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. When there is a vacancy the National Executive Committee selects a provisional replacement, subject to approval at the subsequent party conference.
Hollie Ridley currently holds the post since September 2024.
Party structure
The General Secretary heads a staff of around 200 in their two head offices, one in London and Labour Central in Newcastle upon Tyne, and in the many local offices around the country. The Scottish and Welsh Labour Parties are headed by their general secretaries, de facto subordinate to the national general secretary.
The General Secretary is responsible for employing staff, developing campaign and media strategies, running the party's organisational, constitutional, and policy committees, organising the Party Conference, liaising with the Socialist International and Party of European Socialists, ensuring legal and constitutional propriety, and preparing literature.
The General Secretary also acts as the Registered Treasurer under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, responsible for preparing accurate financial statements.
As the Labour Party is an unincorporated association without a separate legal personality, the General Secretary represents the party on behalf of the other members of the Labour Party in any legal matters or actions. Ray Collins was appointed in 2008, and was succeeded by Iain McNicol in 2011. McNicol resigned from the post in early 2018, citing a desire to "pursue new challenges". On 20 March 2018, Jennie Formby was appointed as the General Secretary effective from April 2018. She resigned on 4 May 2020, following the election of Keir Starmer as new Labour leader, saying "now we have a new leadership team it is the right time to step down". On 26 May 2020, David Evans was appointed as the General Secretary. This was following an allegedly close run between Evans, Starmer's preferred choice, and Byron Taylor, favoured by the Labour left. On 17 September 2024, Hollie Ridley succeeded Evans as General Secretary.
List of General Secretaries (1900–present)
A list of General Secretaries (including acting general secretaries) since 1900.
{| class="wikitable" style="max-width"
|+
! colspan="3" |Portrait
!Term began
!Term ended
! colspan="2" |Leader(s)
|-
| rowspan="5" |1
| rowspan="5" |Ramsay MacDonald <br /><small>(1866–1937)</small>
| rowspan="5" |83x83px
| rowspan="5" |1900
| rowspan="5" |1912
| – style="background-color: ;"|
| None
|-
| style="background-color: ;"|
|Hardie
|-
| style="background-color: ;"|
|Henderson
|-
| style="background-color: ;"|
|Barnes
|-
| style="background-color: ; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
| rowspan="2" |MacDonald
|-
| rowspan="7" |2
| rowspan="7" |Arthur Henderson<br /><small>(1863–1935)</small>
| rowspan="7" |83x83px
| rowspan="7" |1912
| rowspan="7" |1935
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray;" |
|-
| style="background-color: ;"|
|Henderson
|-
| style="background-color: ;"|
|Adamson
|-
| style="background-color: ;"|
|Clynes
|-
| style="background-color: ;"|
|MacDonald
|-
| style="background-color: ;"|
|Henderson
|-
| style="background-color: ; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
| rowspan="2" |Lansbury
|-
| rowspan="2" |3
| rowspan="2" |James Middleton<br /><small>(1873–1962)</small>
| rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" |1935
| rowspan="2" |1944
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray;" |
|-
| style="background-color: ; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
| rowspan="2" |Attlee
|-
| rowspan="3" |4
| rowspan="3" |Morgan Phillips<br /><small>(1902–1963)</small>
| rowspan="3" |
| rowspan="3" |1944
| rowspan="3" |1962
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
|-
| style="background-color: ;"|
|Morrison
(acting)
|-
| style="background-color: ; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
| rowspan="2" |Gaitskell
|-
| rowspan="3" |5
| rowspan="3" |Len Williams<br /><small>(1904–1972)</small>
| rowspan="3" |
| rowspan="3" |1962
| rowspan="3" |1968
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray;" |
|-
| style="background-color: ;"|
|Brown
(acting)
|-
| style="background-color: ; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
| rowspan="4" |Wilson
|-
|–
|Sara Barker
(acting)<br /><small>(1904–1973)</small>
|
|1968
|1968
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
|-
|6
|Harry Nicholas<br /><small>(1905–1997)</small>
|
|1968
|1972
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
|-
| rowspan="3" |7
| rowspan="3" |Ron Hayward<br /><small>(1917–1996)</small>
| rowspan="3" |
| rowspan="3" |1972
| rowspan="3" |1982
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray;" |
|-
|– style="background-color: ;"|
|Callaghan
|-
| style="background-color: ; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
| rowspan="2" |Foot
|-
| rowspan="2" |8
| rowspan="2" |Jim Mortimer<br /><small>(1921–2013)</small>
| rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" |1982
| rowspan="2" |1985
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray;" |
|-
| style="background-color: ; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
| rowspan="2" |Kinnock
|-
| rowspan="4" |9
| rowspan="4" |Larry Whitty<br /><small>(born 1943)</small>
| rowspan="4" |83x83px
| rowspan="4" |1985
| rowspan="4" |1994
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray;" |
|-
|– style="background-color: ;"|
|Smith
|-
|– style="background-color: ;"|
|Beckett
(acting)
|-
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
| rowspan="6" |Blair
|-
|10
|Tom Sawyer<br /><small>(1943–2025)</small>
|83x83px
|1994
|1998
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
|-
|11
|Margaret McDonagh<br /><small>(1961–2023)</small>
|
|1998
|2001
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
|-
|12
|David Triesman<br /><small>(1943-2026)</small>
|83x83px
|2001
|2003
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
|-
|13
|Matt Carter<br /><small>(born 1973)</small>
|
|2003
|2005
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
|-
|14
|Peter Watt<br /><small>(born 1969)</small>
|
|2005
|2007
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
|-
| rowspan="3" |15
| rowspan="3" |Ray Collins<br /><small>(born 1954)</small>
| rowspan="3" |83x83px
| rowspan="3" |2008
| rowspan="3" |2011
|– style="background-color: ;"|
|Brown
|-
|– style="background-color: ;"|
|Harman
(acting: 1st time)
|-
| style="background-color: ; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
| rowspan="2" |Miliband
|-
| rowspan="3" |16
| rowspan="3" |Iain McNicol<br /><small>(born 1969)</small>
| rowspan="3" |83x83px
| rowspan="3" |2011
| rowspan="3" |2018
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray;" |
|-
|– style="background-color: ;"|
|Harman
(acting: 2nd time)
|-
| style="background-color: ; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
| rowspan="2" |Corbyn
|-
| rowspan="2" |17
| rowspan="2" |Jennie Formby<br /><small>(born 1960)</small>
| rowspan="2" |83x83px
| rowspan="2" |2018
| rowspan="2" |2020
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray;" |
|-
| style="background-color: ; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
| rowspan="3" |Starmer
|-
|18
|David Evans<br /><small>(born 1961)</small>
|83x83px
|26 May 2020
|2024
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray; border-bottom:solid 0 gray" |
|-
|19
|Hollie Ridley
|
|17 September 2024
|Incumbent
| style="background-color: ; border-top:solid 0 gray;" |
|}
Timeline
Sources
- A Short History of the Labour Party, Henry Pelling, 2005,