Recently, the office of Deputy Prime Minister has been revived and held by senior politicians in the governing party.

However, the Deputy Leader is essentially a party official and there is no constitutional link between the two roles.

The former Labour British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, announced on his formal election as Labour Leader that the newly elected Deputy Leader, Harriet Harman, would instead become Party Chair.

[1] Such a vacancy has occurred only twice, when Harold Wilson resigned as Leader and Prime Minister in 1976, and when Tony Blair did so in 2007, but each remained in office until, respectively, James Callaghan and Gordon Brown had been elected as successor, and so no Acting Leader was required to take over.

Margaret Beckett briefly served as Labour Leader following the unexpected death of John Smith in 1994.