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:
“Signal smokes, war drums, feathered bonnets against the western sky. New messiahs, young leaders are ready to hurl the finest light cavalry in the world against Fort Stark. In the Kiowa village, the beat of drums echoes in the pulsebeat of the young braves. Fighters under a common banner, old quarrels forgotten, Comanche rides with Arapaho, Apache with Cheyenne. All chant of war. War to drive the white man forever from the red man’s hunting ground.”
—Frank S. Nugent (1908–1965)
“I have simply ordered a box of maniacs.
They can be sent back.
They can die, I need feed them nothing, I am the owner.”
—Sylvia Plath (1932–1963)