Leader of the Conservative Party (UK)

The leader of the Conservative Party (officially the leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the highest position within the United Kingdom's Conservative Party. The current holder of the position is Rishi Sunak, who was elected to the position on 24 October 2022, following his unopposed victory in the party's leadership election.[1]

Leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party
Logo for the Conservative Party
Incumbent
Rishi Sunak
since 24 October 2022
TypeParty leader
StatusChief executive officer
Inaugural holderRobert Peel (de facto)
Bonar Law (de jure)
Formation1834 (de facto)
1922 (de jure)

From the party's formation in 1834 until 1922, the leader of the Conservative Party was not a formal position; instead, there was a party leader in each chamber of Parliament, and they were considered equal unless one took precedence over the other, such as when one was serving as prime minister. Following the passage of the Parliament Act 1911, the reduction of power in the House of Lords suggested that the Conservative leader in the House of Commons would be preeminent, but this fact was not formalised until 1922.

Since 1922, a leader of the Conservative Party has been formally elected, even when the party is in opposition. Originally, the party leader was appointed opaquely by other high-ranking members of the party. This process was gradually democratised in the late 20th century; in 1965, the appointment was linked to a vote by party MPs, and in 1998, the process was opened to all party members to decide between the last two candidates selected by parliamentarians.[2][3] Under party rules, members can vote in the Conservative leadership even if they are not British citizens, do not live in the UK and do not have the right to vote in a UK general election.[4][5]

When the Conservative Party is in government, as it currently is, the leader would usually become the prime minister of the United Kingdom, first lord of the Treasury and minister for the civil service, as well as appointing the cabinet. Concordantly, when the Party is in opposition, the leader of the Conservative Party usually acts (as the second largest party) as the Leader of the Opposition, and chairs the shadow cabinet. As of October 2022, three of the party's leaders have been women: Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May, and Liz Truss, all of whom have served as prime minister. Rishi Sunak is the first British Asian party leader and prime minister.[6]

Selection process edit

Under the party's constitution,[2] leaders are elected by serving MPs and party members whose membership started at least three months prior to the closing of a ballot. Candidates must be serving MPs. A former leader who has resigned may not stand in the contest triggered by their departure.

Those who wish to stand must notify the 1922 Committee, a body representing backbench Conservative Party MPs, which has broad powers to set the rules of the leadership race (e.g. the minimum number of nominees candidates need).

The party's practice is for MPs to eliminate candidates through multiple rounds of voting until two remain, from whom the winner is then chosen by a ballot of party members.

The 1922 Committee's chairman acts as the returning officer for all stages of the leadership election process.

Overall leaders of the party (1834–1922) edit

Overall leader
(birth–death)
Portrait Constituency or title Took office Left office Government
Party Prime Minister Term
Sir Robert Peel
(1788–1850)
  Tamworth 18 December 1834[a] 29 June 1846 Con himself 1834–35
Whig Melbourne 1835–41
Con himself 1841–46
Edward Smith-Stanley
(1799–1869)
  Baron Stanley
(1846–1851)
29 June 1846 27 February 1868 Whig Russell 1846–52
14th Earl of Derby
(1851–1868)
Con himself 1852
Peel Aberdeen 1852–55
Whig Palmerston 1855–58
Con himself 1858–59
Lib Palmerston 1859–65
Lib Russell 1865–66
Con himself 1866–68
Benjamin Disraeli
(1804–1881)
  Buckinghamshire
(1868–1876)
27 February 1868 19 April 1881[b] Con himself 1868
Lib Gladstone 1868–74
Con himself 1874–80
1st Earl of Beaconsfield
(1876–1881)
Lib Gladstone 1880–85
vacant
Leader in the House of Lords
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Leader in the House of Commons
Stafford Northcote
19 April 1881 23 June 1885
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil
(1830–1903)
  3rd Marquess of Salisbury 23 June 1885 11 July 1902 Con himself 1885–86
Lib Gladstone 1886
Con himself 1886–92
Lib Gladstone 1892–94
Lib Rosebery 1894–95
Con himself 1895–1902
Arthur Balfour
(1848–1930)
  Manchester East
(1902–1906)
11 July 1902 13 November 1911 Con himself 1902–05
City of London
(1906–1911)
Lib C.-Bannerman 1905–08
Lib Asquith 1908–16
vacant
Leader in the House of Lords
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
Leader in the House of Commons
Bonar Law
13 November 1911 10 December 1916[c]
Lib Lloyd George 1916–22
Bonar Law
(1858–1923)
  Bootle
(1916–1918)
10 December 1916[c] 21 March 1921
Glasgow Central
(1918–1921)
vacant
Leader in the House of Lords
George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
Leader in the House of Commons
Austen Chamberlain
21 March 1921 23 October 1922 [c]

Leaders of the party (1922–present) edit

Leader
(birth–death)
Portrait Constituency or title Took office Left office Government
Party Prime Minister Term
Bonar Law
(1858–1923)
  Glasgow Central 23 October 1922 28 May 1923 Con himself 1922–23
Stanley Baldwin
(1867–1947)
  Bewdley 28 May 1923
(Party meeting)
31 May 1937 Con himself 1923–24
Lab MacDonald 1924
Con himself 1924–29
Lab MacDonald 1929–35
NLab
Con himself 1935–37
Neville Chamberlain
(1869–1940)
  Birmingham Edgbaston 31 May 1937
(Party meeting)
9 October 1940 Con himself 1937–40
Churchill 1940
Winston Churchill
(1874–1965)
  Epping
(1940–1945)
9 October 1940
(Party meeting)
21 April 1955 Con himself 1940–45
Woodford
(1945–1955)
Lab Attlee 1945–51
Con himself 1951–55
Anthony Eden
(1897–1977)
  Warwick and Leamington 21 April 1955
(Party meeting)
22 January 1957 Con himself 1955–57
Harold Macmillan
(1894–1986)
  Bromley 22 January 1957
(Party meeting)
11 November 1963 Con himself 1957–63
Alec Douglas-Home
(1903–1995)
  Earl of Home
(1963)
11 November 1963
(Party meeting)
27 July 1965 Con himself 1963–64
Kinross and Western Perthshire
(1963–1965)
Lab Wilson 1964–70
Edward Heath
(1916–2005)
  Bexley
(1965–1974)
27 July 1965 11 February 1975
Con himself 1970–74
Sidcup
(1974–1975)
Lab Wilson 1974–76
Margaret Thatcher
(1925–2013)
  Finchley 11 February 1975 27 November 1990
Lab Callaghan 1976–79
Con herself 1979–90
John Major
(b. 1943)
  Huntingdon 27 November 1990 19 June 1997
Con himself 1990–97
Lab Blair 1997–2007
William Hague
(b. 1961)
  Richmond (Yorks) 19 June 1997 13 September 2001
Iain Duncan Smith
(b. 1954)
  Chingford and Woodford Green 13 September 2001 6 November 2003
Michael Howard
(b. 1941)
  Folkestone and Hythe 6 November 2003 7 October 2005[7]
David Cameron
(b. 1966)
  Witney 6 December 2005 11 July 2016
Lab Brown 2007–10
Coal himself 2010–15
Con 2015–16
Theresa May
(b. 1956)
  Maidenhead 11 July 2016 7 June 2019 Con herself 2016–19
7 June 2019
(Acting)
23 July 2019
Boris Johnson
(b. 1964)
  Uxbridge and South Ruislip 23 July 2019 5 September 2022 Con himself 2019–22
Liz Truss
(b. 1975)
  South West Norfolk 5 September 2022 24 October 2022 Con herself 2022
Rishi Sunak
(b. 1980)
  Richmond (Yorks) 24 October 2022 Incumbent Con himself 2022–present

Timeline edit

Rishi SunakLiz TrussBoris JohnsonTheresa MayDavid CameronMichael HowardIain Duncan SmithWilliam HagueJohn MajorMargaret ThatcherEdward HeathAlec Douglas-HomeHarold MacmillanAnthony EdenWinston ChurchillNeville ChamberlainStanley BaldwinBonar LawArthur BalfourRobert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of SalisburyBenjamin DisraeliEdward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of DerbyRobert Peel

Houses of Lords and Commons leaders edit

Leaders in the House of Lords (1834–present) edit

Those asterisked were considered the overall leader of the party.

Portrait Leader Term of office LOTO Other ministerial offices held as Leader of the House of Lords
  The Duke of Richmond and Lennox 26 February
1870
21 August
1876
1870–1874 Lord President of the Council (21 February 1874 – 28 April 1880)
  The Earl of Beaconsfield* 21 August
1876
19 April
1881
1880–1881 Prime Minister (20 February 1874 – 21 April 1880)
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (12 August 1876 – 4 February 1878)
  The Marquess of Salisbury* 9 May
1881
12 July
1902
1881–1885
1886
1892–1895
Prime Minister (23 June 1885 – 28 January 1886)
Foreign Secretary (24 June 1885 – 6 February 1886)
Prime Minister (25 July 1886 – 11 August 1892)
Foreign Secretary (14 January 1887 – 11 August 1892)
Prime Minister (25 June 1895 – 11 July 1902)
Foreign Secretary (29 June 1895 – 12 November 1900)
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (12 November 1900 – 11 July 1902)
  The Duke of Devonshire 12 July
1902
10 October
1903
Lord President of the Council (29 June 1895 – 19 October 1903)
President of the Board of Education (3 March 1900 – 8 August 1902)
  The Marquess of Lansdowne 10 October
1903
10 December
1916
1905–1915 Foreign Secretary (12 November 1900 – 4 December 1905)
Minister without Portfolio (25 May 1915 – 10 December 1916)
  The Earl Curzon of Kedleston
(1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston from 1921)
10 December
1916
20 March
1925
1924 President of the Air Board (15 May 1916 – 3 January 1917)
Lord President of the Council (10 December 1916 – 23 October 1919)
Foreign Secretary (23 October 1919 – 22 January 1924)
Lord President of the Council (3 November 1924 – 20 March 1925)
  The Marquess of Salisbury 27 April
1925
17 June
1931
1929–1931 Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (6 November 1924 – 4 June 1929)
  The Viscount Hailsham 17 June
1931
7 June
1935
1931 War Secretary (5 November 1931 – 7 June 1935)
  The Marquess of Londonderry 7 June
1935
22 November
1935
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
  The Viscount Halifax 22 November
1935
21 February
1938
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (22 November 1935 – 28 May 1937)
Lord President of the Council (22 May 1937 – 9 March 1938)
  The Earl Stanhope 21 February
1938
14 May
1940
President of the Board of Education (28 May 1937 – 27 October 1938)
First Lord of the Admiralty (27 October 1938 – 3 September 1939)
Lord President of the Council (3 September 1939 – 10 May 1940)
  The Viscount Caldecot 14 May
1940
3 October
1940
Dominions Secretary
  The Viscount Halifax 3 October
1940
22 December
1940
Foreign Secretary (21 February 1938 – 22 December 1940)
  The Lord Lloyd 22 December
1940
8 February
1941
Colonial Secretary (12 May 1940 – 4 February 1941)
  The Lord Moyne 8 February
1941
22 February
1942
Colonial Secretary
  Viscount Cranborne
(5th Marquess of Salisbury from 1947)
21 February
1942
29 March
1957
1945–1951 Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (21 February 1942 – 24 September 1943)
Colonial Secretary (21 February 1942 – 22 November 1942)
Dominions Secretary (24 September 1943 – 26 July 1945)
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (28 October 1951 – 7 May 1952)
Commonwealth Relations Secretary (12 March 1952 – 24 November 1952)
Lord President of the Council (25 November 1952 – 29 March 1957)
  The Earl of Home 29 March
1957
27 July
1960
Commonwealth Relations Secretary (7 April 1955 – 27 July 1960)
Lord President of the Council (until 17 September 1957, from 14 October 1959)
  The Viscount Hailsham 27 July
1960
20 October
1963
Lord President of the Council
– Minister for Science (14 October 1959 – 20 October 1963)
  The Lord Carrington 20 October
1963
20 June
1970
1964–1970 Minister without Portfolio (20 October 1963 – 16 October 1964)
  The Earl Jellicoe 20 June
1970
23 May
1973
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
The Lord Windlesham 23 May
1973
4 March
1974
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
  The Lord Carrington 4 March
1974
4 May
1979
1974–1979
  The Lord Soames 5 May
1979
14 September
1981
Lord President of the Council
The Baroness Young 14 September
1981
11 June
1983
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (14 September 1981 – 7 April 1982)
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (7 April 1982 – 11 June 1983)
The Viscount Whitelaw 11 June
1983
10 January
1988
Lord President of the Council
The Lord Belstead 10 January
1988
28 November
1990
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
The Lord Waddington 28 November
1990
11 April
1992
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
  The Lord Wakeham 11 April
1992
20 July
1994
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
  Viscount Cranborne
(7th Marquess of Salisbury from 2003)
20 July
1994
3 December
1998
1997–1998 Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (20 July 1994 – 2 May 1997)
  The Lord Strathclyde 3 December
1998
7 January
2013
1998–2010 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (12 May 2010 – 7 January 2013)
  The Lord Hill of Oareford 7 January
2013
15 July
2014
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
  The Baroness Stowell of Beeston 15 July
2014
14 July
2016
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
  The Baroness Evans of Bowes Park 14 July
2016
6 September
2022
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
  The Lord True 6 September
2022
Incumbent Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal

Leaders in the House of Commons (1834–1922) edit

Those asterisked were considered the overall leader of the party.

Elections of Conservative leaders by party meeting edit

House of Commons edit

# Date of meeting Name of leader elected Category attending meeting Location of meeting Chair Proposer Seconder Refs
1 9 February 1848 The Marquess of Granby Protectionist commoners Residence of George Bankes [9]
[10]
2 1 February 1849 Benjamin Disraeli Residence of the Lord Stanley of Bickerstaffe [11]
The Marquess of Granby
John Charles Herries
3 13 November 1911 Bonar Law Unionist Members of Parliament Carlton Club, Pall Mall Henry Chaplin, senior Privy Councillor on the Unionist benches (appointed 1885) Walter Long Austen Chamberlain [12]
4 21 March 1921 Austen Chamberlain Unionist Members of Parliament Carlton Club, Pall Mall Lord Edmund Talbot, Conservative Chief Whip Captain Ernest George Pretyman Sir Edward Coates: "a back bencher and one of the rank and file" [13]
5 23 October 1922 Bonar Law Unionist peers, MPs, and candidates Hotel Cecil, The Strand The Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, Leader of the House of Lords The Marquess Curzon of Kedleston Stanley Baldwin: "chosen ... to be the spokesman for the House of Commons" [14]
6 28 May 1923 Stanley Baldwin "Conservative Party" Hotel Cecil, The Strand The Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, Leader of the House of Lords The Earl of Derby Captain Ernest George Pretyman: "a member of the House of Commons who [had] been a colleague in that House of Mr Bonar Law for something over 25 years" [15]
7 31 May 1937 Neville Chamberlain "peers and MPs who receive the Conservative whip, ... prospective candidates who have been adopted by constituency associations, and ... members of the executive committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist associations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland." Caxton Hall, Caxton Street The Viscount Halifax, Leader of the House of Lords The Earl of Derby Winston Churchill (Privy Councillor since 1907) [16]
8 9 October 1940 Winston Churchill "Peers and MPs who receive the Conservative whip, ... prospective candidates who have been adopted by constituency associations, and ... members of the Executive Committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland." London The Viscount Halifax, Leader of the House of Lords The Viscount Halifax Sir George Courthope: "one of the senior back benchers of the party" [17]
9 21 April 1955 Sir Anthony Eden "Conservative and National Liberal members of the two Houses of Parliament, Conservative and National Liberal parliamentary candidates and members of the executive committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations" Church House, Dean's Yard, Westminster The Marquess of Salisbury, Leader of the House of Lords The Marquess of Salisbury Rab Butler (Privy Councillor since 1939) [18]
10 22 January 1957 Harold Macmillan "Conservative and Unionist members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, ... prospective parliamentary candidates and ... members of the executive committee of the National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations. National Liberal members of both Houses of Parliament and adopted prospective candidates were also present" The Marquess of Salisbury, Leader of the House of Lords The Marquess of Salisbury Rab Butler (Privy Councillor since 1939) [19]
11 11 November 1963 Sir Alec Douglas-Home "members of both Houses of Parliament taking the Conservative whip, prospective candidates who [had] been adopted by constituency associations, members of the executive of the mass party, and National Liberal MPs and adopted prospective candidates" Church House, Dean's Yard, Westminster The Lord Carrington, Leader of the House of Lords The Lord Carrington Geoffrey Lloyd: "the senior Conservative Privy Councillor in the Commons next in line to Sir Winston Churchill" (appointed 1943) [20]

House of Lords edit

# Date of meeting Name of leader elected Category attending meeting Location of meeting Chair Proposer Seconder Notes
1 9 March 1846 The Lord Stanley of Bickerstaffe Peers Residence of the Duke of Richmond The Earl of Eglinton [21]
2 15 February 1869 The Earl Cairns 23 peers The Earl of Malmesbury The Earl of Malmesbury [22]
3 26 February 1870 The Duke of Richmond Peers Carlton Club The Marquess of Salisbury The Earl of Derby [23]
4 9 May 1881 The Marquess of Salisbury Conservative members of the House of Lords Residence of the Marquess of Abergavenny The Marquess of Abergavenny The Duke of Richmond The Earl Cairns [24]

Deputy Leaders of the Conservative Party edit

Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party is sometimes an official title of a senior Conservative politician of the United Kingdom.

Some are given this title officially by the party, such as Peter Lilley,[25] while others are given the title as an unofficial description by the media, such as William Hague.[26] The first politician to hold the office as such was Reginald Maudling, appointed by Edward Heath in 1965.[27] Distinct from being "second-in-command", there is formally no current position of deputy party leader in the party's hierarchy.[28]

The term has sometimes been mistakenly used to refer to the party's deputy chair.[29]

List of deputy leaders edit

Name Term began Term ended Concurrent office(s) Leader
Reginald Maudling 4 August 1965[30] 18 July 1972[31] Deputy Leader of the Opposition (1965–1970)[32]
Shadow Foreign Secretary (1965)
Shadow Defence Secretary (1968–1969)
Home Secretary (1970–1972)
Edward Heath
Not in use from 1972 to 1975
The Viscount Whitelaw 12 February 1975[33] 7 August 1991[34] Deputy Leader of the Opposition (1975–1979)[35]
Shadow Home Secretary (1976–1979)
Home Secretary (1979–1983)
Leader of the House of Lords (1983–1988)[36]
Margaret Thatcher
John Major
Not in use from 1991 to 1998
Peter Lilley 2 June 1998[37] 15 June 1999[37] Deputy Leader of the Opposition (1998–1999)[38] William Hague
Not in use from 1999 to 2001
Michael Ancram 18 September 2001[39] 6 December 2005[39] Deputy Leader of the Opposition (2001–2005)[40]
Shadow Foreign Secretary (2001–2005)[39]
Shadow Defence Secretary (2005)[39]
Iain Duncan Smith
Michael Howard
Not in use since 2005

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b Date of the Tamworth Manifesto.
  2. ^ Died in office
  3. ^ a b c Date on which Law became Leader of the House of Commons.
  4. ^ Granby resigned "either in the end of December [1851] or on one of the first days of January [1852]".[8]
  5. ^ Date on which Balfour failed to be elected in Manchester East.

References edit

  1. ^ "Rishi Sunak, UK's next PM, faces major economic problems". AP NEWS. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Constitution of the Conservative Party" (PDF). January 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 September 2021.
  3. ^ Alexandre-Collier, Agnès (1 November 2018). "Brexit reveals the fractures of the British Conservatives". Le Monde diplomatique (in French). Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  4. ^ Nevett, Joshua (12 August 2022). "Tory leadership election: Meet the overseas voters picking the next PM". BBC News.
  5. ^ Smith, Hannah (10 August 2022). "Who can vote in the Conservative leadership contest?".
  6. ^ "Rishi Sunak: A quick guide to the UK's new prime minister". BBC News. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  7. ^ Johnston, Neil (5 September 2022). "Leadership elections: Conservative Party" (PDF). House of Commons Library (UK). Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  8. ^ Monypenny, William Flavelle; Buckle, George Earle (1914). The life of Benjamin Disraeli, earl of Beaconsfield, Volume III. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 312–3.
  9. ^ "A Cabinet Council was held at half-past 2 o'clock." Times [London, England] 10 Feb. 1848: 4. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 25 July 2014.
  10. ^ Malmesbury, The Right Hon. [James Howard Harris,] the [3rd] Earl of (1885). Memoirs of an Ex-Minister. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. pp. 151–2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Monypenny, William Flavelle; Buckle, George Earle (1914). The life of Benjamin Disraeli, earl of Beaconsfield, Volume III. New York: The Macmillan Company. pp. 138–9.
  12. ^ "The Unionist Leadership." Times [London, England] 14 Nov. 1911: 9. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  13. ^ "Unionist M.P.s' New Leader." Times [London, England] 22 Mar. 1921: 12. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  14. ^ "Unionists Elect Mr. Bonar Law." Times [London, England] 24 Oct. 1922: 18. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 25 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Conservative Leader." Times [London, England] 29 May 1923: 19. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  16. ^ "The New Leader And The Old." Times [London, England] 1 June 1937: 17+. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  17. ^ "Conservative Leader." Times [London, England] 10 Oct. 1940: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  18. ^ Our Political Correspondent. "Sir A. Eden as Leader." Times [London, England] 22 Apr. 1955: 12. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 19 July 2014.
  19. ^ "Mr. Macmillan states Party philosophy". The Times. London. 23 January 1957.
  20. ^ Our Political Correspondent. (12 November 1963). "Prime Minister is Ageless". The Times. London. p. 12.
  21. ^ Malmesbury, The Right Hon. [James Howard Harris,] the [3rd] Earl of (1885). Memoirs of an Ex-Minister. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. p. 124.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ Malmesbury, The Right Hon. [James Howard Harris,] the [3rd] Earl of (1885). Memoirs of an Ex-Minister. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. p. 645.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ "We are enabled to state that, in compliance with." Times [London, England] 28 Feb. 1870: 9. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 26 July 2014.
  24. ^ "Meeting Of The Conservative Peers." Times [London, England] 10 May 1881: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 25 July 2014.
  25. ^ "Peter Lilley, Member of Parliament for Hitchin and Harpenden". The Conservative Party. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016. He stood for the Conservative Leadership in 1997; becoming Shadow Chancellor then Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party Responsible for Policy Renewal until 2000.
  26. ^ Andrew Porter (14 January 2009). "David Cameron anoints William Hague as his deputy". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  27. ^ Blake, Robert (14 August 1965). "A Watershed in English Politics". The Illustrated London News. Vol. 247. p. 20. The most striking feature, however, of Mr. Heath's reconstruction is the appointment of a Deputy Leader. This is the first time that such a position has been created in the Conservative hierarchy [...]
  28. ^ Guardian editorial (17 June 2015). "The Guardian view on party deputy leaders: a job about nothing". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  29. ^ Ann Gripper (11 May 2015). "David Cameron's 2015 cabinet: Meet the ministers appointed in all Conservative post-election reshuffle". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 17 July 2016. Robert Halfon will become deputy leader of the Conservative Party.
  30. ^ Ball, Stuart (1998). The Conservative Party Since 1945. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 187.
  31. ^ "Heath Faces Cabinet Reshuffle". 24 July 1972. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  32. ^ Wood, J. R. T. (24 December 1966). A Matter of Weeks Rather Than Months: The Impasse between Harold Wilson and Ian Smith. ISBN 9781466934092. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  33. ^ Report on World Affairs. Vol. 56. Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. 1975. p. 71.
  34. ^ "Willie Whitelaw dies aged 81". The Guardian. Press Association. 1 July 1991. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  35. ^ Young, Hugo (18 November 2008). The Hugo Young Papers: Thirty Years of British Politics – Off the Record. ISBN 9780141903606. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  36. ^ "Thatcher's No. 2 Cabinet minister resigns". Upi.com. 10 January 1988. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  37. ^ a b "Parliamentary career for Lord Lilley". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  38. ^ Mark D'Arcy. "Democracy Live – Peter Lilley MP". BBC News. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  39. ^ a b c d "Parliamentary career for The Marquess of Lothian". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  40. ^ "Peerage for the Rt Hon Michael Ancram". Gov.uk. 21 October 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2019.