Chief Whip of the Labour Party


A chief whip of the Labour Party oversees the whipping system in the Labour Party, and is responsible for ensuring that Labour members of Parliament or list of current members of the House of Lords attend and vote in the Parliament of the United Kingdom in the way desired by the party leadership. The two chief whips, one in the House of Commons and one in the House of Lords, also help to organise their party's contribution to parliamentary business. Each chief whip manages a team of whips, whom they may appoint from the Parliamentary Labour Party, to support the work of the whips' office.
The party leadership may allow members to have a free vote on a measure, based on their own opinion rather than party policy, without requiring the whips to influence the way members vote.
The functions of whips are kept confidential, as they are concerned with the discipline of their party's Members of Parliament.
By convention, Chief Whips do not sign early day motions, table questions to Ministers, or give media interviews in their capacity as whip.
This is a list of those people who have served as chief whip of the Labour Party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

House of Commons

YearNameConstituency
1906David ShackletonClitheroe
1906Arthur HendersonBarnard Castle
1907George RobertsNorwich
1914Arthur HendersonBarnard Castle
1914Frank GoldstoneSunderland
1916George RobertsNorwich
1919William Tyson WilsonWesthoughton
1920Arthur HendersonWidnes
1924Benjamin SpoorBishop Auckland
1925Arthur HendersonBurnley
1927Thomas KennedyKirkcaldy Burghs
1931Charles EdwardsBedwellty
1942William WhiteleyBlaydon
1955Herbert BowdenLeicester South West
1964Edward ShortNewcastle upon Tyne Central
1966John SilkinDeptford
1969Robert MellishBermondsey
1976Michael CocksBristol South
1985Derek FosterBishop Auckland
1995Donald DewarGlasgow Garscadden
1997Nick BrownNewcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend
1998Ann TaylorDewsbury
2001Hilary ArmstrongDurham North West
2006Jacqui SmithRedditch
2007Geoff HoonAshfield
2008Nick BrownNewcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend
2010Dame Rosie WintertonDoncaster Central
2016Nick BrownNewcastle upon Tyne East
2021Sir Alan CampbellTynemouth
2025Jonathan ReynoldsStalybridge and Hyde

Deputy Chief Whips

House of Lords

YearName
Feb 1924The Lord Muir-Mackenzie
Feb 1924The Earl De La Warr
1930The Lord Marley
1937The Lord Strabolgi
1941The Earl of Listowel
1944The Lord Southwood
1945The Lord Ammon
1949The 1st Lord Shepherd
1954The Earl of Lucan
1964The 2nd Lord Shepherd
1967The Lord Beswick
1973The Baroness Llewelyn-Davies of Hastoe
1982The Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
1990The Lord Graham of Edmonton
1997The Lord Carter
2002The Lord Grocott
2008The Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
2008The Lord Bassam of Brighton
2018The Lord McAvoy
2021The Lord Kennedy of Southwark

Current Deputy Chief Whip