The chairman of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom is responsible for party administration and overseeing the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, formerly Conservative Central Office.
| Chairman of the Conservative Party | |
|---|---|
Logo for the Conservative Party | |
Incumbent since 22 July 2025Kevin Hollinrake | |
| Appointer | Leader of the Conservative Party |
| Term length | At the pleasure of the leader of the Conservative Party |
| Inaugural holder | Arthur Steel-Maitland |
| Formation | 1911 |
| Deputy | Matt Vickers |
When the Conservatives are in government, the officeholder is usually a member of the Cabinet holding a sinecure position such as Minister without Portfolio. Deputy or Vice Chairmen of the Conservative Party may also be appointed, with responsibility for specific aspects of the party.
The current Deputy Chairman is Matt Vickers.
The role was created in 1911 in response to the Conservative Party's defeat in the second 1910 general election. The position is not subject to election, as it is given by the party leader.
List
Key
| Member of the House of Commons | |
| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Non-parliamentarian |
List
| Chairman | Term of office | Election | Ministerial offices | Leader | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Steel-Maitland MP for Birmingham East | 1911 | 1916 | — | Bonar Law | ||||
| Sir George Younger, 1st Baronet MP for Ayr Burghs | 1916 | 1923 | 1918 1922 1923 | |||||
| Stanley Baldwin | ||||||||
| Stanley Jackson MP for Howdenshire | 1923 | 1926 | 1924 | |||||
| John Davidson MP for Hemel Hempstead | 1926 | 1930 | 1929 | |||||
| Neville Chamberlain MP for Birmingham Edgbaston | 23 June 1930 | 15 April 1931 | — | |||||
| John Baird 1st Viscount Stonehaven | 1931 | 1936 | 1931 1935 | |||||
| Sir Douglas Hacking MP for Chorley | 1936 | 1942 | — | |||||
| Neville Chamberlain | ||||||||
| Winston Churchill | ||||||||
| Thomas Dugdale MP for Richmond | 1942 | 29 October 1944 | — | |||||
| Ralph Assheton MP for City of London | 29 October 1944 | 1 July 1946 | 1945 | |||||
| Frederick Marquis 1st Earl of Woolton | 1 July 1946 | 1 November 1955 | 1950 1951 1955 | Lord President of the Council (1951–1952) Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1952–1955) Minister of Materials (1952–1954) | ||||
| Anthony Eden | ||||||||
| Oliver Poole | 1 November 1955 | 18 September 1957 | — | |||||
| Harold Macmillan | ||||||||
| Quintin Hogg 2nd Viscount Hailsham | 18 September 1957 | 14 October 1959 | 1959 | Lord President of the Council (1957–1959) | ||||
| Rab Butler MP for Saffron Walden | 14 October 1959 | 10 October 1961 | — | Home Secretary (1957–1962) Leader of the House of Commons (1955–1961) | ||||
| Iain Macleod MP for Enfield West | 10 October 1961 | 21 October 1963 | — | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1961–1963) Leader of the House of Commons (1961–1963) | ||||
| Oliver Poole 1st Baron Poole | 17 April 1963 (Jointly) | — | ||||||
| John Hare 1st Viscount Blakenham | 21 October 1963 | 21 January 1965 | 1964 | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1963–1964) | ||||
| Alec Douglas-Home | ||||||||
| Edward du Cann MP for Taunton | 21 January 1965 | 11 September 1967 | 1966 | |||||
| Edward Heath | ||||||||
| Anthony Barber MP for Altrincham and Sale | 11 September 1967 | 31 July 1970 | 1970 | |||||
| Peter Thomas MP for Hendon South | 31 July 1970 | 7 April 1972 | — | Secretary of State for Wales (1970–1974) | ||||
| Peter Carington 6th Baron Carrington | 7 April 1972 | 11 June 1974 | Feb 1974 | Secretary of State for Defence (1970–1974) Secretary of State for Energy (1974) | ||||
| William Whitelaw MP for Penrith and The Border | 11 June 1974 | 27 February 1975 | Oct 1974 | |||||
| Peter Thorneycroft Baron Thorneycroft | 27 February 1975 | 14 September 1981 | 1979 | Margaret Thatcher | ||||
| Cecil Parkinson MP for South Hertfordshire | 14 September 1981 | 14 September 1983 | 1983 | Paymaster General (1981–1983) Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1982–1983) Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1983) | ||||
| John Gummer MP for Suffolk Coastal | 14 September 1983 | 2 September 1985 | — | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State of Employment (1983) Minister of State for Employment (1983–1985) Paymaster General (1984–1985) | ||||
| Norman Tebbit MP for Chingford | 2 September 1985 | 2 November 1987 | 1987 | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1985–1987) | ||||
| Peter Brooke MP for City of London and Westminster South | 2 November 1987 | 24 July 1989 | — | Paymaster General (1987–1989) | ||||
| Kenneth Baker MP for Mole Valley | 24 July 1989 | 28 November 1990 | — | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | ||||
| Chris Patten MP for Bath | 28 November 1990 | 10 May 1992 | 1992 | John Major | ||||
| Sir Norman Fowler MP for Sutton Coldfield | 10 May 1992 | 20 July 1994 | — | Attended Cabinet | ||||
| Jeremy Hanley MP for Richmond and Barnes | 20 July 1994 | 5 July 1995 | — | Minister without portfolio | ||||
| Brian Mawhinney MP for Peterborough → North West Cambridgeshire | 5 July 1995 | 20 June 1997 | 1997 | |||||
| Cecil Parkinson Baron Parkinson | 20 June 1997 | 2 December 1998 | — | William Hague | ||||
| Michael Ancram Earl of Ancram MP for Devizes | 2 December 1998 | 18 September 2001 | 2001 | |||||
| David Davis MP for Haltemprice and Howden | 18 September 2001 | 23 July 2002 | — | Iain Duncan Smith | ||||
| Theresa May MP for Maidenhead | 23 July 2002 | 6 November 2003 | — | |||||
| Liam Fox MP for Woodspring | 6 November 2003 | 6 May 2005 | 2005 | Michael Howard | ||||
| Maurice Saatchi Baron Saatchi | 10 November 2003 (Jointly) | |||||||
| Francis Maude MP for Horsham | 6 May 2005 | 2 July 2007 | — | |||||
| David Cameron | ||||||||
| Caroline Spelman MP for Meriden | 2 July 2007 | 19 January 2009 | — | |||||
| Eric Pickles MP for Brentwood and Ongar | 19 January 2009 | 12 May 2010 | 2010 | |||||
| Andrew Feldman Baron Feldman of Elstree | 12 May 2010 (Jointly 2010–15) | 14 July 2016 | 2015 | |||||
| Sayeeda Warsi Baroness Warsi | 12 May 2010 (Jointly) | 4 September 2012 | — | Minister without portfolio | ||||
| Grant Shapps MP for Welwyn Hatfield | 4 September 2012 (Jointly) | 11 May 2015 | 2015 | |||||
| Sir Patrick McLoughlin MP for Derbyshire Dales | 14 July 2016 | 8 January 2018 | 2017 | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Theresa May | |||
| Brandon Lewis MP for Great Yarmouth | 8 January 2018 | 24 July 2019 | — | Minister without portfolio | ||||
| Ben Elliot | 24 July 2019 (Jointly) | 5 September 2022 | 2019 | Boris Johnson | ||||
| James Cleverly MP for Braintree | 13 February 2020 | Minister without portfolio | ||||||
| Amanda Milling MP for Cannock Chase | 13 February 2020 (Jointly) | 15 September 2021 | — | |||||
| Oliver Dowden MP for Hertsmere | 15 September 2021 (Jointly) | 24 June 2022 | — | |||||
| Andrew Stephenson MP for Pendle | 7 July 2022 (Jointly) | 6 September 2022 | — | |||||
| Sir Jake Berry MP for Rossendale and Darwen | 6 September 2022 | 25 October 2022 | — | Liz Truss | ||||
| Nadhim Zahawi MP for Stratford-on-Avon | 25 October 2022 | 29 January 2023 | — | Rishi Sunak | ||||
| Greg Hands MP for Chelsea and Fulham | 7 February 2023 | 13 November 2023 | — | |||||
| Richard Holden MP for North West Durham | 13 November 2023 | 5 July 2024 | 2024 | |||||
| Richard Fuller MP for North Bedfordshire | 8 July 2024 | 4 November 2024 | — | |||||
| Nigel Huddleston MP for Droitwich and Evesham | 4 November 2024 | 22 July 2025 | — | Kemi Badenoch | ||||
| Dominic Johnson Lord Johnson of Lainston | — | |||||||
| Kevin Hollinrake MP for Thirsk and Malton | 22 July 2025 | Incumbent | — | |||||
- Iain Macleod and Baron Poole jointly held the chairmanship from 17 April to 10 October 1961.
- Liam Fox and Lord Saatchi jointly held the chairmanship from 11 November 2003 to 6 May 2005.
- Lord Feldman of Elstree and Baroness Warsi jointly held the chairmanship from 12 May 2010 to 4 September 2012.
- Lord Feldman of Elstree and Grant Shapps jointly held the chairmanship from 4 September 2012 to 11 May 2015.
- Ben Elliot and James Cleverly jointly held the chairmanship from 24 July 2019 to 13 February 2020.
- Ben Elliot and Amanda Milling jointly held the chairmanship from 13 February 2020 to 15 September 2021.
- Ben Elliot and Oliver Dowden jointly held the chairmanship from 15 September 2021 to 24 June 2022.
- Ben Elliot and Andrew Stephenson jointly held the chairmanship from 7 July 2022 to 5 September 2022.
Timeline
See also
- 1922 Committee – the parliamentary body of the Conservative Party, which has its own Chairman
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