Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is the official title of the most senior whip of the governing party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Today, any official links between the Treasury and this office are nominal and the title of the office can be seen as a sinecure that allows the incumbent to draw a Government salary, attend Cabinet, and use a Downing Street residence, traditionally 12 Downing Street.

United Kingdom
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
Chief Whip of the House of Commons
Incumbent
Alan Campbell
since 5 July 2024
HM Treasury
Style
TypeMinister of the Crown
Member of
Reports toPrime Minister
Residence12 Downing Street (official)
SeatWestminster
AppointerThe Monarch
(on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Inaugural holderSir Philip Warwick
Formation1660
Salary£121,326 per annum (2022)[1]
(including £86,584 MP salary)[2]
WebsiteHM Treasury

The position is currently held by Alan Campbell since July 2024.

History

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The position of Secretary to the Treasury was created in 1660. Until 1711, there was only one Secretary to the Treasury; however, in that year, a second position was created to help deal with the increasing workload. This new position was known as the junior secretary to the Treasury, and the existing post as the senior secretary to the Treasury. Initially, when the position of Senior Secretary to the Treasury became vacant (except as the result of an election causing a change of government), the junior secretary was usually automatically promoted to the senior role. Over time, however, the roles of the Senior and Junior Secretaries began to diverge, the Senior Secretary post being used as a sinecure post for the chief whip, with no formal responsibilities to the Treasury. The junior secretary post remained a substantive position working in the Treasury. As such, the senior secretary became known as the parliamentary secretary to the Treasury while the junior secretary became known as Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and the 'automatic' promotion from Junior to Senior ceased. While the exact date on which this change occurred is disputed, it is agreed that the distinction was complete by 1830.[3] In the mid-nineteenth century, the parliamentary secretary to the Treasury was referred to as the patronage secretary to the Treasury.[4]

Parliamentary Secretaries to the Treasury, 1830–present

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19th century

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Thomas Edward Taylor, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury from 1866 to 1868

20th century

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21st century

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Colour key (for political parties):

  Conservative
  Labour

Secretary Term of office Political party Prime Minister
  Hilary Armstrong 8 June 2001 5 May 2006 Labour Tony Blair
  Jacqui Smith 5 May 2006 28 June 2007 Tony Blair
  Geoff Hoon 28 June 2007 3 October 2008 Gordon Brown
(Ministry)
  Nick Brown 3 October 2008 11 May 2010 Gordon Brown
(Ministry)
  Patrick McLoughlin 12 May 2010 4 September 2012 Conservative David Cameron
  Andrew Mitchell 4 September 2012 19 October 2012 David Cameron
  Sir George Young, Bt. CH 19 October 2012 15 July 2014 David Cameron
  Michael Gove 15 July 2014 9 May 2015 David Cameron
  Mark Harper 9 May 2015 14 July 2016 David Cameron
(Ministry)
  Gavin Williamson 14 July 2016 2 November 2017 Theresa May
(I Ministry)
  Julian Smith 2 November 2017 24 July 2019 Theresa May
(II Ministry)
  Mark Spencer 24 July 2019 8 February 2022 Boris Johnson
(Ministry)
  Chris Heaton-Harris 8 February 2022 6 September 2022
  Wendy Morton 6 September 2022 25 October 2022 Liz Truss
(Ministry)
  Simon Hart 25 October 2022 5 July 2024 Rishi Sunak
(Ministry)
  Alan Campbell 5 July 2024 Incumbent Labour Keir Starmer
(Ministry)

References

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  1. ^ "Salaries of Members of His Majesty's Government – Financial Year 2022–23" (PDF). 15 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Pay and expenses for MPs". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Secretaries 1660-1870". British History Online. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  4. ^ Colin, Thain; Wright, Maurice (1995). The Treasury and Whitehall: The Planning and Control of Public Expenditure, 1976–1993. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 87. ISBN 0-19-827784-9.