| Election Name: | 1963 Labour Party leadership election |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1961 Labour Party leadership election |
| Previous Year: | 1961 |
| Next Election: | 1976 Labour Party leadership election |
| Next Year: | 1976 |
| 1Blank: | First ballot |
| 2Blank: | Second ballot |
| Image1: | Harold Wilson.jpg |
| Image1 Size: | 150x150px |
| Candidate1: | Harold Wilson |
| 1Data1: | 115 (47.1%) |
| 2Data1: | 144 (58.3%) |
| Image2 Size: | 150x150px |
| Candidate2: | George Brown |
| 1Data2: | 88 (36.1%) |
| 2Data2: | 103 (41.7%) |
| Image3: | James Callaghan 1970 (cropped).jpg |
| Image3 Size: | 150x150px |
| Candidate3: | James Callaghan |
| 1Data3: | 41 (16.8%) |
| 2Data3: | Eliminated |
| Leader | |
| Before Election: | George Brown (interim) |
| After Election: | Harold Wilson |
The 1963 Labour Party leadership election was held following the death of Hugh Gaitskell, party leader since 1955. He died on 18 January 1963 and was succeeded (on a temporary basis) by deputy leader George Brown.
In 1963 the Labour leader was elected by the Parliamentary Labour Party (the members of the House of Commons in receipt of the Labour whip). To be elected the winning candidate required more than half the votes. If no candidate was elected in a ballot then the last placed candidate was eliminated and a new ballot held contested by the continuing candidates. This process, known as the exhaustive ballot, was repeated until a candidate was elected.
Three candidates were nominated.
An overall majority was required for election. The results of the ballots of Labour MPs were as follows:
| First ballot: 7 February 1963 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Harold Wilson | 115 | 47.1 | |
| George Brown | 88 | 36.1 | |
| James Callaghan | 41 | 16.8 | |
| Majority | 27 | 11.1 | |
| Turnout | 244 | align="right" | |
| Second ballot required | |||
As a result of the first ballot, Callaghan was eliminated. The Labour Party's rules required that the winner of the contest win more than half of the votes cast. As Wilson fell short of this the remaining two candidates would face each other in a second ballot, seven days later.[3] However it was reported that Wilson was "likely" to prevail and that it was "doubtful" Brown could be able to win the backing of the 35 Callaghan voters he would need to emerge with a majority.[3] Although Brown had defeated Wilson for the deputy leadership the previous year, the political correspondent of The Glasgow Herald reported that the two contests could not be compared, suggesting that Brown had partly won that contest as he was seen as a contrast to the "intellectual" leader Hugh Gaitskell. The same author suggested the fact that Wilson was an "intellectual" was an advantage to him in the contest to be leader. The author also opined that Callaghan supporters, who might assumed to be more likely to back Brown, would take into consideration that Wilson was " a more credible alternative Prime Minister".[3]
| Second ballot: 14 February 1963 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ||
| Harold Wilson | 144 | 58.3 | ||
| George Brown | 103 | 41.7 | ||
| Majority | 41 | 16.6 | ||
| Turnout | 247 | align="right" | ||
| Harold Wilson elected | ||||
Although Brown had mustered 15 extra votes compared with the first ballot, Wilson increased his total by 29 to win a comfortable victory.[4] According to the following day's The Glasgow Herald while Wilson's win by 41 votes was larger than had been anticipated earlier in the contest, it was not a surprise as "the tide began to run strongly in his [Wilson's] favour" after the previous week's vote ballot. The same article concluded that Labour MP's had picked Wilson as the "more credible alternative Prime Minister", arguing that his performances in the House of Commons and on television were more statesman like than those of "the bluff, outspoken Mr Brown".[4]
At 46, Wilson was Labour's youngest leader until Tony Blair became leader in 1994 at the age of 41.[4]