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:
“All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908)
“To be black and an intellectual in America is to live in a box.... On the box is a label, not of my own choosing.”
—Stephen Carter (b. 1954)