Sir Edward Leigh is the Conservative MP for Gainsborough, and was first elected to Parliament for the predecessor seat of Gainsborough and Horncastle at the 1983 general election. Following the 2024 general election, he became the Father of the House, as the longest continuously serving Member of Parliament.

In the 2024 general election, Leigh received 16,636 votes, representing 35.6% of the vote share. The Labour candidate, Jess McGuire, received 13,104 votes (28.1%), while the Reform UK candidate, Pat O’Connor, secured 9,916 votes (21.2%). Leigh was duly elected with a majority of 3,532.

The Gainsborough constituency covers the north-western part of Lincolnshire and includes the towns of Gainsborough and Market Rasen. It is a predominantly rural area where agriculture is significant. The constituency, and its predecessors covering the area, have elected a Conservative MP continuously since 1924, making it historically safe territory for the party.

Political Career

Leigh is the longest continuously serving MP, meaning he holds the title of father of the House. In this capacity he presided over Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s re-election as speaker following the 2024 general election.

Leigh is a member of the panel of chairs (since July 2010). The panel of chairs is made up of MPs chosen by the House of Commons speaker, typically at the beginning of every parliament, to chair public bill committees and other commons general committees. In this capacity, Leigh also chairs debates in Westminster Hall and may also act as temporary chair during a committee of the whole House.

Leigh stood unsuccessfully for the position of speaker of the House of Commons in the 2019 election.

In an article for the House magazine, Leigh promised to be a “rigidly impartial” speaker.

He said: “I would seek to be a traditional speaker who does not speak much or put himself in the limelight. Just as judges do, I would seek by my conduct and dress to submerge my personality into the office and keep business flowing.”

Leigh served as a junior minister under prime ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major, holding the post of parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department of Trade and Industry from November 1990 until May 1993. He was dismissed from this role due to his opposition to the Maastricht Treaty. The Maastricht Treaty, which entailed a significant deepening of European integration, badly divided the Conservative Party under John Major’s leadership – triggering rolling rebellions from a determined group of eurosceptic backbenchers.

Leigh also served as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS) in the Home Office.

Leigh served as chair of the influential public accounts committee from 2001 to 2010, scrutinising government spending. His extensive past committee service also includes the international trade committee (2016-2017), the liaison committee (2001-2010), the international development committee (1997-2001), the social security committee (1995-2000), the agriculture committee (1996-1996), and the defence committee (1983-1987).

Leigh is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for community development, Croatia, Holy See, France, Lebanon and for Christianity in the Holy Land.

Leigh delivered his maiden speech on 19 July 1983.

In it, he said: “Lincolnshire is known for something else. All over the county lie the airfields – many of them now disused – of RAF Bomber Command… On some nights during the war more men failed to return to Lincolnshire from one raid over Germany than were killed during the entire Falklands war. I should like to pay tribute to those men.”

He added: “Many of my generation are as concerned as young people were concerned in the 1930s about what they see as a continuous accumulation of weapons of mass destruction. But I believe that in the past two years my generation has again relearned the history of our times and has once again concluded that the peace movement is not that; it is the disarmament movement.

“As Mr. Churchill said on 19 March 1936: ‘False ideas have been spread about the country that disarmament means peace.’ Disarmament does not mean peace. Appeasement, as Harold Macmillan said, is the father of war.”

In the October 1974 general election, Leigh fought the Teesside Middlesborough seat for the Conservative Party.

Political Views

Leadership elections and loyalty

Tory leadership 2024: Leigh supported Robert Jenrick’s candidacy in the 2024 Conservative Party leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Rishi Sunak following the party’s defeat in the 2024 general election.

Jenrick, a former immigration minister, positioned himself on the right wing of the party, advocating for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). He emerged as an early frontrunner, topping the first two parliamentary ballots. After reaching the final two, he was defeated in the membership vote by Kemi Badenoch, receiving 41,388 votes (43.5%) compared to Badenoch’s 53,806 (56.5%).

Tory leadership 2022 (I): Leigh supported Liz Truss’ candidacy in the Conservative Party’s July-September 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Boris Johnson, following the mass exodus of more than 60 frontbenchers.

Truss, the then-foreign secretary, campaigned on a platform of sweeping tax cuts. After finishing second in the final parliamentary ballot with 113 votes, she won the subsequent vote of the party membership with 81,326 votes (57.4%) and was appointed prime minister on 6 September.

Tory leadership 2022 (II): Leigh supported Boris Johnson’s explored candidacy in the Conservative Party’s October 2022 leadership election. The contest was triggered by the resignation of Truss after just 45 days in office, following the financial and political tailspin triggered by her “mini-budget”.

Johnson, who had resigned as prime minister only months earlier, initially sought a return to office and claimed to have secured the 100 nominations required to proceed. However, he announced his withdrawal on 23 October, stating that “you can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.” Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers, later confirmed that Johnson had indeed secured the 100 MPs necessary to force a ballot of the Conservative membership – which he could well have won.

Tory leadership 2019: Leigh supported Michael Gove for the party’s leadership in 2019. The election was triggered by the resignation of Theresa May following her inability to secure a Brexit deal acceptable to parliament.

Gove, then the environment secretary, reached the final three of the parliamentary ballots. He was ultimately eliminated in the fifth ballot on 20 June, receiving 75 votes – just two fewer than Jeremy Hunt.

Tory leadership 2016: Leigh was one of 16 Conservative MPs who voted for Liam Fox in the first ballot of the party’s leadership election in July 2016.The contest was triggered by the resignation of David Cameron following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union.

After Fox dropped out of the race, Leigh switched his support to Andrea Leadsom’s candidacy. Leadsom, the minister of state for energy and climate change, emerged as a leading “Leave” candidate, securing 66 votes in the first ballot and 84 in the second. She withdrew from the contest on 11 July before the membership vote could take place.

Factional identity and party tradition

Mass deportation: In May 2025, Leigh signed an early day motion (EDM) concerning the mass deportation of illegal migrants. The motion, tabled by the independent MP Rupert Lowe, expressed “grave concern at the continued presence of over one million illegal migrants in the United Kingdom”.

The EDM urged the government to “implement a comprehensive national strategy to identify, detain, and deport all individuals found to be residing in the United Kingdom illegally, and to ensure that such policies are backed by the necessary legislative, diplomatic, logistical and financial resources to restore confidence in the rule of law and the security of our borders.”

European Research Group: Leigh has been associated with the European Research Group (ERG). During the Conservative Party’s last stint in government, the ERG emerged as a highly influential Tory faction composed of staunchly eurosceptic MPs. Founded in 1993, the group played a pivotal role in shaping the UK’s exit from the European Union, consistently advocating for a “hard” Brexit.

Its members were generally and often stridently critical of the withdrawal agreement negotiated by Theresa May. Chaired variously by Mark Francois, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Steve Baker and Suella Braverman, the group proved instrumental in May’s downfall as prime minister.

Common sense group: In the 2019-2024 parliament, Leigh was associated with the Common Sense Group (CSG) of socially conservative MPs. The CSG’s principal focus was to combat what it described as “woke” ideology. In 2021, it published a manifesto, Common Sense: Conservative Thinking for a Post-Liberal Age, which took aim at the Equality Act 2010, the supreme court, British broadcasters and environmentalist direct action group Extinction Rebellion. Veteran Conservative MP Sir John Hayes served as the group’s chair.

In a 2020 open letter published in the Daily Telegraph, MPs of the Common Sense Group said the faction had formed to “speak for the silent majority of voters tired of being patronised by elitist bourgeois liberals whenever issues such as immigration or law and order are raised.”

Rwanda rebellion (amendments): In January 2024, Leigh was one of around 60 Conservative MPs who supported amendments to the government’s Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill. The amendments, proposed by Conservative MPs Sir Bill Cash and Robert Jenrick, sought to strengthen the proposed legislation by limiting the ability of individual asylum seekers to prevent their deportation to Rwanda, under the terms of the government’s flagship removals scheme. The rebellion was composed of Tory MPs on the right of the party.

Blue Collar Conservatives: Leigh was previously listed as a member of the Blue Collar Conservatives group. This faction within the Conservative party was founded in 2012 by the former cabinet minister Esther McVey, but came to greater prominence following the 2019 general election. The group aimed to “champion working people and develop a conservative agenda to benefit the voters and communities most neglected by Labour”. In October 2022, McVey was succeeded by Lee Anderson as the group’s chair.

Cornerstone Group: Leigh was a member of the Cornerstone Group, a highly traditionalist and socially conservative faction of Conservative MPs. Its political philosophy was summarised by its motto: “Faith, Flag, and Family”. In July 2005, the group published a pamphlet that accused the-leader Michael Howard of running a general election campaign that was too “timid” about tax cuts, public service reform and family values.

Leigh, who co-founded the group alongside Sir John Hayes, wrote in the pamphlet: “The liberals have constructed an empire of cultural assumptions which, conservatives must realise, you either surrender to or fight. Emulating New Labour both lacks authenticity and is unlikely to make us popular.”

He added: “We must seize the centre ground and pull it kicking and screaming towards us. That is the only way to demolish the foundations of the liberal establishment and demonstrate to the electorate the fundamental flaws on which it is based.

“It is understandable that after three general election defeats, many in our party have lost confidence… But it is unacceptable for people whose electoral success is dependent on carrying the Conservative badge to use it to conceal fundamentally unconservative attitudes.

“Such critics usually have little to offer as a clarion call beyond the shrill cry for evermore unbridled liberty.”

Brexit and Europe

Brexit referendum: A longstanding eurosceptic, Leigh supported Leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum, and therefore agreed with a majority of his constituents, 62% of whom also voted to Leave.

Article 50: In February 2017, Leigh voted in favour of the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill. The legislation empowered the prime minister to notify the Council of the European Union of the UK’s intention to withdraw, formally triggering the process set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. MPs supported the bill by 498 votes to 114 at second reading.

Customs union vote (2025): In December 2025, Leigh voted against the UK-EU Customs Union (Duty to Negotiate) Bill. The bill, introduced under the ten-minute rule procedure by Liberal Democrat Europe spokesperson Al Pinkerton, sought to mandate the government to enter into negotiations with the European Union to establish a bespoke customs union.

Assisted dying

Leigh voted against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, better known as the assisted dying bill, at both second reading (November 2024) and third reading (June 2025).

Social values and conscience issues

Abortion decriminalisation (2025): Leigh voted against a backbench amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that sought to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales in June 2025. The amendment, which was passed by a majority of 242 votes, removed women from the threat of prosecution for ending a pregnancy at any stage. As an issue of conscience, MPs were allowed to vote according to their personal beliefs.

Same-sex marriage (2013): In February 2013, Leigh was one of the 139 Conservative MPs to vote against the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill at its second reading. The landmark piece of legislation, which received its second reading by 400 votes to 175, legalised marriage for same-sex couples in England and Wales.

Foreign policy and security

Trident renewal (2016): Leigh voted in favour of a government motion calling for the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent system in July 2016. The motion, which was passed by 472 votes to 117, committed the UK to constructing a new fleet of submarines to carry the nation’s nuclear weapons.

Iraq War vote (2003): In March 2003, Leigh voted for a rebel amendment which argued that the case for war against Iraq had not been established. A total of 139 Labour, 53 Liberal Democrat and 15 Conservative MPs backed the amendment. The government’s unamended motion authorising military action against Iraq passed by 412 votes to 149.

Sanctioned (Russia): In April 2022, Leigh was among the group of MPs placed on a sanctions list by the Russian government. The measure barred them from entering Russia and was presented by Moscow as a retaliatory response to the UK’s stance on the invasion of Ukraine.

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (June 2025): In June 2025, Leigh was among a group of eight Conservative MPs who attempted to deliver a letter to 10 Downing Street calling on the government to recognise a Palestinian state.

The letter read: “We write to express our strong support should the government recognise a Palestinian state… This decision would be a substantive act of diplomacy and a statement of commitment to equality and peace.”

“Successive UK governments have affirmed support for two states living side by side in peace and security, but without meaningful action, that vision is rapidly slipping away. Settlement expansion, the ongoing disproportionate destruction in Gaza, and political deadlock, are making a viable two-state solution harder to achieve with each passing day.”

Leigh later stated that they were “locked out of Downing Street”.

In a post to social media, he said: “Locked out of Downing Street. The PM’s minders wouldn’t let us deliver a letter to his front door on behalf of the suffering people of Palestine. Recognise their right to their own state now.”

Palestinian recognition vote (2014): In October 2014, Leigh was one of 39 Conservative MPs who voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a state. The motion, passed by 274 votes to 12 after it was roundly supported by Labour MPs, called on the government to “recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution”.

Civil liberties

Covid passes vote (2021): Leigh was one of 99 Conservative MPs to vote against Covid passes in England in December 2021.

Before Politics

Born in London in 1950, Leigh was educated at St Philip’s school (London), the Oratory school (Berkshire), and the Lycée Français (London). He studied modern history at University College, Durham, where he served as president of the Durham Union Society.

He qualified as a barrister, called to the Bar at the Inner Temple, and practised in arbitration and criminal law. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

From 1976 to 1977, he worked in the private office of Margaret Thatcher during her time as leader of the opposition, where he was responsible for her correspondence.

Before entering parliament, he served in local government as a member of Richmond borough council and the Greater London council (1974-1981). He also served as a trooper in the Honourable Artillery Company, part of the army reserve.

Leigh is the author or editor of four books, namely Right Thinking (1988), The Nation That Forgot God (2008), Monastery of the Mind (2012), and Another Country (2025).

Personal Life

Leigh married Mary Goodman in 1984. They have six children – three daughters and three sons.

Leigh is a practising Roman Catholic.

Trivia

Leigh is fluent in French and previously chaired the all-party parliamentary group on France.

In 2015, the French government appointed Leigh to the Légion d’Honneur, with ambassador Sylvie Bermann describing him at the ceremony as “a bridge between our parliaments, our governments and our societies.”

Upon accepting the honour , Leigh said: “France and the UK have a unique relationship. I thank the President for this honour. It is an honour not only for me, but above all for the all-party parliamentary group on France… Long live France, and long live the Entente Cordiale!”