Hastings Lees-Smith

The Right Honourable Hastings Lees-Smith
Leader of the Opposition
In office 22 May 1940 – 18 December 1941
Monarch	George VI
Preceded by	Clement Attlee
Succeeded by	The Lord Pethick-Lawrence
President of the Board of Education
In office 2 March 1931 – 24 August 1931
Monarch	George V
Prime Minister	Ramsay MacDonald
Preceded by	Sir Charles Trevelyan, Bt
Succeeded by	Sir Donald Maclean
Postmaster General
In office 7 June 1929 – 2 March 1931
Monarch	George V
Prime Minister	Ramsay MacDonald
Preceded by	The Lord Selsdon
Succeeded by	Clement Attlee
Parliamentary offices Member of Parliament for Keighley In office 14 November 1935 – 18 December 1941 Preceded by George Harvie-Watt Succeeded by Ivor Bulmer-Thomas In office 29 October 1924 – 7 October 1931 Preceded by Robert Pilkington Succeeded by George Harvie-Watt In office 15 November 1922 – 16 November 1923 Preceded by Robert Clough Succeeded by Robert Pilkington Member of Parliament for Northampton In office 1910 – 25 November 1918 Serving with Charles McCurdy Preceded by Herbert Paul John Greenwood Shipman Succeeded by Charles McCurdy
Personal details
Born	26 January 1878 (1878-01-26) British India
Died	18 December 1941 (1941-12-19) (aged 63) London, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Joyce Holman ​ (m. 1915)​
Alma mater	Queen's College, Oxford

Hastings Bertrand Lees-Smith PC (26 January 1878 – 18 December 1941) was a British Liberal turned Labour politician who was briefly in the cabinet as President of the Board of Education in 1931. He was the acting Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (as chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party) from 1940 until his death, during the time Clement Attlee was in government.