First Secretary of State

United Kingdom First Secretary of State
Royal Arms used by Her Majesty's Government
Flag of the United Kingdom
Incumbent Vacant
Government of the United Kingdom Office of the Prime Minister Cabinet Office
Style	The Right Honourable First Secretary of State
Member of	Cabinet Privy Council National Security Council
Reports to	The Prime Minister
Residence	None, may use Grace and favour residences
Seat	Westminster, London
Nominator	The Prime Minister
Appointer	The British Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister
Term length	No fixed term
Inaugural holder	Rab Butler
Formation	13 July 1962
Salary	£142,467 (annual, including £74,962 MP's salary)[1]
Website	Official website

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First Secretary of State is an honorary title occasionally used in the Government of the United Kingdom. It implies seniority over all other Secretaries of State in terms of Cabinet rank,^[2] but has no specific powers or authority attached to it beyond that of any other Secretary of State. When no Deputy Prime Minister is in office, the post is de facto second in Government. If there is no First Secretary of State, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is typically de facto second in Government, although David Lidington as Minister for the Cabinet Office currently has a higher Cabinet rank than Chancellor Philip Hammond.

The title is not always in use, so there have sometimes been extended gaps between successive holders of the title. It was unused the longest in the 25 years between 1970 and 1995. After Damian Green resigned over sexual harassment allegations on 20 December 2017, no Secretary of State was appointed to fill the post.^[3][4]

Responsibilities

The role has had varying responsibilities over time. The most recent responsibilities are:^[5]

• Supporting the Prime Minister in the running of the Government of the United Kingdom.
• Deputising for the Prime Minister.
• Advising the Prime Minister on developing and implementing Government policy.
• Driving forward government business and implementation including through chairing and deputy chairing cabinet committees and taskforces.
• Overseeing constitutional affairs and maintaining the integrity of the Union.
• Oversight of all Cabinet Office policies.

Relationship with Deputy Prime Minister

The post of Deputy Prime Minister had been created in 1942 for Clement Attlee, the leader of the Labour Party in Winston Churchill's wartime coalition ministry. The post indicated that the holder ranked second in government, after the Prime Minister, but did not confer cabinet rank and did not pay a salary. For this reason, the Deputy Prime Minister concurrently held other offices, entitling him to a place in cabinet.

The title First Secretary of State indicated the holder's rank as a Secretary of State, with a place in cabinet. The title was created in 1962 for Deputy Prime Minister R. A. Butler, granting him a place in cabinet despite not holding a specific cabinet portfolio. Michael Heseltine and John Prescott were also relieved of their cabinet portfolios when serving as Deputy Prime Minister, and were therefore additionally appointed First Secretary of State. In 1964, Prime Minister Harold Wilson established the alternative usage, appointing a First Secretary of State among the cabinet without appointing a Deputy Prime Minister.

The two titles have only existed concurrently with different holders in one government: in David Cameron's coalition ministry of 2010–15, Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, while former Conservative leader William Hague was appointed First Secretary of State.

List of First Secretaries of State

First Secretary of State

Portrait		Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Other ministerial offices	Party	Ministry	Ref.
		R. A. Butler[6] MP for Saffron Walden (1902–1982)	13 July 1962	18 October 1963	Deputy Prime Minister	Conservative	Macmillan II	[7]
Title not in use			1963–1964
		George Brown MP for Belper (1914–1985)	16 October 1964	11 August 1966	Secretary of State for Economic Affairs	Labour	Wilson (I & II)	[7]
		Michael Stewart MP for Fulham (1906–1990)	11 August 1966	6 April 1968	Secretary of State for Economic Affairs[lower-alpha 1] Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs[lower-alpha 2]	Labour		[7]
		Barbara Castle MP for Blackburn (1910–2002)	6 April 1968	19 June 1970	Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity	Labour		[7]
Title not in use			1970–1995
		Michael Heseltine MP for Henley (born 1933)	20 July 1995	2 May 1997	Deputy Prime Minister	Conservative	Major II	[8]
Title not in use			1997–2001
		John Prescott MP for Hull East (born 1938)	8 June 2001	27 June 2007	Deputy Prime Minister[lower-alpha 3]	Labour	Blair (II & III)	[9]
Title not in use			2007–2009
		Peter Mandelson Lord Mandelson (born 1953)	5 June 2009	11 May 2010	Lord President of the Council Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills President of the Board of Trade	Labour	Brown
		William Hague MP for Richmond (Yorks) (born 1961)	12 May 2010	8 May 2015	Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs[lower-alpha 4] Leader of the House of Commons[lower-alpha 5]	Conservative	Cameron–Clegg (Con.–L.D.)	[10]
		George Osborne MP for Tatton (born 1971)	8 May 2015	13 July 2016	Chancellor of the Exchequer	Conservative	Cameron II	[11]
Title not in use			2016–2017
		Damian Green MP for Ashford (born 1956)	11 June 2017	20 December 2017	Minister for the Cabinet Office	Conservative	May II	[12][13]
Title not in use			2017–present

Timeline

See also

• Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Notes

References