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 A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

campaigns, and is typically held concurrently with another position.

History

Established by

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

in the aftermath of the 2001 general election, the chair of the Labour Party was a

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

position held alongside the

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

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 Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...

, with

Ian Lavery Ian Lavery (born 6 January 1963) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Blyth and Ashington (UK Parliament constituency), Blyth and Ashingto ...

working alongside the co-national campaign coordinator,

Andrew Gwynne Andrew John Gwynne (born 4 June 1974) is a British politician who is Member of Parliament (MP) for Gorton and Denton, previously Denton and Reddish, since 2005. He was the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Preventi ...

. 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 Angela Rayner (' Bowen; born 28 March 1980) is a British politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government since 2024 United Kingdom general election, Jul ...

, who was appointed by Sir

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...

following her election as deputy leader, until 2021 when she was sacked after Labour performed poorly at the

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

History

List of chairs

Timeline

References