1975 Conservative Party (UK) leadership election a major British political party. 1975 Conservative Party (UK) leadership election The 1975 Conservative Party leadership election was held in February 1975, in which the party's sitting MPs voted Margaret Thatcher as party leader on the second ballot. Previous leader Edward Heath stood aside after the first ballot, in which he unexpectedly finished behind Thatcher. The Conservatives were the official Opposition to the Labour government, so Thatcher also became Leader of the Opposition. Edward Heath, leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister had called and unexpectedly lost the February 1974 general election. Although the Labour Party were able only
2009 UK Independence Party leadership election 2009 UK Independence Party leadership election The UK Independence Party (UKIP) held a leadership election in 2009, with ballots closing on 26 November. The election was won by Malcolm Pearson, Baron Pearson of Rannoch. The Eurosceptic party had been led by Nigel Farage since he won the 2006 leadership election. He announced his resignation from the post in September 2009, stating that he wanted to devote more time to his campaign for a seat in the United Kingdom House of Commons. There were five candidates for the election. Gerard Batten was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and stood