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Chair of the Labour Party (UK)
Chair of the Labour Party in the UK
Chair of the Labour Party in the UK
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| post | Chair of the Labour Party |
| image | Official portrait of Anna Turley MP crop 2, 2024.jpg |
| incumbent | Anna Turley |
| incumbentsince | 6 September 2025 |
| style | Party Chair (informal) |
| appointer | Leader of the Labour Party |
| formation | 9 June 2001 |
| first | Charles Clarke |
The Chair of the Labour Party is a position in the Labour Party of the United Kingdom. The Chair is responsible for administration of the party and overseeing general election campaigns, and is typically held concurrently with another position.
History
Established by Tony Blair in the aftermath of the 2001 general election, the chair of the Labour Party was a Cabinet position held alongside the minister without portfolio post during his tenure as prime minister. The position is not to be confused with that of Chair of the Labour National Executive Committee, described as 'chair of the party' in the Labour Party Constitution. The role had a larger portfolio for organising election campaigning under Jeremy Corbyn, with Ian Lavery working alongside the co-national campaign coordinator, Andrew Gwynne.
From June 2007 to June 2017 and again from April 2020 to May 2021, the seat was held concurrently by the party's deputy leader. The position was held by Angela Rayner, who was appointed by Sir Keir Starmer following her election as deputy leader, until 2021 when she was sacked after Labour performed poorly at the local elections and the Hartlepool by-election.
List of chairs
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Length of Term | Concurrent office(s) | Party Leader | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Clarke | [[File:Charles Clarke - 140861407 (cropped).jpg | 79x79px]] | 9 June 2001 | 24 October 2002 | Minister without Portfolio | |
| John Reid | [[File:ReidTaormina crop.jpg | 80x80px]] | 24 October 2002 | 4 April 2003 | ||
| Ian McCartney | [[File:Minister of State for Trade, UK, Mr. Ian McCartney, in New Delhi on November 27, 2006 (cropped).jpg | 79x79px]] | 4 April 2003 | 5 May 2006 | ||
| Hazel Blears | [[File:Official photograph of Hazel Blears MP (cropped).jpg | 78x78px]] | 5 May 2006 | 24 June 2007 | ||
| Harriet Harman | [[File:Harriet Harman MP at Salford International Media Festival 2014 (cropped).jpg | 80x80px]] | 24 June 2007 | 12 September 2015 | **** | Deputy Leader of the Labour Party |
| Leader of the House of Commons (2007–10 | ||||||
| Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal (2007–10) | ||||||
| Minister for Women and Equality (2007–10) | ||||||
| Leader of the Opposition (2010) | Herself (acting) | |||||
| Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2010–15) | ||||||
| Shadow Secretary of State for International Development (2010–11) | ||||||
| Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (2011–15) | Ed Miliband | |||||
| Leader of the Opposition (2015) | Herself (acting) | |||||
| Tom Watson | [[File:Official portrait of Tom Watson crop 2.jpg | 80x80px]] | 12 September 2015 | 14 June 2017 | Deputy Leader of the Labour Party | |
| Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office | ||||||
| Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport | ||||||
| Ian Lavery | [[File:Official portrait of Ian Lavery MP crop 2.jpg | 80x80px]] | 14 June 2017 | 5 April 2020 | Shadow Minister without Portfolio | |
| National Campaign Coordinator | ||||||
| Angela Rayner | [[File:Official portrait of Angela Rayner MP crop 2.jpg | 80x80px]] | 5 April 2020 | 8 May 2021 | Deputy Leader of the Labour Party | |
| Anneliese Dodds | [[File:Official portrait of Anneliese Dodds MP crop 2.jpg | 80x80px]] | 9 May 2021 | 6 July 2024 | Chair of the Labour Policy Review | |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities | ||||||
| Ellie Reeves | [[File:Official portrait of Ellie Reeves MP crop 2, 2023.jpg | 80x80px]] | 6 July 2024 | 6 September 2025 | Minister without Portfolio | |
| Anna Turley | [[File:Official portrait of Anna Turley MP crop 2, 2024.jpg | 80x80px]] | 6 September | Incumbent |
Timeline
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DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/2000 till:31/12/ TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
Colors = id:Commons value:rgb(0,0.376,0.188) legend: House_of_Commons id:Lords value:rgb(0.635,0.027,0.059) legend: House_of_Lords id:None value:rgb(0.6,0.6,0.6) legend: Non-parliamentarian id:liteline value:gray(0.9) id:line value:rgb(0.7,0.7,0.7)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:2000 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:liteline unit:year increment:1 start:2000
Define $today =
TextData = pos:(20,55) textcolor:black fontsize:M text:"Member of:"
BarData = bar:Clarke bar:Reid bar:McCartney bar:Blears bar:Harman bar:Watson bar:Lavery bar:Rayner bar:Dodds bar:Reeves bar:Turley
PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till
bar:Clarke from: 09/06/2001 till: 24/10/2002 color:Commons text:"Charles Clarke" bar:Reid from: 24/10/2002 till: 04/04/2003 color:Commons text:"John Reid" bar:McCartney from: 04/04/2003 till: 05/05/2006 color:Commons text:"Ian McCartney" bar:Blears from: 05/05/2006 till: 24/06/2007 color:Commons text:"Hazel Blears" bar:Harman from: 24/06/2007 till: 12/09/2015 color:Commons text:"Harriet Harman" bar:Watson from: 12/09/2015 till: 14/06/2017 color:Commons text:"Tom Watson" bar:Lavery from: 14/06/2017 till: 05/04/2020 color:Commons text:"Ian Lavery" bar:Rayner from: 05/04/2020 till: 08/05/2021 color:Commons text:"Angela Rayner" bar:Dodds from: 09/05/2021 till: 05/07/2024 color:Commons text:"Anneliese Dodds" bar:Reeves from: 06/07/2024 till: 06/09/2025 color:Commons text:"Ellie Reeves" bar:Turley from: 06/09/2025 till: $today color:Commons text:"Anna Turley"
References
References
- Hattersley, Roy. (26 July 2001). "Blair mistook his Clarke for a chair". The Guardian.
- (15 June 2017). "The Latest from Labour Shadow Cabinet Appointments". Labour Party.
- Way, Fran. (9 May 2021). "Oxford MP Anneliese Dodds sacked as Labour's Shadow Chancellor".
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