Party leaders and prime ministers at UK general elections

Every Conservative, Labour and Liberal / Liberal Democrat leader (and other main party leaders) who fought a general election since 1918, with seats won and whether they became prime minister.

Head-to-heads: Conservative vs Labour leaders

• Bonar Law vs William Adamson1918
• Bonar Law vs J. R. Clynes1922
• Ramsay MacDonald vs Stanley Baldwin1923, 1924, 1929
• Arthur Henderson vs Stanley Baldwin1931
• Clement Attlee vs Stanley Baldwin1935
• Clement Attlee vs Winston Churchill1945, 1950, 1951
• Anthony Eden vs Clement Attlee1955
• Harold Macmillan vs Hugh Gaitskell1959
• Alec Douglas-Home vs Harold Wilson1964
• Edward Heath vs Harold Wilson1966, 1970, February 1974, October 1974
• James Callaghan vs Margaret Thatcher1979
• Margaret Thatcher vs Michael Foot1983
• Margaret Thatcher vs Neil Kinnock1987
• John Major vs Neil Kinnock1992
• John Major vs Tony Blair1997
• Tony Blair vs William Hague2001
• Michael Howard vs Tony Blair2005
• David Cameron vs Gordon Brown2010
• David Cameron vs Ed Miliband2015
• Jeremy Corbyn vs Theresa May2017
• Boris Johnson vs Jeremy Corbyn2019
• Keir Starmer vs Rishi Sunak2024

Prime minister after each election

1. 2024 Keir Starmer — Labour majority government
2. 2019 Boris Johnson — Conservative majority government
3. 2017 Theresa May — Hung parliament: Conservative minority government with a DUP confidence-and-supply agreement
4. 2015 David Cameron — Conservative majority government
5. 2010 David Cameron — Hung parliament: Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition
6. 2005 Tony Blair — Labour majority government
7. 2001 Tony Blair — Labour majority government
8. 1997 Tony Blair — Labour majority government
9. 1992 John Major — Conservative majority government
10. 1987 Margaret Thatcher — Conservative majority government
11. 1983 Margaret Thatcher — Conservative majority government
12. 1979 Margaret Thatcher — Conservative majority government
13. October 1974 Harold Wilson — Labour majority government
14. February 1974 Harold Wilson — Hung parliament: minority Labour government
15. 1970 Edward Heath — Conservative majority government
16. 1966 Harold Wilson — Labour majority government
17. 1964 Harold Wilson — Labour majority government
18. 1959 Harold Macmillan — Conservative majority government
19. 1955 Anthony Eden — Conservative majority government
20. 1951 Winston Churchill — Conservative majority government
21. 1950 Clement Attlee — Labour majority government
22. 1945 Clement Attlee — Labour majority government
23. 1935 Stanley Baldwin — National Government under Stanley Baldwin
24. 1931 Ramsay MacDonald — National Government (Conservative, National Labour, Liberal National and Liberal) under Ramsay MacDonald
25. 1929 Ramsay MacDonald — Hung parliament: minority Labour government
26. 1924 Stanley Baldwin — Conservative majority government
27. 1923 Ramsay MacDonald — Hung parliament: minority Labour government from January 1924
28. 1922 Bonar Law — Conservative majority government
29. 1918 David Lloyd George — Coalition government (Conservative and Coalition Liberal) under David Lloyd George

Leaders and governments are entered by hand from the historical record. In 1983 and 1987 the SDP–Liberal Alliance had two leaders (David Steel for the Liberals; Roy Jenkins, then David Owen, for the SDP).