Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury is a ministerial office in the government of the United Kingdom and is the second most senior ministerial office in HM Treasury, after the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The office was created in 1961 to share the burden of representing HM Treasury with the chancellor.[citation needed]

United Kingdom
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Incumbent
Laura Trott
since 13 November 2023
His Majesty's Treasury
StyleThe Right Honourable
Reports toChancellor of the Exchequer
Prime Minister
NominatorPrime Minister
AppointerThe Monarch
(on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
Formation8 October 1961
First holderHenry Brooke
Salary£121,326 per annum (2022)[1]
(including £86,584 MP salary)[2]
WebsiteOfficial Website

The minister is shadowed by the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury who sits on the Official Opposition frontbench.

History and responsibilities

Between 1961 and 2015, the holder of the office of Chief Secretary to the Treasury was of full cabinet rank. This formally made HM Treasury the only department to have more than one ministerial position of cabinet rank.[3][4] Since 2015, however, the status of the office has been reduced to "also attending Cabinet".[citation needed]

The office holder is responsible for public expenditure, including spending reviews.[5]

List of chief secretaries to the Treasury

Chief Secretary to the Treasury
  Conservative       Labour       Liberal Democrat
Chief secretaryTerm of officePartyMinistryChancellor
Henry Brooke
MP for Hampstead[6]
9 October
1961
13 July
1962
ConservativeMacmillan
(I & II)
Selwyn Lloyd
John Boyd-Carpenter[7]
MP for Kingston-upon-Thames
13 July
1962
16 October
1964
ConservativeReginald Maudling
Douglas-Home
Jack Diamond[8]
MP for Gloucester
20 October
1964
19 June
1970
LabourWilson
(I & II)
James Callaghan
Roy Jenkins
Maurice Macmillan[9]
MP for Farnham
23 June
1970
7 April
1972
ConservativeHeathIain Macleod
Anthony Barber
Patrick Jenkin[10]
MP for Wanstead and Woodford
7 April
1972
8 January
1974
Conservative
Tom Boardman[11]
MP for Leicester South West
8 January
1974
4 March
1974
Conservative
Joel Barnett[12]
MP for Heywood and Royton
7 March
1974
4 May
1979
LabourWilson
(III & IV)
Denis Healey
Callaghan
John Biffen[13]
MP for Oswestry
5 May
1979
5 January
1981
ConservativeThatcher IGeoffrey Howe
Leon Brittan[14]
MP for Cleveland and Whitby
5 January
1981
11 June
1983
Conservative
Peter Rees[15]
MP for Dover
11 June
1983
2 September
1985
ConservativeThatcher IINigel Lawson
John MacGregor[16]
MP for South Norfolk
2 September
1985
13 June
1987
Conservative
John Major[17]
MP for Huntingdon
13 June
1987
24 July
1989
ConservativeThatcher III
Norman Lamont[18]
MP for Kingston-upon-Thames
24 July
1989
28 November
1990
ConservativeJohn Major
David Mellor[19]
MP for Putney
28 November
1990
10 April
1992
ConservativeMajor INorman Lamont
Michael Portillo[20]
MP for Enfield Southgate
10 April
1992
20 July
1994
ConservativeMajor II
Kenneth Clarke
Jonathan Aitken[21]
MP for South Thanet
20 July
1994
5 July
1995
Conservative
William Waldegrave[22]
MP for Bristol West
5 July
1995
2 May
1997
Conservative
Alistair Darling[23]
MP for Edinburgh Central
3 May
1997
27 July
1998
LabourBlair IGordon Brown
Stephen Byers[24]
MP for North Tyneside
27 July
1998
23 December
1998
Labour
Alan Milburn[25]
MP for Darlington
23 December
1998
11 October
1999
Labour
Andrew Smith[26]
MP for Oxford East
11 October
1999
29 May
2002
Labour
Blair II
Paul Boateng[27]
MP for Brent South
29 May
2002
6 May
2005
Labour
Des Browne[28]
MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun
6 May
2005
5 May
2006
LabourBlair III
Stephen Timms[29]
MP for East Ham
5 May
2006
28 June
2007
Labour
Andy Burnham[30]
MP for Leigh
28 June
2007
24 January
2008
LabourBrownAlistair Darling
Yvette Cooper[31]
MP for Pontefract and Castleford
24 January
2008
5 June
2009
Labour
Liam Byrne[32]
MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill
5 June
2009
11 May
2010
Labour
David Laws[33]
MP for Yeovil
12 May
2010
29 May
2010
Liberal DemocratCameron–Clegg
(Con.L.D.)
George Osborne
Danny Alexander[34]
MP for Inverness, Nairn,
Badenoch and Strathspey
29 May
2010
8 May
2015
Liberal Democrat
Greg Hands[35]
MP for Chelsea and Fulham
11 May
2015
14 July
2016
ConservativeCameron II
David Gauke[36]
MP for South West Hertfordshire
14 July
2016
11 June
2017
ConservativeMay IPhilip Hammond
Liz Truss[37]
MP for South West Norfolk
11 June
2017
24 July
2019
ConservativeMay II
Rishi Sunak[38]
MP for Richmond (Yorks)
24 July
2019
13 February
2020
ConservativeJohnson ISajid Javid
Johnson II
Steve Barclay[39]
MP for North East Cambridgeshire
13 February
2020
15 September
2021
ConservativeRishi Sunak
Simon Clarke[40]
MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
15 September
2021
6 September
2022
Conservative
Nadhim Zahawi
Chris Philp[41]
MP for Croydon South
6 September
2022
14 October
2022
ConservativeTrussKwasi Kwarteng
Edward Argar[42]
MP for Charnwood
14 October
2022
25 October
2022
ConservativeJeremy Hunt
John Glen[43]
MP for Salisbury
25 October
2022
13 November
2023
ConservativeSunak
Laura Trott
MP for Sevenoaks
13 November
2023
IncumbentConservative

See also

References