1922 United Kingdom general election in the context of "Clement Attlee"

The leader of the Labour Party is the highest political office within the Labour Party of the United Kingdom. The current holder of the position is Keir Starmer, who was elected to the position on 4 April 2020, following his victory in that year's leadership election. He has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since the 2024 general election.

The position of leader was officially codified in the Labour Party's constitution in 1922. Before this, from when Labour MPs were first elected at the 1906 general election and the 1922 general election (the first election that saw substantial gains for the Labour Party), the position of leader was known as Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP). Following the 1970 general election, the positions of party leader and PLP chair were separated.

The first Labour government of the United Kingdom was formed by Ramsay MacDonald. A minority government, it lasted from January to November 1924, when they lost a vote of no confidence and were defeated by the Conservatives in the subsequent election.

After the Carlton Club meeting, in which the Conservatives voted to separate from the Lloyd George coalition, a general election was held in 1922, which resulted in a victory for the Conservatives and their Unionist allies, winning 344 seats and a convincing parliamentary majority of 74 seats — sufficient for a full parliamentary term.

The Carlton Club meeting, on 19 October 1922, was a formal meeting of Members of Parliament who belonged to the Conservative Party, called to discuss whether the party should remain in government in coalition with a section of the Liberal Party under the leadership of Liberal prime minister David Lloyd George. The party leadership favoured continuing, but the party rebels led by Bonar Law and Stanley Baldwin argued that participation was damaging the party. The meeting voted decisively against the Coalition, which resulted in its collapse, the resignation of Austen Chamberlain as party leader, and the invitation of Law to form a Government. The Conservatives subsequently won the general election with an overall majority.

The 1922 Committee, formally known as the Conservative Private Members' Committee, or sometimes simply the 22, is a parliamentary group of the Conservative Party in the British House of Commons. The committee, consisting of all Conservative backbench Members of Parliament (MPs), meets weekly while Parliament is in session and provides a way for backbenchers to co-ordinate and discuss their views independently of frontbenchers. Its executive membership and officers are by consensus limited to backbench MPs; however, since 2010, frontbench Conservative MPs have an open invitation to attend meetings.

The committee can also play an important role in choosing the party leader. The group was formed in 1923 (by MPs who were elected in 1922), but became important after 1940. The committee, collectively, represents the views of the Conservative Party parliamentary rank and file to the party leader, who is usually also the Prime Minister or leader of the Opposition. Whips are present but their role is limited to announcing future business and reporting questions and complaints to the chief whip. Due to the number of members, the group traditionally meets in Committee Room 14, the largest committee room in the Houses of Parliament.