The House of Commons devotes approximately three quarters of its time to Government business, such as bills introduced by the government and ministerial statements. The Leader of the House, with the parties' chief whips ("the Deputy Prime Minister, or the Deputy Prime Minister is unavailable, the Leader of the House may stand in for an absent Prime Minister at Prime Minister's Questions.
At times the nominal leadership was held by the Prime Minister but the day-to-day work was done by a Deputy. At other times a Deputy was appointed merely to enhance an individual politician's standing within the government.
Name
|
Portrait
|
Concurrent office(s)
|
Tenure
|
Political Party
|
Prime Minister
|
|
Robert Walpole
|
|
Prime Minister
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
4 April 1721 – 6 February 1742
|
Whig
|
|
Himself
|
|
Samuel Sandys
|
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
12 February 1742 – 27 August 1743
|
|
Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington
|
|
Henry Pelham
|
|
Prime Minister
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
27 August 1743 – 6 March 1754
|
|
Himself
|
|
Thomas Robinson
|
|
Southern Secretary
|
23 March 1754 – October 1755
|
|
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle
|
|
Henry Fox
|
|
14 November 1755 – 13 November 1756
|
|
William Pitt the Elder
|
|
4 December 1756 – 6 April 1757
|
|
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire
|
vacant
|
April – June 1757
|
|
William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire
(Caretaker)
|
|
William Pitt the Elder
|
|
Southern Secretary
|
27 June 1757 – 6 October 1761
|
Whig
|
|
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle
|
|
George Grenville
|
|
Treasurer of the Navy
|
October 1761 – May 1762
|
Grenvillite Whig
|
|
Henry Fox
|
|
Paymaster of the Forces
|
May 1762 – April 1763
|
Whig
|
|
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute
|
|
George Grenville
|
|
Prime Minister
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
16 April 1763 – 13 July 1765
|
Grenvillite Whig
|
|
Himself
|
|
Henry Seymour Conway
|
|
Southern Secretary (until May 1766)
Northern Secretary (from May 1766)
|
July 1765 – 20 October 1768
|
Rockinghamite Whig
|
|
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (until July 1766)
|
|
William Pitt the Elder, 1st Earl of Chatham (from July 1766)
|
|
Frederick Lord North
|
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Prime Minister (from 28 January 1770)
|
October 1768 – 22 March 1782
|
Tory
|
|
Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton
|
|
Himself
|
|
Charles James Fox
|
|
Foreign Secretary
|
27 March 1782 – July 1782
|
Whig
|
|
Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham
|
|
Thomas Townshend
|
|
Home Secretary
|
10 July 1782 – 6 March 1783
|
|
William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne
|
|
Charles James Fox
|
|
Foreign Secretary
|
jointly:
2 April 1783 – 19 December 1783
|
Fox-North Coalition
|
|
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (figurehead)
|
|
Frederick Lord North
|
|
Home Secretary
|
|
William Pitt the Younger
|
|
Prime Minister
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
19 December 1783 – 14 March 1801
|
Pittite Tory
|
|
Himself
|
Name
|
Portrait
|
Concurrent office(s)
|
Tenure
|
Political Party
|
Prime Minister
|
|
Henry Addington
|
|
Prime Minister
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
17 March 1801 – 10 May 1804
|
Pittite Tory
|
|
Himself
|
|
William Pitt the Younger
|
|
Prime Minister
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
10 May 1804 – 23 January 1806 (died)
|
|
Himself
|
|
Charles James Fox
|
|
Foreign Secretary
|
February – 13 September 1806 (died)
|
Whig
(Ministry of All the Talents)
|
|
William Grenville
|
|
Charles Grey, Viscount Howick
|
|
Foreign Secretary
|
September 1806 – 31 March 1807
|
|
Spencer Perceval
|
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Prime Minister (from October 1809)
|
April 1807 – 11 May 1812 (died)
|
Tory
|
|
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
|
|
Himself
|
|
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh (inherited as 2nd Marquess of Londonderry in 1821)
|
|
Foreign Secretary
|
June 1812 – 12 August 1822 (died)
|
|
Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool
|
|
George Canning
|
|
Foreign Secretary (until April 1827)
|
16 September 1822 – 8 August 1827 (died)
|
Canningite Tory
|
Prime Minister
Chancellor of the Exchequer (both from April 1827)
|
|
Himself
|
|
William Huskisson
|
|
War & Colonial Secretary
|
3 September 1827 – 21 January 1828
|
|
F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich
|
|
Robert Peel
|
|
Home Secretary
|
26 January 1828 – 16 November 1830
|
Tory
|
|
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
|
|
John Spencer, Viscount Althorp
|
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
22 November 1830 – 14 November 1834
|
Whig
|
|
Charles Grey
|
|
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
|
|
Robert Peel
|
|
Prime Minister
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
10 December 1834 – 8 April 1835
|
Conservative
|
|
Himself
|
|
John Russell
|
|
Home Secretary (until August 1839)
War & Colonial Secretary (from 30 August 1839)
|
18 April 1835 – 30 August 1841
|
Whig
|
|
William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
|
|
Robert Peel
|
|
Prime Minister
|
30 August 1841 – 29 June 1846
|
Conservative
|
|
Himself
|
|
John Russell
|
|
Prime Minister
|
30 June 1846 – 21 February 1852
|
Whig
|
|
Himself
|
|
Benjamin Disraeli
|
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
27 February – 17 December 1852
|
Conservative
|
|
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
|
|
John Russell
|
|
Foreign Secretary (until February 1853)
Minister without Portfolio (February 1853–June 1854)
Lord President of the Council (from June 1854)
|
28 December 1852 – 30 January 1855
|
Whig
(Coalition)
|
|
4th Earl of Aberdeen
|
|
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
|
|
Prime Minister
|
6 February 1855 – 19 February 1858
|
Whig
|
|
Himself
|
|
Benjamin Disraeli
|
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
26 February 1858 – 11 June 1859
|
Conservative
|
|
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
|
|
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
|
|
Prime Minister
|
12 June 1859 – 18 October 1865 (died)
|
Liberal
|
|
Himself
|
|
William Ewart Gladstone
|
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
October 1865 – 26 June 1866
|
|
John Russell
|
|
Benjamin Disraeli
|
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer (until February 1868)
|
6 July 1866 – 1 December 1868
|
Conservative
|
|
Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
|
Prime Minister (from February 1868)
|
|
Himself
|
|
William Ewart Gladstone
|
|
Prime Minister
Chancellor of the Exchequer (from August 1873)
|
3 December 1868 – 17 February 1874
|
Liberal
|
|
Himself
|
|
Benjamin Disraeli
|
|
Prime Minister
|
20 February 1874 – 21 August 1876
|
Conservative
|
|
Himself
|
|
Stafford Northcote
|
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
21 August 1876 – 21 April 1880
|
|
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield
|
|
William Ewart Gladstone
|
|
Prime Minister
Chancellor of the Exchequer (until December 1882)
|
23 April 1880 – 9 June 1885
|
Liberal
|
|
Himself
|
|
Michael Hicks-Beach
|
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
24 June 1885 – 28 January 1886
|
Conservative
|
|
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
|
|
William Ewart Gladstone
|
|
Prime Minister
Lord Privy Seal
|
1 February – 2 July 1886
|
Liberal
|
|
Himself
|
|
Randolph Churchill
|
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
3 August 1886 – 14 January 1887
|
Conservative
|
|
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
|
|
W. H. Smith
|
|
First Lord of the Treasury
|
17 January 1887 – October 1891
|
|
Arthur Balfour
|
|
First Lord of the Treasury
|
October 1891 – 11 August 1892
|
|
William Ewart Gladstone
|
|
Prime Minister
Lord Privy Seal
|
15 August 1892 – 2 March 1894
|
Liberal
|
|
Himself
|
|
William Vernon Harcourt
|
|
Chancellor of the Exchequer
|
2 March 1894 – 21 June 1895
|
|
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery
|
|
Arthur Balfour
|
|
First Lord of the Treasury
Prime Minister (from 12 July 1902)
Lord Privy Seal (14 July 1902–17 October 1903)
|
29 June 1895 – 4 December 1905
|
Conservative
|
|
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
|
|
Himself
|
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