Leader of the House of Lords

United Kingdom
Leader of the House of Lords
Incumbent
The Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
since 14 July 2016
Office of the Leader of the House
Deputy Frederick Curzon, 7th Earl Howe[1]
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The Leader of the House of Lords is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom who is responsible for arranging government business in the House of Lords. The role is always held in combination with a formal Cabinet position, usually one of the sinecure offices of Lord President of the Council, Lord Privy Seal or Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Unless the Leader is also a departmental minister, being Leader constitutes the bulk of his or her government responsibilities, but it has never been an independent salaried office. The Office of the Leader of the House of Lords is a ministerial department.[2]

Though the Leader of the House is a member of the cabinet and remains a partisan figure, he or she also has responsibilities to the House as a whole. In contrast to the House of Commons, where proceedings are controlled by the Speaker, proceedings in the Lords are controlled by peers themselves, under the rules set out in the Standing Orders. The Leader of the House has the responsibility of reminding the House of these rules and facilitating the Lords' self-regulation, though any member may draw attention to breaches of order or failure to observe customs. The Leader is often called upon to advise on procedures and points of order, and is required to determine the order of speakers on Supplementary Questions, subject to the wishes of the House. However, like the Lord Speaker, the Leader of the House has no power to rule on points of order or to intervene during an inappropriate speech.

Until the election of the first Lord Speaker on 4 July 2006, the Leader of the House had responsibility for making preliminary decisions on requests for Private Notice Questions, and for waiving the sub judice rule in certain cases. Those functions were transferred to the Lord Speaker.

History

The title seems to have come into use some time after 1800, as a formal way of referring to the peer who managed government business in the upper House, irrespective of which salaried position they held in the cabinet. However, it may have been used as early as 1689, applied to George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax, when he was Speaker of the House of Lords during the Convention Parliament of that year.

The role developed during the first quarter of the eighteenth century, at the same time as the role of Prime Minister and the system of Cabinet government. In the wake of the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution and the succession of the Hanoverians to the throne, Britain evolved a system of government where ministers were sustained in office by their ability to carry legislation through Parliament. It was therefore necessary for a member of the government to take responsibility for steering government legislation through each House.

The Earl of Sunderland, initiated aspects of the role during the Whig Junta under Queen Anne. Sunderland and the other Whigs were dismissed from office in reaction to their co-ordination of government matters, which was taken as a threat to the power of the monarch. Sunderland returned to power under George I, as Lord Privy Seal. The first documentary evidence of the existence of the role comes from 1717, when Sunderland became Secretary of State for the Northern Department: in the form of lists of peers invited to the office of the Northern Secretary immediately before sessions of Parliament.

When the Prime Minister sat in the House of Lords, which was common until the beginning of the twentieth century, he usually held the position of Leader of the House of Lords. When the Prime Minister sat in the Commons, the position of Leader of the Lords was often held by the Foreign Secretary or Colonial Secretary. In some coalition governments, it was held by the party leader who was not Prime Minister.

Since the end of the Marquess of Salisbury's last government, in 1902, the position clearly exists in its own right as a member of the cabinet. Since 1966 it has only been combined with sinecure positions and the holder has not been a departmental minister though some have held additional responsibilities such as Viscount Hailsham also being designated "Minister for Science" or Baroness Jay also being "Minister for Women".

The first female Leader of the Lords was Janet Young, Baroness Young in 1981–1983.

Families

Leaders of the House of Lords

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Because the post is a parliamentary one and not a ministerial office in its own right, it is not always included in official lists of government offices, especially for earlier periods. This can make it difficult to determine who the Leader of the House of Lords was in a particular ministry.

Name Portrait Concurrent office(s) Tenure Political party Prime Minister
Viscount Townshend Northern Secretary 1721 1730 Whig Robert Walpole
? 1730 February 1742
Lord Carteret
(Earl Granville from October 1744)		 Northern Secretary 12 February 1742 24 November 1744 Whig Earl of Wilmington (until July 1743)
Henry Pelham (from 27 August 1743)
Duke of Newcastle 1744 16 November 1756
Prime Minister (from 16 March 1754) Himself
Duke of Devonshire Prime Minister 16 November 1756 25 June 1757 Himself
Duke of Newcastle 2 July 1757 26 May 1762 Himself
Earl of Bute 26 May 1762 8 April 1763 Tory Himself
? 1763 1765 George Grenville
Marquess of Rockingham Prime Minister 13 July 1765 30 July 1766 Rockingham Whig Himself
Duke of Grafton 1766 28 January 1770 Chathamite Whig Earl of Chatham (William Pitt the Elder)
(until October 1768)
Prime Minister Himself (from 14 October 1768)
? 1770 1782 Lord North
Earl of Shelburne Home Secretary (until July 1782) March 1782 April 1783 Rockingham Whig Marquess of Rockingham (until 1 July 1782)
Prime Minister (from 4 July 1782) Himself (from 4 July 1782)
Duke of Portland Prime Minister 2 April December 1783 Whig
(Fox–North coalition)		 Himself
(figurehead)
Earl Temple[3] Secretary of StateDecember 1783December 1783 William Pitt the Younger
Lord Sydney[3] Home Secretary December 1783 June 1789 Whig
Duke of Leeds[3] Foreign Secretary 1789 1790 Tory
Lord Grenville[3] Home Secretary (until June 1791)
Foreign Secretary (from June 1791)		 November 1790 February 1801
Lord Hobart[4] Secretary of State for War and the Colonies March 1801 October 1801 Tory Henry Addington
Lord Pelham[3] Home Secretary October 1801 August 1803
Lord Hawkesbury[3] Foreign Secretary (until May 1804) November 1803 February 1806
Home Secretary (from 12 May 1804) William Pitt the Younger
Lord Grenville[3] Prime Minister 11 February 1806 March 1807 Whig Himself
(Ministry of All the Talents)
Lord Hawkesbury[3]
(Earl of Liverpool from 1808)		 Home Secretary (until November 1809) 25 March 1807 April 1827 Tory 3rd Duke of Portland
War & Colonial Secretary (1 November 1809 – June 1812) Spencer Perceval
Prime Minister (from 8 June 1812) Himself
Viscount Goderich[3] War & Colonial Secretary (until September 1827) 30 April 1827 January 1828 George Canning
Prime Minister (from 31 August 1827) Himself
Duke of Wellington[3] Prime Minister January 1828 November 1830 Himself
Earl Grey 22 November 1830 9 July 1834 Whig Himself
Viscount Melbourne 16 July 1834 14 November 1834 Himself
Duke of Wellington Caretaker: Prime Minister, Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, War & Colonial Secretary 17 November 1834 8 April 1835 Tory Himself
(Caretaker)
Foreign Secretary Robert Peel
Viscount Melbourne Prime Minister 18 April 1835 30 August 1841 Whig Himself
Duke of Wellington Minister without portfolio 3 September 1841 27 June 1846 Conservative Robert Peel
Marquess of Lansdowne Lord President of the Council 6 July 1846 21 February 1852 Whig Lord John Russell
Earl of Derby Prime Minister 23 February 1852 17 December 1852 Conservative Himself
Earl of Aberdeen 19 December 1852 30 January 1855 Peelite Himself
(Coalition)
Earl Granville Lord President of the Council 8 February 1855 21 February 1858 Whig Viscount Palmerston
Earl of Derby Prime Minister 21 February 1858 11 June 1859 Conservative Himself
Earl Granville Lord President of the Council 18 June 1859 29 October 1865 Liberal Viscount Palmerston
Earl Russell Prime Minister 29 October 1865 26 June 1866 Himself
Earl of Derby 28 June 1866 25 February 1868 Conservative Himself
Earl of Malmesbury Lord Privy Seal 27 February 1 December 1868 Benjamin Disraeli
Earl Granville Colonial Secretary (until July 1870)
Foreign Secretary (from 6 July 1870)		 9 December 1868 17 February 1874 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
Duke of Richmond Lord President of the Council 21 February 1874 21 August 1876 Conservative Benjamin Disraeli
Earl of Beaconsfield
(Benjamin Disraeli)		 Prime Minister 21 August 1876 21 April 1880
Earl Granville Foreign Secretary 28 April 1880 9 June 1885 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
Marquess of Salisbury Prime Minister
Foreign Secretary		 23 June 1885 28 January 1886 Conservative Himself
Earl Granville Colonial Secretary 6 February 1886 20 July 1886 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
Marquess of Salisbury Prime Minister
Foreign Secretary (from 14 January 1887)		 25 July 1886 11 August 1892 Conservative Himself
Earl of Kimberley Lord President of the Council 18 August 1892 5 March 1894 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
Earl of Rosebery Prime Minister 5 March 1894 21 June 1895 Himself
Marquess of Salisbury Prime Minister
Foreign Secretary (until November 1900)
Lord Privy Seal (from 12 November 1900)		 25 June 1895 11 July 1902 Conservative Himself
Duke of Devonshire Lord President of the Council 12 July 1902 13 October 1903 Liberal Unionist Arthur Balfour
(Conservative)
Marquess of Lansdowne Foreign Secretary 13 October 1903 4 December 1905
Marquess of Ripon Lord Privy Seal 10 December 1905 14 April 1908 Liberal Henry Campbell-Bannerman
Earl of Crewe
(Marquess of Crewe from July 1911)		 Colonial Secretary (May 1908 – November 1910)
Lord Privy Seal (October 1908 – October 1911; February 1912 – May 1915)
India Secretary (November 1910 – March 1911; 25 May 1911 – May 1915)
Lord President of the Council (from 25 May 1915)
President of the Board of Education (from 18 August 1916)		 14 April 1908 10 December 1916 H. H. Asquith
Earl Curzon of Kedleston
(Marquess Curzon of Kedleston from July 1921)		 Lord President of the Council (until October 1919)
Foreign Secretary (from 23 October 1919)		 10 December 1916 22 January 1924 Conservative David Lloyd George
Bonar Law
Stanley Baldwin
Viscount Haldane Lord Chancellor 22 January 1924 3 November 1924 Labour Ramsay MacDonald
Marquess Curzon of Kedleston Lord President of the Council 3 November 1924 20 March 1925 Conservative Stanley Baldwin
Marquess of Salisbury Lord Privy Seal 27 April 1925 4 June 1929
Lord Parmoor Lord President of the Council 7 June 1929 24 August 1931 Labour Ramsay MacDonald
Marquess of Reading Foreign Secretary 24 August 1931 5 November 1931 Liberal Ramsay MacDonald
(Nat. Govts: I & II)
Viscount Hailsham Secretary of State for War 5 November 1931 7 June 1935 Conservative
Marquess of Londonderry Lord Privy Seal 7 June 1935 22 November 1935 Stanley Baldwin
(Nat. Govt)
Viscount Halifax Lord Privy Seal (until May 1937)
Lord President of the Council (from 28 May 1937)		 22 November 1935 21 February 1938
Neville Chamberlain
(Nat. Govt)
Earl Stanhope President of the Board of Education (until October 1938)
First Lord of the Admiralty (27 October 1938 – September 1939)		 21 February 1938 14 May 1940
Lord President of the Council (from 3 September 1939) Neville Chamberlain
(War coalition)
Viscount Caldecote Dominions Secretary 14 May 1940 3 October 1940 Winston Churchill
(War coalition)
Viscount Halifax Foreign Secretary 3 October 1940 22 December 1940
Lord Lloyd Colonial Secretary 22 December 1940 4 February 1941
Lord Moyne 8 February 1941 21 February 1942
Viscount Cranborne Colonial Secretary (until November 1942)
Lord Privy Seal (22 November 1942 – September 1943)
Dominions Secretary (from 24 September 1943–45)		 21 February 1942 26 July 1945
Winston Churchill
(Caretaker coalition)
Viscount Addison Dominions Secretary (until July 1947)
Commonwealth Secretary (7 July – October 1947)
Lord Privy Seal (7 October 1947 – March 1951)
Paymaster General (2 July 1948 – April 1949)
Lord President of the Council (from 9 March 1951)		 3 August 1945 26 October 1951 Labour Clement Attlee
Marquess of Salisbury
(previously as Viscount Cranborne)		 Lord Privy Seal (until May 1952)
Commonwealth Secretary (12 March – November 1952)
Lord President of the Council (from 24 November 1952)		 28 October 1951 29 March 1957 Conservative Winston Churchill
Anthony Eden
Earl of Home
(Alec Douglas-Home)		 Commonwealth Secretary
Lord President of the Council (until September 1957 & from 14 October 1959)		 29 March 1957 27 July 1960 Harold Macmillan
Viscount Hailsham Lord President of the Council
Minister for Science		 27 July 1960 20 October 1963
Lord Carrington[5] Minister without portfolio 20 October 1963 16 October 1964 Alec Douglas-Home
Earl of Longford[5] Lord Privy Seal (until December 1965 & from 6 April 1966)
Colonial Secretary (23 December 1965 – April 1966)		 18 October 1964 16 January 1968 Labour Harold Wilson
Lord Shackleton[5] Lord Privy Seal (until April 1968 & from 18 October 1968)
Paymaster-General (6 April–November 1968)		 16 January 1968 19 June 1970
Earl Jellicoe[5] Lord Privy Seal 20 June 1970 23 May 1973 Conservative Edward Heath
Lord Windlesham[5] 5 June 1973 4 March 1974
Lord Shepherd[5] 7 March 1974 10 September 1976 Labour Harold Wilson
James Callaghan
Lord Peart[5] 10 September 1976 4 May 1979
Lord Soames[5] Lord President of the Council 5 May 1979 14 September 1981 Conservative Margaret Thatcher
Baroness Young[5] Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (until April 1982)
Lord Privy Seal (from 6 April 1982)		 14 September 1981 11 June 1983
Viscount Whitelaw[5] Deputy Prime Minister
Lord President of the Council		 11 June 1983 10 January 1988
Lord Belstead[5] Lord Privy Seal 10 January 1988 28 November 1990
Lord Waddington[5] 28 November 1990 11 April 1992 John Major
Lord Wakeham[5] 11 April 1992 20 July 1994
Viscount Cranborne[5] 20 July 1994 2 May 1997
Lord Richard[5] 2 May 1997 27 July 1998 Labour Tony Blair
Baroness Jay of Paddington[5] 27 July 1998 8 June 2001
Lord Williams of Mostyn[5] Lord Privy Seal 8 June 2001 20 September 2003 Labour Tony Blair
Baroness Amos[5] Lord President of the Council 6 October 2003 27 June 2007
Baroness Ashton of Upholland[5] 27 June 2007 2 October 2008 Gordon Brown
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon[5] Lord President of the Council (until June 2009)
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (from 5 June 2009)		 2 October 2008 11 May 2010
Lord Strathclyde[5] Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 12 May 2010 7 January 2013 Conservative David Cameron
(Coalition)
Lord Hill of Oareford[5] 7 January 2013 15 July 2014 Conservative
Baroness Stowell of Beeston[5] Lord Privy Seal 15 July 2014 14 July 2016 Conservative
David Cameron
(II)
Baroness Evans of Bowes Park[5] 14 July 2016 Incumbent Conservative Theresa May

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Rt Hon Earl Howe". UK Government. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  2. ↑ http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/212617/lmr2009.pdf
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Chris Cook and John Stevenson, British Historical Facts 1760–1830 (1980) pp. 50–51.
  4. ↑ M. W. McCahill, The House of Lords in the Age of George III (1760-1811) (2009) p. 242.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Matthew Purvis, Leader of the House of Lords: Holders of the Post. House of Lords Library, 15 July 2016. Accessed 21 November 2016.

External links

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