							Stanhope–Sunderland I
		The Right Honourable Charles Spencer 3rd Earl of Sunderland PC (1675–1722)	16 March 1718	6 February 1719	First Lord of the Treasury	Whig	Stanhope–Sunderland II
		His Grace Evelyn Pierrepont 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull KG PC (c. 1655–1726)	6 February 1719	11 June 1720		Whig
		The Right Honourable Charles Townshend 2nd Viscount Townshend PC FRS (1674–1738)	11 June 1720	25 June 1721	Secretary of State for the Northern Department [nb 2]	Whig
							Walpole–Townshend
		The Right Honourable Henry Boyle 1st Baron Carleton PC (1669–1725)	25 June 1721	27 March 1725		Whig
		The Right Honourable William Cavendish 2nd Duke of Devonshire KG PC (1672–1729)	27 March 1725	4 June 1729		Whig
								George II (1727–1760)
		The Right Honourable Thomas Trevor 1st Baron Trevor PC (1658–1730)	8 May 1730	19 June 1730		Tory
		The Right Honourable Spencer Compton 1st Earl of Wilmington KG KB PC (1673–1743)	31 December 1730	13 February 1742		Whig	Walpole
		The Right Honourable William Stanhope 1st Earl of Harrington PC FRS (c. 1683–1756)	13 February 1742	3 January 1745	Secretary of State for the Northern Department [nb 3]	Whig	Carteret
							Broad Bottom (I & II)
		His Grace Lionel Sackville 1st Duke of Dorset KG PC (1688–1765)	3 January 1745	17 June 1751	Lord Lieutenant of Ireland [nb 4]	Whig
		The Right Honourable John Carteret 2nd Earl Granville KG PC (1690–1763)	17 June 1751	2 January 1763		Whig
							Newcastle I
							Pitt–Devonshire
							1757 Caretaker
							Pitt–Newcastle
								George III (1760–1820) [nb 5]
							Bute
		His Grace John Russell 4th Duke of Bedford KG PC FRS (1710–1771)	9 September 1763	12 July 1765		Whig	Grenville (Whig–Tory)
		The Right Honourable Daniel Finch 8th Earl of Winchilsea KG PC (1689–1769)	12 July 1765	30 July 1766		Whig	Rockingham I
		The Right Honourable Robert Henley 1st Earl of Northington PC (c. 1708–1772)	30 July 1766	22 December 1767		Whig	Chatham (Whig–Tory)
		The Right Honourable Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Gower PC (1721–1803)	22 December 1767	24 November 1779		Tory
							Grafton (Whig–Tory)
							North
		The Right Honourable Henry Bathurst 2nd Earl Bathurst PC KC (1714–1794)	24 November 1779	27 March 1782		Tory
		The Right Honourable Charles Pratt 1st Baron Camden PC (1714–1794)	27 March 1782	2 April 1783		Whig	Rockingham II
							Shelburne (Whig–Tory)
		The Right Honourable David Murray 7th Viscount Stormont KT PC (1727–1796)	2 April 1783	19 December 1783		Tory	Fox–North (Whig–Tory)
		The Right Honourable Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Gower PC (1721–1803)	19 December 1783	1 December 1784		Tory	Pitt I
		The Right Honourable Charles Pratt 1st Earl Camden [nb 6] PC (1714–1794)	1 December 1784	18 April 1794		Tory
		The Right Honourable William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam 4th Earl Fitzwilliam PC (1748–1833)	1 July 1794	17 December 1794		Whig
		The Right Honourable David Murray 2nd Earl of Mansfield KT PC (1727–1796)	17 December 1794	1 September 1796		Tory
		The Right Honourable John Pitt 2nd Earl of Chatham KG PC (1756–1835)	21 September 1796	30 July 1801	Lord Privy Seal [nb 7]	—
							Addington
		His Grace William Cavendish-Bentinck 3rd Duke of Portland KG PC FRS (1738–1809)	30 July 1801	14 January 1805		Tory
							Pitt II
		The Right Honourable Henry Addington 1st Viscount Sidmouth PC (1757–1844)	14 January 1805	10 July 1805		Tory
		The Right Honourable John Pratt 2nd Earl Camden KG PC (1759–1840)	10 July 1805	19 February 1806		Tory
		The Right Honourable William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam 4th Earl Fitzwilliam PC (1748–1833)	19 February 1806	8 October 1806		Whig	All the Talents (Whig–Tory)
		The Right Honourable Henry Addington 1st Viscount Sidmouth PC (1757–1844)	8 October 1806	26 March 1807		Tory
		The Right Honourable John Pratt 2nd Earl Camden KG PC (1759–1840)	26 March 1807	8 April 1812		Tory	Portland II
							Perceval
		The Right Honourable Henry Addington 1st Viscount Sidmouth PC (1757–1844)	8 April 1812	11 June 1812		Tory
		The Right Honourable Dudley Ryder 1st Earl of Harrowby PC (1762–1847)	11 June 1812	17 August 1827		Tory	Liverpool
								George IV (1820–1830)
							Canning (Canningite–Whig)
		His Grace William Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck 4th Duke of Portland PC DCL (1768–1854)	17 August 1827	28 January 1828		Tory	Goderich (Canningite–Whig)
		The Right Honourable Henry Bathurst 3rd Earl Bathurst KG PC (1762–1834)	28 January 1828	22 November 1830		Tory	Wellington–Peel
								William IV (1830–1837)
		The Most Honourable Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne PC FRS (1780–1863)	22 November 1830	15 November 1834		Whig	Grey
							Melbourne I
		The Right Honourable James St Clair-Erskine 2nd Earl of Rosslyn GCB PC (1762–1837)	15 December 1834	18 April 1835		Conservative	Peel I
		The Most Honourable Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne KG PC FRS (1780–1863)	18 April 1835	3 September 1841		Whig	Melbourne II
								Victoria (1837–1901)
		The Right Honourable James Stuart-Wortley 1st Baron Wharncliffe PC (1776–1845)	3 September 1841	19 December 1845		Conservative	Peel II
		His Grace Walter Montagu Douglas Scott 5th Duke of Buccleuch KG PC (1806–1884)	21 January 1846	6 July 1846		Conservative
		The Most Honourable Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne KG PC FRS (1780–1863)	6 July 1846	27 February 1852	Leader of the House of Lords	Whig	Russell I
		The Right Honourable William Lowther 2nd Earl of Lonsdale PC FRS (1787–1872)	27 February 1852	28 December 1852		Conservative	Who? Who?
		The Right Honourable Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville PC FRS (1815–1891)	28 December 1852	12 June 1854		Whig	Aberdeen (Peelite–Whig)
		The Right Honourable Lord John Russell FRS MP for City of London (1792–1878)	12 June 1854	8 February 1855	Leader of the House of Commons	Whig
		The Right Honourable Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville KG PC FRS (1815–1891)	8 February 1855	26 February 1858	Leader of the House of Lords	Whig	Palmerston I
		The Most Honourable James Gascoyne-Cecil 2nd Marquess of Salisbury KG PC (1791–1868)	26 February 1858	18 June 1859		Conservative	Derby–Disraeli II
		The Right Honourable Granville Leveson-Gower 2nd Earl Granville KG PC FRS (1815–1891)	18 June 1859	6 July 1866	Leader of the House of Lords	Liberal	Palmerston II
							Russell II
		His Grace Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos GCSI PC DL (1823–1889)	6 July 1866	8 March 1867		Conservative	Derby–Disraeli III
		His Grace John Spencer-Churchill 7th Duke of Marlborough KG PC (1822–1883)	8 March 1867	9 December 1868		Conservative
		The Most Honourable George Robinson 1st Marquess of Ripon [nb 8] KG VD PC (1827–1909)	9 December 1868	9 August 1873		Liberal	Gladstone I
		The Right Honourable Henry Bruce 1st Baron Aberdare PC (1815–1895)	9 August 1873	21 February 1874		Liberal
		His Grace Charles Gordon-Lennox 6th Duke of Richmond KG PC (1818–1903)	21 February 1874	28 April 1880	Leader of the House of Lords [nb 9]	Conservative	Disraeli II
		The Right Honourable John Spencer 5th Earl Spencer KG PC (1835–1910)	28 April 1880	19 March 1883	Lord Lieutenant of Ireland [nb 10]	Liberal	Gladstone II
		The Right Honourable Chichester Parkinson-Fortescue 1st Baron Carlingford KP PC (1823–1898)	19 March 1883	24 June 1885	Lord Privy Seal [nb 11]	Liberal
		The Right Honourable Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy 1st Viscount Cranbrook GCSI PC (1814–1906)	24 June 1885	6 February 1886	Secretary of State for War [nb 12]	Conservative	Salisbury I
		The Right Honourable John Spencer 5th Earl Spencer KG PC (1835–1910)	6 February 1886	3 August 1886		Liberal	Gladstone III
		The Right Honourable Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy 1st Viscount Cranbrook GCSI PC (1814–1906)	3 August 1886	18 August 1892		Conservative	Salisbury II
		The Right Honourable John Wodehouse 1st Earl of Kimberley KG PC DL (1826–1902)	18 August 1892	10 March 1894	Secretary of State for India	Liberal	Gladstone IV
		The Right Honourable Archibald Primrose 5th Earl of Rosebery KG PC FRS (1847–1929)	10 March 1894	29 June 1895	Prime Minister First Lord of the Treasury Leader of the House of Lords	Liberal	Rosebery
		His Grace Spencer Cavendish 8th Duke of Devonshire KG PC FRS (1833–1908)	29 June 1895	19 October 1903	President of the Board of Education [nb 13] Leader of the House of Lords [nb 14]	Liberal Unionist	Salisbury (III & IV) (Con.–Lib.U.)
								Edward VII (1901–1910)
						Balfour (Con.–Lib.U.)
		The Most Honourable Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart 6th Marquess of Londonderry KG GCVO CB PC JP DL (1852–1915)	19 October 1903	11 December 1905	President of the Board of Education		Conservative
		The Right Honourable Robert Crewe-Milnes 1st Earl of Crewe KG PC FSA (1858–1945)	11 December 1905	16 April 1908		Liberal	Campbell-Bannerman
		The Right Honourable Edward Marjoribanks 2nd Baron Tweedmouth KT PC (1849–1909)	16 April 1908	19 October 1908		Liberal	Asquith (I–III)
		The Right Honourable Henry Fowler 1st Viscount Wolverhampton GCSI PC (1830–1911)	19 October 1908	21 June 1910		Liberal
								George V (1910–1936)
		The Right Honourable William Lygon 7th Earl Beauchamp KCMG PC (1872–1938)	21 June 1910	7 November 1910		Liberal
		The Right Honourable John Morley 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn OM PC FRS (1838–1923)	7 November 1910	5 August 1914	Secretary of State for India [nb 15]	Liberal
		The Right Honourable William Lygon 7th Earl Beauchamp KG KCMG PC (1872–1938)	5 August 1914	25 May 1915		Liberal
		The Most Honourable Robert Crewe-Milnes 1st Marquess of Crewe KG PC FSA (1858–1945)	25 May 1915	10 December 1916	Leader of the House of Lords President of the Board of Trade [nb 16]	Liberal	Asquith Coalition (Lib.–Con.–Lab.)
		The Right Honourable George Curzon 1st Earl Curzon of Kedleston KG GCSI GCIE PC (1859–1925)	10 December 1916	23 October 1919	Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative	Lloyd George (I & II) (Lib.–Con.–Lab.)
		The Right Honourable Arthur Balfour 1st Earl of Balfour [nb 17] KG OM PC FRS DL (1848–1930)	23 October 1919	19 October 1922		Conservative
		The Most Honourable James Gascoyne-Cecil 4th Marquess of Salisbury KG GCVO CB PC DL (1861–1947)	24 October 1922	22 January 1924	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster [nb 18]	Conservative	Law
							Baldwin I
		The Right Honourable Charles Cripps 1st Baron Parmoor KCVO PC QC (1852–1941)	22 January 1924	3 November 1924		Labour	MacDonald I
		The Most Honourable George Curzon 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston KG GCSI GCIE PC (1859–1925)	6 November 1924	27 April 1925	Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative	Baldwin II
		The Right Honourable Arthur Balfour 1st Earl of Balfour KG OM PC FRS DL (1848–1930)	27 April 1925	4 June 1929		Conservative
		The Right Honourable Charles Cripps 1st Baron Parmoor KCVO PC QC (1852–1941)	7 June 1929	24 August 1931	Leader of the House of Lords	Labour	MacDonald II
		The Right Honourable Stanley Baldwin JP FRS MP for Bewdley (1867–1947)	25 August 1931	7 June 1935	Lord Privy Seal [nb 19]	Conservative	National I (N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N. –Lib.
							National II (N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N. –Lib. until 1932)
‍		The Right Honourable Ramsay MacDonald FRS MP for Combined Scottish Universities [nb 20] (1866–1937)	7 June 1935	28 May 1937		National Labour	National III (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.)
								Edward VIII (1936)
								George VI (1936–1952)
		The Right Honourable Edward Wood 3rd Viscount Halifax PC (1881–1959)	28 May 1937	9 March 1938	Leader of the House of Lords Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs [nb 21]	Conservative	National IV (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.)
		The Right Honourable Douglas Hogg 1st Viscount Hailsham PC KC (1872–1950)	9 March 1938	31 October 1938		Conservative
		The Right Honourable Walter Runciman 1st Viscount Runciman of Doxford PC (1870–1949)	31 October 1938	3 September 1939		National Liberal
		The Right Honourable James Stanhope 7th Earl Stanhope KG DSO MC PC (1880–1967)	3 September 1939	11 May 1940	Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative	Chamberlain War (Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.)
		The Right Honourable Neville Chamberlain FRS MP for Birmingham Edgbaston (1869–1940)	11 May 1940	3 October 1940		Conservative	Churchill War (All parties)
		The Right Honourable John Anderson GCB GCSI GCIE FRS MP for Combined Scottish Universities (1882–1958)	3 October 1940	24 September 1943		National
		The Right Honourable Clement Attlee CH FRS MP for Limehouse (1883–1967)	24 September 1943	23 May 1945	Deputy Prime Minister	Labour
		The Right Honourable Frederick Marquis 1st Baron Woolton CH PC (1883–1964)	25 May 1945	26 July 1945		National	Churchill Caretaker (Con.–Lib.N.)
		The Right Honourable Herbert Morrison MP for Lewisham South [nb 22] (1888–1965)	27 July 1945	9 March 1951	Leader of the House of Commons	Labour	Attlee (I & II)
		The Right Honourable Christopher Addison 1st Viscount Addison KG PC FRCS (1869–1951)	9 March 1951	26 October 1951	Leader of the House of Lords	Labour
		The Right Honourable Frederick Marquis 1st Baron Woolton CH PC (1883–1964)	28 October 1951	25 November 1952		Conservative	Churchill III
								Elizabeth II (1952–present)
		The Most Honourable Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 5th Marquess of Salisbury KG PC (1893–1972)	25 November 1952	29 March 1957	Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative
							Eden
							Macmillan (I & II)
		The Right Honourable Alec Douglas-Home 14th Earl of Home PC (1903–1995)	29 March 1957	17 September 1957	Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative
		The Right Honourable Quintin Hogg 2nd Viscount Hailsham PC QC (1907–2001)	17 September 1957	14 October 1959		Conservative
		The Right Honourable Alec Douglas-Home 14th Earl of Home PC (1903–1995)	14 October 1959	27 July 1960	Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative
		The Right Honourable Quintin Hogg QC MP for St Marylebone [nb 23] (1907–2001)	27 July 1960	16 October 1964	Leader of the House of Lords [nb 24] Minister for Science [nb 25] Secretary of State for Education and Science [nb 26]	Conservative
							Douglas-Home
		The Right Honourable Herbert Bowden CBE MP for Leicester South West (1905–1994)	16 October 1964	11 August 1966	Leader of the House of Commons	Labour	Wilson (I & II)
		The Right Honourable Richard Crossman CBE MP for Coventry East (1907–1974)	11 August 1966	18 October 1968	Leader of the House of Commons	Labour
		The Right Honourable Fred Peart MP for Workington (1914–1988)	18 October 1968	19 June 1970	Leader of the House of Commons	Labour
		The Right Honourable William Whitelaw MC DL MP for Penrith and The Border (1918–1999)	20 June 1970	7 April 1972	Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	Heath
		The Right Honourable Robert Carr MP for Mitcham (1916–2012)	7 April 1972	5 November 1972	Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative
		The Right Honourable Jim Prior MP for Lowestoft (1927–2016)	5 November 1972	4 March 1974	Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative
		The Right Honourable Edward Short MP for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (1912–2012)	5 March 1974	8 April 1976	Leader of the House of Commons	Labour	Wilson (III & IV)
		The Right Honourable Michael Foot MP for Ebbw Vale (1913–2010)	8 April 1976	4 May 1979	Leader of the House of Commons	Labour	Callaghan
		The Right Honourable Christopher Soames Baron Soames CMG GCVO CH CBE PC (1920–1987)	5 May 1979	14 September 1981	Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative	Thatcher I
		The Right Honourable Francis Pym MC MP for Cambridgeshire (1922–2008)	14 September 1981	7 April 1982	Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative
		The Right Honourable John Biffen MP for Oswestry (1930–2007)	7 April 1982	11 June 1983	Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative
		The Right Honourable William Whitelaw 1st Viscount Whitelaw CH MC DL DL (1918–1999)	11 June 1983	10 January 1988	Deputy Prime Minister Leader of the House of Lords	Conservative	Thatcher II
							Thatcher III
		The Right Honourable John Wakeham MP for South Colchester and Maldon (born 1932)	10 January 1988	24 July 1989	Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative
		The Right Honourable Sir Geoffrey Howe QC MP for East Surrey (1926–2015)	24 July 1989	1 November 1990	Deputy Prime Minister Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative
		The Right Honourable John MacGregor OBE MP for South Norfolk (born 1937)	2 November 1990	10 April 1992	Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative
							Major I
		The Right Honourable Tony Newton OBE MP for Braintree (1937–2012)	10 April 1992	2 May 1997	Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	Major II
		The Right Honourable Ann Taylor MP for Dewsbury (born 1947)	3 May 1997	27 July 1998	Leader of the House of Commons	Labour	Blair (I–III)
		The Right Honourable Margaret Beckett MP for Derby South (born 1943)	27 July 1998	8 June 2001	Leader of the House of Commons	Labour
		The Right Honourable Robin Cook MP for Livingston (1946–2005)	8 June 2001	18 March 2003	Leader of the House of Commons	Labour
		The Right Honourable John Reid MP for Hamilton North and Bellshill (born 1947)	4 April 2003	13 June 2003	Leader of the House of Commons	Labour
		The Right Honourable Gareth Williams Baron Williams of Mostyn PC QC (1941–2003)	13 June 2003	20 September 2003	Leader of the House of Lords	Labour
		The Right Honourable Valerie Amos Baroness Amos PC (born 1954)	6 October 2003	27 June 2007	Leader of the House of Lords	Labour
		The Right Honourable Catherine Ashton Baroness Ashton of Upholland PC (born 1956)	28 June 2007	3 October 2008	Leader of the House of Lords	Labour	Brown
		The Right Honourable Janet Royall Baroness Royall of Blaisdon PC (born 1955)	3 October 2008	5 June 2009	Leader of the House of Lords	Labour
		The Right Honourable Peter Mandelson Baron Mandelson PC (born 1953)	5 June 2009	11 May 2010	First Secretary of State Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills	Labour
		The Right Honourable Nick Clegg MP for Sheffield Hallam (born 1967)	11 May 2010	8 May 2015	Deputy Prime Minister [nb 27]	Liberal Democrat	Cameron–Clegg (Con.–Lib.Dem.)
		The Right Honourable Chris Grayling CBE MP for Epsom and Ewell (born 1962)	9 May 2015	14 July 2016	Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	Cameron II
		The Right Honourable David Lidington MP for Aylesbury (born 1956)	14 July 2016	11 June 2017	Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	May I
		The Right Honourable Andrea Leadsom MP for South Northamptonshire (born 1963)	11 June 2017	Incumbent	Leader of the House of Commons	Conservative	May II

Notes