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
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK) and after Ed Miliband resigned in 2015. Conversely, John Robert Clynes served as leader prior to becoming Deputy Leader. There are four living former deputy leaders. The most recent deputy leader to die was Denis Healey (1980-1983) on 3 October 2015. Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK) The Deputy Leader of the Labour Party is a senior politician in the British Labour Party. The post is currently held by Tom Watson, who was elected as deputy on 12 September 2015. Unlike other political party leaders, the Labour leader does not have the power to appoint or dismiss his or