Leaders of political parties in the United Kingdom

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This article lists the Leaders of political parties in the United Kingdom to provide insight into the politics of the United Kingdom. It contains details including which party the leader belongs to, the leader's seat, and which form of leadership that person holds.

Leaders in the House of Commons[]

National party leaders are usually members of parliament. Some minor parties (including Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish parties) designate a separate leader in the House of Commons, or their leader is absent from the House of Commons and holds membership of a devolved body.

Boris Johnson official portrait.jpg Official portrait of Keir Starmer crop 2.jpg
Boris Johnson
Leader of the Conservative Party 		Keir Starmer
Leader of the Labour Party
Leader Party Leader's seat Number of seats Leader since
Boris Johnson Conservative Party Uxbridge and South Ruislip 363[1] 23 July 2019
Keir Starmer Labour Party Holborn and St Pancras 199[1] 4 April 2020
Ian Blackford[a] Scottish National Party Ross, Skye, and Lochaber 45[1] 14 June 2017[2]
Ed Davey Liberal Democrats Kingston and Surbiton 12[1] 27 August 2020
Jeffrey Donaldson Democratic Unionist Party Lagan Valley 8 17 December 2019[3]
N/A[c] Sinn Féin N/A 7 [b][1]
Liz Saville Roberts[a] Plaid Cymru Dwyfor Meirionnydd 3[1] 14 June 2017[4]
Caroline Lucas[d] Green Party of England and Wales Brighton Pavilion 1[1] 6 May 2010[5]
^a Leads the party in the House of Commons; party leader is a member of another body.
^c In accordance with party policy, no elected Sinn Féin members of parliament have ever sat in the House of Commons.
^d Caroline Lucas has been the Green Party of England and Wales' only MP since taking her seat in May 2010. At the time, and until 3 September 2012, she was also the leader of the party. From 2 September 2016 to 4 September 2018, Lucas was co-leader of the party alongside Jonathan Bartley. She has remained leader in the House of Commons due to being the party's only MP, unrelated to her status as (co-)leader, whilst Bartley currently co-leads the party with Siân Berry.

Leaders in the House of Lords[]

Leader Party Members Leader since
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park[6] Conservative Party 245[7] 14 July 2016
Baroness Smith of Basildon[8] Labour Party 178[7] 27 May 2015
Lord Newby[9] Liberal Democrats 90[7] 13 September 2016

Leaders in the Scottish Parliament[]

Leader Party Leader's seat Number
of seats 		Leader since
Nicola Sturgeon Scottish National Party Glasgow Southside 64 14 November 2014
Douglas Ross Scottish Conservatives Moray 31 5 August 2020
Anas Sarwar Scottish Labour Glasgow 22 27 February 2021
Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater Scottish Greens Glasgow (Harvie)
Lothian (Slater) 		7 22 September 2008 (Harvie)
1 August 2019 (Slater)
Alex Cole-Hamilton Scottish Liberal Democrats Edinburgh Western 4 20 August 2021

Leaders in the Senedd[]

Leader Party Leader's seat Number
of seats 		Leader since
Mark Drakeford Welsh Labour Cardiff West 30 6 December 2018
Andrew RT Davies Welsh Conservatives South Wales Central 16 24 January 2021
Adam Price Plaid Cymru – Party of Wales Carmarthen East and Dinefwr 13 28 September 2018
Jane Dodds Welsh Liberal Democrats Mid and West Wales 1 3 November 2017

Leaders in the Northern Ireland Assembly[]

Leader Party Leader's seat Number
of seats 		Leader since
N/A Democratic Unionist Party 28
Michelle O'Neill Sinn Féin Mid Ulster 27 23 January 2017
N/A Social Democratic and Labour Party 12
Doug Beattie Ulster Unionist Party Upper Bann 10 17 May 2021
Naomi Long Alliance Party of Northern Ireland Belfast East 8 October 2016
Clare Bailey Green Party Northern Ireland Belfast South 2 October 2018
Jim Allister Traditional Unionist Voice North Antrim 1 2007

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "State of the parties - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  2. ^ "Ian Blackford MP elected SNP Westminster leader". BBC News. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Sir Jeffrey Donaldson to lead DUP at Westminster". BBC News. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Liz Saville Roberts new Plaid Cymru leader in Commons". BBC News. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  5. ^ "Caroline Lucas elected first Green MP". Channel 4 News. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  6. ^ Sparrow, Andrew; Walker, Peter; Rawlinson, Kevin; Stewart, Heather; Harvey, Fiona; Sparrow, Andrew (14 July 2016). "Theresa May brings Andrea Leadsom into government as environment secretary - as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  7. ^ a b c "Lords membership - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  8. ^ "Parliamentary career for Baroness Smith of Basildon - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Dick Newby is new Lib Dem Lords leader". Lib Dem Voice.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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