LEADERS OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY
4th October 1809 Spencer Perceval
b. 1st November 1762, d. 11th May 1812
8th June 1812 Earl of Liverpool
b. 7th June 1770, d. 4th December 1828
12th April 1827 George Canning
b. 11th April 1770, d. 8th August 1827
31st August 1827 Viscount Goderich
b. 30th October 1782, d. 28th January 1859
22nd January 1828 Duke of Wellington
b. 1st May 1769, d. 14th September 1852
10th December 1834 Sir Robert Peel
b. 5th February 1788, d. 2nd July 1850
27th June 1846 Earl of Derby
b. 29th March 1799, d. 23rd October 1869
27th February 1868 Benjamin Disraeli (Earl of Beaconsfield)
b. 21st December 1804, d. 19th April 1881
9th May 1881 Marquess of Salisbury
b. 3rd February 1830, d. 22nd August 1903
12th July 1902 Arthur James Balfour
b. 25th July 1848, d. 19th March 1930
13th November 1911 Andrew Bonar Law
b. 15th September 1858, d. 30th October 1923
21st March 1921 Austen Chamberlain
b. 16th October 1863, d. 16th March 1937
23rd October 1922 Andrew Bonar Law
(see above)
28th May 1923 Stanley Baldwin
b. 3rd August 1867, d. 14th December 1947
31st May 1937 Arthur Neville Chamberlain
b. 18th March 1869, d. 9th November 1940
9th October 1940 Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill
b. 30th November 1874, d. 24th January 1965
21st April 1955 Sir Robert Anthony Eden
b. 12th June 1897, d. 14th January 1977
22nd January 1957 Maurice Harold Macmillan
b. 10th February 1894, d. 29th December 1986
12th November 1963 Sir Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home KT
b. 2nd July 1903, d. 9th October 1995
2nd August 1965 Edward Richard George Heath
b. 9th July 1916, d. 17th July 2005
11th February 1975 Margaret Hilda Thatcher
b. 13th October 1925
28th November 1990 John Major
b. 29th March 1943
19th June 1997 William Jefferson Hague
b. 26th March 1961
13th September 2001 George Iain Duncan Smith
b. 9th April 1954
6th November 2003 Michael Howard
b. 7th July 1941
6th December 2005 David William Donald Cameron
b. 9th October 1966
Elections for Conservative Party Leader:
1965 (Resignation of Douglas-Home):
1st Ballot 28th July 1965
Edward Heath 150
Reginald Maudling 133
Enoch Powell 15
(Maudling withdrew and endorsed Heath, who was then declared elected
nem. con.)
1975 (Thatcher challenge to Heath):
1st Ballot 4th February 1975
Margaret Thatcher 130
Edward Heath 119
Hugh Fraser 16
2nd Ballot 11th February 1975
Margaret Thatcher 146
William Whitelaw 79
Sir Geoffrey Howe 19
James Prior 19
John Peyton 11
1989 (Meyer challenge to Thatcher):
1st Ballot 5th December 1989
Margaret Thatcher 314
Sir Anthony Meyer 33
1990 (Heseltine challenge to Thatcher):
1st Ballot 20th November 1990
Margaret Thatcher 204
Michael Heseltine 152
2nd Ballot 27th November 1990
John Major 185
Michael Heseltine 131
Douglas Hurd 56
(Heseltine and Hurd withdrew and endorsed Major, who was thereupon declared
elected without a further ballot)
1995 (Major seeks re-election):
1st Ballot 4th July 1995
John Major 218
John Redwood 89
1997 (Resignation of Major):
1st Ballot 10th June 1997
Kenneth Clarke 49
William Hague 41
John Redwood 27
Peter Lilley 24
Michael Howard 23
2nd Ballot 17th June 1997
Kenneth Clarke 64
William Hague 62
John Redwood 38
3rd Ballot 19th June 1997
William Hague 92
Kenneth Clarke 70
2001 (Resignation of Hague)
1st Ballot 10th July 2001
Michael Portillo 49
Iain Duncan Smith 39
Kenneth Clarke 36
Michael Ancram 21
David Davis 21
(As there was a tie for last place, the Executive of the 1922 Committee
decided to hold a reballot)
1st Ballot 12th July 2001
Michael Portillo 50
Iain Duncan Smith 42
Kenneth Clarke 39
David Davis 18
Michael Ancram 17
(Ancram eliminated; Davis withdrew on 13th July)
2nd Ballot 17th July 2001
Kenneth Clarke 59
Iain Duncan Smith 54
Michael Portillo 53
Membership Ballot 13th September 2001
Iain Duncan Smith 155,933
Kenneth Clarke 100,864
2003 (Motion of confidence in Duncan Smith defeated by 75 to 90)
Michael Howard unopposed
2005 (Resignation of Howard)
1st Ballot 18th October 2005
David Davis 62
David Cameron 56
Liam Fox 42
Kenneth Clarke 38
2nd Ballot 20th October 2005
David Cameron 90
David Davis 57
Liam Fox 51
Membership Ballot 6th December 2005
David Cameron 134,446
David Davis 64,398
Note on Conservative Party leadership elections:
1) Prior to 1965, there were no formal elections for the Leader of the
Conservative Party. The process of choosing a leader involved a
series of consultations with leading members of the party, which would
eventually produce a candidate with whom the party was satisfied.
2) From 1965 until 1998, the leader was elected in a ballot of all
Conservative MPs, organised through the '1922 Committee'. In the first
round, a candidate had to obtain a majority of votes cast and a lead of
15% of the total vote over their nearest rival. If no candidate obtained
such a majority a second ballot was held (at which new candidates could
stand), at which a candidate merely had to obtain a majority of votes
cast. If this failed to produce a winner, a third ballot was held
between the two candidates who had obtained the most votes in the
second ballot.
3) From 1998, the system of election has been changed to allow grassroots
members of the party to elect the leader from alternatives selected by
Conservative MPs. If there are more than two candidates who seek the
leadership, then the '1922 Committee' holds an eliminating ballot until
only two are left (with new candidates not permitted to enter the race
after the first ballot). When the two names are known, a postal ballot
of individual members of Conservative Associations is held, and the
candidate with the most votes is declared elected. An incumbent Leader
may be challenged if 15% of the Parliamentary Party send in a letter
expressing no confidence; if this happens, a vote of confidence is held
in the current Leader. A Leader who wins the vote of confidence is
immune from challenge for the next year.