John Smith (Labour Party leader) offer of the office of Solicitor General for Scotland, not wishing his political career to become sidelined as a law officer. In October, he was made an Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Energy. In December 1975, he was made a Minister of State. Smith supported James Callaghan in the Labour Party leadership election after Wilson resigned in April 1976. When Callaghan became Prime Minister, Smith became a Minister of State at the Privy Council Office, serving with Labour's Deputy leader, Michael Foot, the Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons. In this position,
Leader of the Labour Party (UK) the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, and was elected on the same day. Corbyn's leadership was challenged in mid-2016, but he was re-elected in the subsequent leadership election. The post of Leader of the Labour Party was officially created in 1922. Before this, between when Labour MPs were first elected in 1906 and the general election in 1922, when substantial gains were made, the post was known as Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party. In 1970, the positions of Leader of the Labour Party and Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party were permanently separated. In 1921, J. R. Clynes