1980 Labour Party (UK) leadership election 1980 Labour Party (UK) leadership election The 1980 Labour Party leadership election was held following the resignation of James Callaghan. Callaghan had been Prime Minister from 1976 to 1979 and had stayed on as leader of the Labour Party for eighteen months in order to oversee an orderly transition to his favoured successor, Denis Healey over his own deputy Michael Foot. However, during this period the party had become bogged down in internal arguments about its procedures and future direction. Initially, the candidates were thought likely to be Denis Healey, Peter Shore and John Silkin, but Michael Foot was persuaded
Labour Party leadership of Jeremy Corbyn Labour Party leadership of Jeremy Corbyn The Labour Party leadership of Jeremy Corbyn began when Jeremy Corbyn was elected as Leader of the UK Labour Party in September 2015, the election having been triggered by the resignation of Ed Miliband in the wake of Labour's defeat at the 2015 general election. At the same time, Corbyn became the Leader of the Opposition. Corbyn faced a second leadership election in 2016, when he was challenged by Owen Smith, but was re-elected in September. Having felt disillusioned with a lack of a left-wing voice in the leadership contest, Corbyn decided to stand