Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)

Leader of the Opposition of the United Kingdom
Incumbent Jeremy Corbyn since 12 September 2015
Term length	While leader of the largest political party not in government
Inaugural holder	The Lord Grenville
Formation	March 1807 1 July 1937 (Statutory)
Salary	£139,355 (2010)
Website	The Shadow Cabinet

The Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition (more commonly known as the Leader of the Opposition) is the politician who leads the official opposition in the United Kingdom. The Leader of the Opposition by convention leads the largest party not within the government: where one party wins outright this is the party leader of the second largest political party in the House of Commons. The current Leader of the Opposition is Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, who was elected to the leadership of the Labour Party on 12 September 2015.

The Leader of the Opposition is normally viewed as an alternative prime minister, and is appointed to the Privy Council. They lead an Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet which scrutinises the actions of the Cabinet led by the prime minister, as well as offer alternative policies.

There is also a Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords (currently The Baroness Smith of Basildon). In the nineteenth century party affiliations were generally less fixed and leaders in the two Houses were often of equal status. A single, clear Leader of the Opposition was only definitively settled if the opposition leader in Commons or Lords was the outgoing prime minister. However, since the Parliament Act 1911 (which proceeded the last prime minister in the House of Lords, The Marquess of Salisbury in 1902) there has been no dispute that the leader in the House of Commons is pre-eminent and holds the main title.

The Leader of the Opposition is entitled to a salary in addition to their salary as a Member of Parliament. In 2010, this additional entitlement was available up to £73,617.