Leaders At The Dispatch Box Since 1961
The most high-profile contributors at prime minister's questions are the prime minister and the Leader of the Opposition, who speak opposite each other at the dispatch box. Regular, fixed sessions have taken place since 1961, and the list below outlines the prime ministers since 1961 and Opposition party leaders they faced across the floor of the House of Commons:
| Prime Minister | Leader of the Opposition | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Harold Macmillan | Hugh Gaitskell | 1961–1963 |
| George Brown | 1963 | |
| Harold Wilson | 1963 | |
| Alec Douglas-Home | Harold Wilson | 1963–1964 |
| Harold Wilson | Alec Douglas-Home | 1964–1965 |
| Edward Heath | 1965–1970 |
|
| Edward Heath | Harold Wilson | 1970–1974 |
| Harold Wilson | Edward Heath | 1974–1975 |
| Margaret Thatcher | 1975–1976 | |
| James Callaghan | Margaret Thatcher | 1976–1979 |
| Margaret Thatcher | James Callaghan | 1979–1980 |
| Michael Foot | 1980–1983 | |
| Neil Kinnock | 1983–1990 | |
| John Major | Neil Kinnock | 1990–1992 |
| John Smith | 1992–1994 | |
| Margaret Beckett | 1994 | |
| Tony Blair | 1994–1997 | |
| Tony Blair | John Major | 1997 |
| William Hague | 1997–2001 | |
| Iain Duncan Smith | 2001–2003 | |
| Michael Howard | 2003–2005 | |
| David Cameron | 2005–2007 | |
| Gordon Brown | David Cameron | 2007–2010 |
| David Cameron | Harriet Harman | 2010 |
| Ed Miliband | 2010– |
Read more about this topic: Prime Minister's Questions
Famous quotes containing the words leaders and/or box:
“These semi-traitors [Union generals who were not hostile to slavery] must be watched.—Let us be careful who become army leaders in the reorganized army at the end of this Rebellion. The man who thinks that the perpetuity of slavery is essential to the existence of the Union, is unfit to be trusted. The deadliest enemy the Union has is slavery—in fact, its only enemy.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“[Let] the Union of the States be cherished and perpetuated. Let the open enemy to it be regarded as a Pandora with her box opened; and the disguised one, as the Serpent creeping with his deadly wiles into paradise.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)