£159,038 per annum (2022)[1] (including £86,584 MP salary)[2]
Website
www.gov.uk/leader-commons
The House of Commons devotes approximately three-quarters of its time to debating and explaining government business, such as bills introduced by the government and ministerial statements.[citation needed] The Leader of the House of Commons, with the parties' chief whips ("the usual channels"), is responsible for organising government business and providing time for non-government (backbench) business to be put before the House of Commons.[3]
The position of leader of the House of Commons is currently held by Lucy Powell, who was appointed on 5 July 2024 by Keir Starmer.
Responsibilities
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The current responsibilities of the Leader of the House of Commons are as follows:
Representing the House of Commons within Government, be it contributing to the Civil Service's efforts to build parliamentary capability or receiving MPs' requests for assistance on ministerial correspondence and questions; and
The title was not established until about the middle of the 19th century, although the institution is much older.[6]
Until 1942, the title was usually held by the prime minister if he sat in the House of Commons, however, in more recent years, the title has been held by a separate politician.[6]
The title holder is not formally appointed by the Crown[clarification needed] and the title alone does not attract a salary,[6] so is now usually held in addition to a sinecure, currently Lord President of the Council.
List of Leaders of the House of Commons (1721–present)
From 1922, when the prime minister was also Leader of the House of Commons, day-to-day duties were frequently carried out by a Deputy Leader of the House of Commons.[6] At other times, a Deputy Leader of the House of Commons was appointed merely to enhance an individual politician's standing within the government.[citation needed]
The title has been in use since 1942, but was not used from the 2019 dissolution of the Second May ministry to 2022, when it was revived by Boris Johnson.[27] This was shortlived however, as it was abolished by Liz Truss after she became Prime Minister a few months later.[28]
^"Lord Newton of Braintree". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Baroness Taylor of Bolton". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Rt Hon Robin Cook". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Lord Reid of Cardowan". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Lord Hain". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Mr Geoffrey Hoon". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Rt Hon Jack Straw". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Lord Young of Cookham". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Lord Lansley". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Lord Hague of Richmond". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Rt Hon David Lidington MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
^"Rt Hon Mel Stride MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
^"Rt Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
^"Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
^"Penny Mordaunt". UK Parliament. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
^"Parliamentary Secretary of State (Deputy Leader of the House of Commons) – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk.
^Commentator, Tim Shipman, Chief Political. "The rebels' smartphone spreadsheet that means Liz Truss is still in deep trouble". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 8 October 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leaders of the House of Commons.