General Secretary of the Labour Party
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The General Secretary of the Labour Party is the most senior employee of the British Labour Party, and acts as the non-voting secretary to the
National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties: * National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa * Australian Labor Party National Executive * Nationa ...
. When there is a vacancy the National Executive Committee selects a provisional replacement, subject to approval at the subsequent
party conference The terms party conference (UK English), political convention ( US and Canadian English), and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party membe ...
. The post is currently held by David Evans, following
Jennie Formby Jennifer "Jennie" Formby (' Sandle; born 12 April 1960) is a British trade unionist and political figure who served as General Secretary of the Labour Party from 2018 to 2020. She was previously political director and south-east England regiona ...
's resignation on 4 May 2020. He was formally confirmed in his role by a card vote at the 2021 Labour Conference on 25th September 2021.


Party structure

The General Secretary heads a staff of around 200 in their two head offices, one in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
(formerly Southside, until October 2022) and Labour Central in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
, and in the many local offices around the country. The Scottish and
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
Labour Parties are headed by their own general secretaries, de facto subordinate to the national general secretary. The General Secretary is responsible for employing staff; campaign and media strategies; running the party's organisational, constitutional and policy committees; organising the Party Conference; liaison with the
Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...
and
Party of European Socialists The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a social democratic and progressive European political party. The PES comprises national-level political parties from all member states of the European Union (EU) plus Norway and the United Kingdom. ...
; ensuring legal and constitutional propriety; preparing literature. The General Secretary also acts as the ''Registered Treasurer'' under the
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets out how political parties, elections and referendums are to be regulated in the United Kingdom. It formed an important pa ...
, responsible for preparing accurate financial statements. As the Labour Party is an
unincorporated association Unincorporated associations are one vehicle for people to cooperate towards a common goal. The range of possible unincorporated associations is nearly limitless, but typical examples are: :* An amateur football team who agree to hire a pitch onc ...
without a
separate legal personality In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for ...
, the General Secretary represents the party on behalf of the other members of the Labour Party in any legal matters or actions.


History

The post of Party Secretary was created in 1900 at the birth of the Labour Party. The first holder of that position was Ramsay MacDonald, later Prime Minister. In these early years, the post was a very important one, effectively leading the party outside Parliament. MacDonald and his successor,
Arthur Henderson Arthur Henderson (13 September 1863 – 20 October 1935) was a British iron moulder and Labour politician. He was the first Labour cabinet minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934 and, uniquely, served three separate terms as Leader of th ...
, were both Members of Parliament and for a period were both Chairmen of the
Parliamentary Labour Party In UK politics, the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in Parliament, i.e. Labour MPs as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes draw a distinction between the Labour ...
whilst Party Secretary. Upon Henderson's retirement in 1934, after the 1931 debacle which had seen MacDonald expelled from the party, it was decided that the position should be separated from the parliamentary party, and power should not be concentrated in the hands of one person. Therefore, Henderson's successor would not be allowed to become a Member of Parliament. This ruled out the strongest contender,
Herbert Morrison Herbert Stanley Morrison, Baron Morrison of Lambeth, (3 January 1888 – 6 March 1965) was a British politician who held a variety of senior positions in the UK Cabinet as member of the Labour Party. During the inter-war period, he was Minis ...
, and others with parliamentary ambitions. Finally, Jimmy Middleton, assistant secretary since 1903, was chosen. He was a quiet-spoken man and the job lost much of its previous importance. However, the
National Executive Committee National Executive Committee is the name of a leadership body in several organizations, mostly political parties: * National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, in South Africa * Australian Labor Party National Executive * Nationa ...
grew in influence. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
,
Morgan Phillips Morgan Walter Phillips (18 June 1902 – 15 January 1963) was a colliery worker and trade union activist who became the General Secretary of the British Labour Party, involved in two of the party's election victories. Life Born in Aberdare, ...
became General Secretary and went on to oversee two general election victories. A Welshman, he had been a miner but was instrumental in widening Labour's appeal to the middle classes. He also built a professional Party, with key employees working on policy development and electoral organisation. When Len Williams, the General Secretary of the early Wilson years, retired in 1968, he was expected to be replaced by someone younger who could transform the party and lead it to a third successive victory. However, the party chose
Harry Nicholas Sir Herbert Richard Nicholas OBE (13 March 1905 – 15 April 1997) was a trade unionist and political organiser. Early life Born in Bristol, Nicholas worked for the Port of Bristol Authority until 1936, when he took a full-time post in the T ...
, a long-serving left-wing T&G union figure who would be unlikely to continue to renew and reinvigorate the party. The party lost the 1970 general election. The 1970s and early-1980s saw developing confrontations between the left and the right in the party.
Jim Mortimer James Edward Mortimer (12 January 1921 – 23 April 2013) was a British trade unionist and the Labour Party General Secretary between 1982 and 1985.
and Larry Whitty worked hard to keep the party together after the formation of the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...
and the rise of the
Militant tendency , native_name_lang = cy , logo = , colorcode = , leader = collective leadership(''Militant'' editorial board) , leader1_name = Ted Grant , leader1_title = Political Secretary , leader2_name = Pet ...
. Whitty oversaw the reforms of
Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a British former politician. As a member of the Labour Party, he served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995, first for Bedwellty and then for Islwyn. He was the Leader of ...
and stayed on until the election of
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
as Leader. It would be
Tom Sawyer Thomas Sawyer () is the titular character of the Mark Twain novel ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), '' Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and '' Tom Sawyer, ...
who would put in place Blair's
New Labour New Labour was a period in the history of the British Labour Party from the mid to late 1990s until 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The name dates from a conference slogan first used by the party in 1994, later seen ...
reforms, with the creation of the
National Policy Forum The National Policy Forum (NPF) of the British Labour Party is part of the policy-making system of the Party, set up by Leader Tony Blair as part of the Partnership in Power process. A Provisional National Policy Forum had been established by Bl ...
, the change to
Clause IV Clause IV is part of the Labour Party Rule Book, which sets out the aims and values of the (UK) Labour Party. The original clause, adopted in 1918, called for common ownership of industry, and proved controversial in later years; Hugh Gaitskell a ...
and the perceived erosion of the power of grassroots members. He opened new offices in Millbank and created a highly-professional, media-savvy, youthful staff and Party that worked for Labour's landslide victory in the 1997 general election. Crucial to this period was the transformation of the party apparatus from an alternative centre of power to the parliamentary leadership (largely a product of the 1970s when the party conference repeatedly disowned government policy), to being more congruent with the leadership's ideas for progress. In fact, the roots of the transformation probably date back to the appointment of
Peter Mandelson Peter Benjamin Mandelson, Baron Mandelson (born 21 October 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as First Secretary of State from 2009 to 2010. He was President of the Board of Trade in 1998 and from 2008 to 2010. He is the ...
as the party's communication director in 1985, but under Blair (and Sawyer) rapidly accelerated. Margaret McDonagh became Labour's first permanent female General Secretary in 1998. She had been a rising star and formidable organiser in the run-up to 1997, seen as the key party official responsible for the record landslide victory, but her fearsome style did not endear her to Party members and the left. Her handling of the candidate selection for the 2000 London mayoral election badly damaged her reputation. However, her formidable organisational skills contributed to a second victory in 2001. McDonagh left after the 2001 general election victory and was succeeded by
David Triesman David Maxim Triesman, Baron Triesman (born 30 October 1943) is a British politician, merchant banker and former trade union leader. Triesman is a Labour member of the House of Lords. Triesman previously sat as a Labour peer until resigning th ...
. The party moved in 2004 to appoint Matt Carter as the youngest-ever General Secretary. He resigned after less than two years following the less than convincing 2005 general election victory and was replaced in January 2006 by
Peter Watt Peter Martin Watt (born 20 July 1969) was the General Secretary of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom from January 2006 until he resigned in November 2007 as a result of the Donorgate affair. Watt was then a member of the National Society ...
. Watt became embroiled in the funding scandals of 2007 and resigned soon after. In early 2008
David Pitt-Watson David Pitt-Watson is a Scottish business and social entrepreneur and author. He is a Fellow at Cambridge Judge Business School, and has been active in various initiatives to promote responsible investment including co-chairing the United Nations E ...
, a key
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...
ally, was selected for the post under the banner of party finance reform, but never took up the post "for legal and financial reasons". The poor state of the party's finances following the decision by the leadership of the party to finance the General Election campaign in 2005 by loans meant that the auditors of the party had to inform him that his wealth, after a career partly in the City of London, would be at risk if the party did become bankrupt. Ray Collins was appointed in 2008, and was succeeded by
Iain McNicol Iain Mackenzie McNicol, Baron McNicol of West Kilbride (born 17 August 1969) is a British politician, trade unionist and life peer who served as General Secretary of the Labour Party from 2011 to 2018. He was National Political Officer of the ...
in 2011. McNicol resigned for the post in early 2018, citing a desire to "pursue new challenges". On 20 March 2018,
Jennie Formby Jennifer "Jennie" Formby (' Sandle; born 12 April 1960) is a British trade unionist and political figure who served as General Secretary of the Labour Party from 2018 to 2020. She was previously political director and south-east England regiona ...
was appointed as the General Secretary effective from April 2018. She resigned on 4 May 2020, following the election of
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras s ...
as new Labour leader, saying "now we have a new leadership team it is the right time to step down".


List of General Secretaries

:1900–1912: Ramsay MacDonald :1912–1935:
Arthur Henderson Arthur Henderson (13 September 1863 – 20 October 1935) was a British iron moulder and Labour politician. He was the first Labour cabinet minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934 and, uniquely, served three separate terms as Leader of th ...
:1935–1944: James Middleton :1944–1962:
Morgan Phillips Morgan Walter Phillips (18 June 1902 – 15 January 1963) was a colliery worker and trade union activist who became the General Secretary of the British Labour Party, involved in two of the party's election victories. Life Born in Aberdare, ...
:1962–1968: Len Williams :1968: ''
Sara Barker Dame Sara Elizabeth Barker (15 February 1904 – 19 September 1973) was a British political administrator, prominent in the Labour Party. Early life Born in the West Riding of Yorkshire, Barker's father was an Independent Labour Party activist ...
'' (acting)Lucy Middleton, ''Women in the Labour Movement: The British Experience'', pp.157, 203 :1968–1972:
Harry Nicholas Sir Herbert Richard Nicholas OBE (13 March 1905 – 15 April 1997) was a trade unionist and political organiser. Early life Born in Bristol, Nicholas worked for the Port of Bristol Authority until 1936, when he took a full-time post in the T ...
:1972–1982:
Ron Hayward Ronald George Hayward, (27 June 1917 – 22 March 1996), was a leading activist in the British Labour Party. Early life Born near Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire, Hayward served in the Royal Air Force during World War II. Labour P ...
:1982–1985:
Jim Mortimer James Edward Mortimer (12 January 1921 – 23 April 2013) was a British trade unionist and the Labour Party General Secretary between 1982 and 1985.
:1985–1994: Larry Whitty :1994–1998:
Tom Sawyer Thomas Sawyer () is the titular character of the Mark Twain novel ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), '' Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and '' Tom Sawyer, ...
:1998–2001: Margaret McDonagh :2001–2003:
David Triesman David Maxim Triesman, Baron Triesman (born 30 October 1943) is a British politician, merchant banker and former trade union leader. Triesman is a Labour member of the House of Lords. Triesman previously sat as a Labour peer until resigning th ...
:2003–2005: Matt Carter :2005–2007:
Peter Watt Peter Martin Watt (born 20 July 1969) was the General Secretary of the Labour Party in the United Kingdom from January 2006 until he resigned in November 2007 as a result of the Donorgate affair. Watt was then a member of the National Society ...
:2008–2011: Ray Collins :2011–2018:
Iain McNicol Iain Mackenzie McNicol, Baron McNicol of West Kilbride (born 17 August 1969) is a British politician, trade unionist and life peer who served as General Secretary of the Labour Party from 2011 to 2018. He was National Political Officer of the ...
:2018–2020:
Jennie Formby Jennifer "Jennie" Formby (' Sandle; born 12 April 1960) is a British trade unionist and political figure who served as General Secretary of the Labour Party from 2018 to 2020. She was previously political director and south-east England regiona ...
:2020-present: David Evans


Sources

*''A Short History of the Labour Party'',
Henry Pelling Henry Mathison Pelling (27 August 1920 – 14 October 1997) was a British historian best known for his works on the history of the British Labour Party. Life Pelling was born in Prenton, Wirral, the son of a wealthy stockbroker. He was educat ...
, 2005,


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:General Secretary Of The Labour Party Organisation of the Labour Party (UK) General secretaries