Chancellor of the Exchequer

United Kingdom
Chancellor of the Exchequer

Incumbent
George Osborne
since 12 May 2010
Her Majesty's Treasury
Style The Right Honourable
Member of British Cabinet
Privy Council
National Security Council
Reports to The Prime Minister
Residence 11 Downing Street
Westminster, London
United Kingdom
Seat Westminster, London
Appointer The British Monarch
on advice of the Prime Minister
Term length No fixed term
Inaugural holder Hervey de Stanton
(England only)
Formation 22 June 1316
Website www.gov.uk
United Kingdom
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The Chancellor of the Exchequer is a senior official as one of the Great Offices of State within Her Majesty's Government and head of Her Majesty's Treasury. The office is a British Cabinet level position.

The chancellor is responsible for all economic and financial matters, equivalent to the role of Secretary of the Treasury or Minister of Finance in other nations. The position is considered one of the four Great Offices of State, and in recent times has come to be the most powerful office in British politics after the Prime Minister.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is now always Second Lord of the Treasury as one of the Lords Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Treasurer. In the 18th and early 19th centuries it was common for the Prime Minister to also serve as Chancellor of the Exchequer if he sat in the Commons; the last Chancellor who was simultaneously Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer was Stanley Baldwin in 1923. Formerly, in cases when the Chancellorship was vacant, the Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench would act as Chancellor pro tempore.[1] The last Lord Chief Justice to serve in this way was Lord Denman in 1834.

The Chancellor is the third-oldest major state office in English and British history, one which originally carried responsibility for the Exchequer, the medieval English institution for the collection of royal revenues. The Exchequer dates from the time of Henry I. The Chancellor controlled monetary policy as well as fiscal policy until 1997, when the Bank of England was granted independent control of its interest rates. The Chancellor also has oversight of public spending across Government departments.

The office should not be confused with those of the Lord Chancellor or the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, both Cabinet posts, the Chancellor of the High Court, a senior judge, or the Chief Baron of the Exchequer, a defunct judicial office.

The current Chancellor of the Exchequer is George Osborne.

Roles and responsibilities

A previous Chancellor, Robert Lowe, described the office in the following terms in the House of Commons, on 11 April 1870: "The Chancellor of the Exchequer is a man whose duties make him more or less of a taxing machine. He is entrusted with a certain amount of misery which it is his duty to distribute as fairly as he can."

Fiscal policy

The Chancellor has considerable control over other departments as it is the Treasury which sets Departmental Expenditure Limits. The amount of power this gives to an individual Chancellor depends on his personal forcefulness, his status with his party and his relationship with the Prime Minister. Gordon Brown, who became Chancellor when Labour came into Government in 1997, had a large personal power base in the party. Perhaps as a result, Tony Blair chose to keep him in his job throughout his ten years as Prime Minister; making Brown an unusually dominant figure and the longest serving Chancellor since the Reform Act of 1832.[2] This situation has strengthened a pre-existing trend towards the Chancellor moving into a clear second among government ministers, elevated above his traditional peers, the Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary.

One part of the Chancellor's key roles involves the framing of the annual Budget, which is summarised in a speech to the House of Commons. Traditionally the budget speech was delivered on Budget Day, a Tuesday (although not always) in March, as Britain's tax year has kept the old Julian Calendar end of year as 25 March (OS) / 6 April (NS). From 1993, the Budget was preceded by an annual 'Autumn Statement', now called the Pre-Budget Report, which forecasts government spending in the next year and usually takes place in November or December. This preview of the next year's Budget is also referred to as the "mini-Budget". The 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2012 Budgets were all delivered on a Wednesday.

Monetary policy

Although the Bank of England is responsible for setting interest rates, the Chancellor also plays an important part in the monetary policy structure. He sets the inflation target which the Bank must set interest rates to meet. Under the Bank of England Act 1998 the Chancellor has the power of appointment of four out of nine members of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee—the so-called 'external' members. He also has a high level of influence over the appointment of the Bank's Governor and Deputy Governors, and has the right of consultation over the appointment of the two remaining MPC members from within the Bank.[3] The Act also provides that the Government has the power to give instructions to the Bank on interest rates for a limited period in extreme circumstances. This power has never been used.

Ministerial arrangements

At HM Treasury the Chancellor is supported by a political team of four junior ministers and by permanent civil servants. The most important junior minister is the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, a member of the Cabinet, to whom the negotiations with other government departments on the details of government spending are delegated, followed by the Paymaster General, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. Two other officials are given the title of a Secretary to the Treasury, although neither is a government minister in the Treasury: the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is the Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons; the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury is not a minister but the senior civil servant in the Treasury.

The holder of the office of Chancellor is ex-officio Second Lord of the Treasury. As Second Lord, his official residence is Number 11 Downing Street in London, next door to the residence of the First Lord of the Treasury (a post usually, though not always, held by the Prime Minister), who resides in 10 Downing Street. While in the past both houses were private residences, today they serve as interlinked offices, with the occupant living in a small apartment made from attic rooms previously resided in by servants.

The Chancellor is obliged to be a member of the Privy Council, and thus is styled the Right Honourable (Rt. Hon.). Because the House of Lords is excluded from Finance bills, the office is effectively limited to members of the House of Commons.

Perquisites of the office

Official residence

The Chancellor's official residence, since 1828, is No. 11 Downing Street.[4] In 1997, the then First and Second Lords, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown respectively, swapped apartments, as the Chancellor's apartment in No. 11 was bigger and thus better suited to the needs of Blair (who had minor children living with him, including one born during his tenure) than Brown who was at that stage unmarried.

Dorneywood

Main article: Dorneywood

Dorneywood is the summer residence that is traditionally made available to the Chancellor, though it is the Prime Minister who ultimately decides who may use it. Gordon Brown, on becoming Chancellor in 1997, refused to use it and the house, which is set in 215 acres (87 ha)[5] of parkland, was allocated to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott. It reverted to the Chancellor in 2007, then Alistair Darling.[6]

Budget box

Budget box or Gladstone box, c. 1860

The Chancellor traditionally carries his Budget speech to the House of Commons in a particular red briefcase. The Chancellor's red briefcase is identical to the briefcases used by all other government ministers (known as ministerial boxes or "red boxes") to transport their official papers but is better known because the Chancellor traditionally displays the briefcase, containing the Budget speech, to the press in the morning before delivering the speech.

The original Budget briefcase was first used by William Ewart Gladstone in 1860 and continued in use until 1965 when James Callaghan was the first Chancellor to break with tradition when he used a newer box. Prior to Gladstone, a generic red briefcase of varying design and specification was used. The practice is said to have begun in the late 16th century, when Queen Elizabeth I's representative Francis Throckmorton presented the Spanish Ambassador, Bernardino de Mendoza, with a specially constructed red briefcase filled with black puddings.

In July 1997, Gordon Brown became the second Chancellor to use a new box for the Budget. Made by industrial trainees at Babcock Rosyth Defence Ltd ship and submarine dockyard in Fife, the new box is made of yellow pine, with a brass handle and lock, covered in scarlet leather and embossed with the Royal initials and crest and the Chancellor's title. In his first Budget, in March 2008, Alistair Darling reverted to using the original budget briefcase and his successor, George Osborne, continued this tradition for his first budget, before announcing that it would be retired due to its fragile condition.[7] The key to the original budget box has been lost.[8]

Budget tipple

By tradition, the Chancellor has been allowed to drink whatever he or she wishes while making the annual Budget Speech to parliament. This includes alcohol, which is otherwise banned under parliamentary rules.

Previous Chancellors have opted for whisky (Kenneth Clarke), gin and tonic (Geoffrey Howe), brandy and water (Benjamin Disraeli), spritzer (Nigel Lawson) and sherry and beaten egg (William Gladstone).[9]

The current Chancellor, George Osborne, like his two predecessors, Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown,[10] opts for water. In fact Darling drank what was named "Standard Water" in reference to, and support of, the London Evening Standard newspaper's campaign to have plain tap water available in restaurants at no charge to customers.[11]

Robe of office

The Chancellor has a robe of office,[12] similar to that of the Lord Chancellor (as seen in several of the portraits depicted below). In recent times it has only regularly been worn at Coronations, but some Chancellors (at least until the 1990s) have also worn it when attending the Trial of the Pyx as Master of the Mint. According to George Osborne, the current robe (dating from Gladstone's time in office, and worn by the likes of Lloyd George and Churchill)[13] 'went missing' during Gordon Brown's time as Chancellor.[14]

List of Chancellors of the Exchequer

Chancellors of the Exchequer of England, c.1221–c.1558

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Name Portrait Took office Left office
Eustace of Fauconberg (Bishop of London) c.1221
John Maunsell 1234
Ralph de Leicester temp Henry III 1248
Edward of Westminster 1248
Albric de Fiscamp temp Henry III
John Chishull 1263 1265
Walter Giffard 1265 1266
Godfrey Giffard 1266 1268
John Chishull 1268 1269
Richard of Middleton 1269 1272
Roger de la Leye temp Henry III (c.1276)
Geoffrey de Neuband temp Edward I
Philip de Willoughby 1283 1305
John Benstead 1305 1306
John Sandale (Bishop of Winchester) 1307 1308
John of Markenfield 1309 1312
John Hotham (Bishop of Ely) 1312 1316
Hervey de Stanton 1316
Walter of Stapeldon 1323
Hervey de Stanton 1324 1327
Adam de Harvington (or Herwynton) 1327 1330
Robert Wodehouse 1330 1331
Robert de Stratford (Bishop of Chichester) 1331 1334
John Hildesle c.1338
William de Everdon 1341
William Ashby (Archdeacon of Northampton) 1363
Sir Robert de Ashton 1375 1377
Sir Walter Barnham 1377 1399
Henry Somer 1410 1437
John Somerseth 1441 1447
Thomas Browne ?1440 ?1450
Thomas Witham 1454
Thomas Thwaites 1461
Thomas Witham 1465 1469
Richard Fowler 1469 1471
Thomas Thwaites 1471 1483
William Catesby 1483
Sir Thomas Lovell 1485 1524
John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners 1524 ?1533
Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex 1533 1540
Sir John Baker 1545 1558

Chancellors of the Exchequer of England, c. 1558–1708

Name Portrait Took office Left office
Sir Richard Sackville c. 1559 1566
Sir Walter Mildmay 1566 1589
Sir John Fortescue 1589 1603
The Earl of Dunbar 1603 1606
Sir Julius Caesar 1606 1614
Sir Fulke Greville 1614 1621
Sir Richard Weston 1621 1628
The Lord Barrett of Newburgh 1628 1629
Francis Cottington, Lord Cottington from 1631 1629 1642
Sir John Colepeper MP 2 January 1642 22 February 1643[15]
Sir Edward Hyde February 1643[16] 1646
The Lord Ashley 13 May 1661 22 November 1672
Sir John Duncombe MP 22 November 1672 2 May 1676
Sir John Ernle MP 2 May 1676 9 April 1689
The Lord Delamere 9 April 1689 18 March 1690
Richard Hampden MP 18 March 1690 10 May 1694
Charles Montagu MP 10 May 1694 2 June 1699
John Smith MP 2 June 1699 27 March 1701
Henry Boyle MP 27 March 1701 22 April 1708

Chancellors of the Exchequer of Great Britain, 1708–1817

Name Portrait Term of office Political party Prime Minister
Sir John Smith 22 April 1708 11 August 1710 Whig (Coalition Min.)
Robert Harley 11 August 1710 4 June 1711 Tory (Harley Min.)
Robert Benson 4 June 1711 21 August 1713 Tory
Sir William Wyndham, Bt 21 August 1713 13 October 1714 Tory
Sir Richard Onslow, Bt 13 October 1714 12 October 1715 Whig (Townshend Min.)
Robert Walpole 12 October 1715 15 April 1717 Whig
The Viscount Stanhope of Mahon 15 April 1717 20 March 1718 Whig (1st Stanhope–Sunderland Min.)
John Aislabie 20 March 1718 23 January 1721 Whig (2nd Stanhope–Sunderland Min.)
Sir John Pratt
(interim: Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench)		 2 February 1721 3 April 1721 Whig
Sir Robert Walpole 3 April 1721 12 February 1742 Whig Sir Robert Walpole
Samuel Sandys 12 February 1742 12 December 1743 Whig The Earl of Wilmington
Henry Pelham[17] 12 December 1743 8 March 1754 Whig Henry Pelham
Sir William Lee
(interim: Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench)		 8 March 1754 6 April 1754 Whig The Duke of Newcastle
Henry Bilson Legge 6 April 1754 25 November 1755 Whig
Sir George Lyttelton, Bt 25 November 1755 16 November 1756 Whig
Henry Bilson Legge 16 November 1756 13 April 1757 Whig The Duke of Devonshire
The Lord Mansfield
(interim: Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench)		 13 April 1757 2 July 1757 Whig
Henry Bilson Legge 2 July 1757 19 March 1761 Whig The Duke of Newcastle
The Viscount Barrington
(Held an Irish Peerage and sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain)		 19 March 1761 29 May 1762 Whig
Sir Francis Dashwood, Bt 29 May 1762 16 April 1763 Tory The Earl of Bute
George Grenville[17] 16 April 1763 16 July 1765 Whig George Grenville
William Dowdeswell 16 July 1765 2 August 1766 Whig The Marquess of Rockingham
Charles Townshend[18] 2 August 1766 4 September 1767 (died) Whig The Earl of Chatham
Lord North[17]
(Held a courtesy title and sat in the Commons)		 11 September 1767 27 March 1782 Tory
The Duke of Grafton
Lord North
Lord John Cavendish 27 March 1782 10 July 1782 Whig The Marquess of Rockingham
William Pitt the Younger 10 July 1782 31 March 1783 Whig The Earl of Shelburne
Lord John Cavendish 2 April 1783 19 December 1783 Whig The Duke of Portland
(Fox-North Coalition)
William Pitt the Younger[17] 19 December 1783 14 March 1801 Tory William Pitt the Younger
Henry Addington[17] 14 March 1801 10 May 1804 Tory Henry Addington
William Pitt the Younger[17][18] 10 May 1804 23 January 1806 (died) Tory William Pitt the Younger
Lord Henry Petty 5 February 1806 26 March 1807 Whig Lord Grenville
(Ministry of All the Talents)
Spencer Perceval[18] 26 March 1807 12 May 1812 (died) Tory The Duke of Portland
Spencer Perceval
Nicholas Vansittart 12 May 1812 12 July 1817 Tory Lord Liverpool

Chancellors of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, 1817–1902

Although the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland had been united by the Act of Union 1800 (39 & 40 Geo. III c. 67), the Exchequers of the two Kingdoms were not consolidated until 1817 under 56 Geo. III c. 98.[19] For the holders of the Irish office before this date, see Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Name Portrait Term of office Political party Prime Minister
Nicholas Vansittart 12 July 1817 31 January 1823 Tory Lord Liverpool
F. J. Robinson 31 January 1823 20 April 1827 Tory
George Canning[18] 20 April 1827 8 August 1827 (died) Tory George Canning
The Lord Tenterden
(interim: Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench)		 8 August 1827 3 September 1827 Tory The Viscount Goderich
John Charles Herries 3 September 1827 26 January 1828 Tory
Henry Goulburn 26 January 1828 22 November 1830 Tory The Duke of Wellington
Viscount Althorp 22 November 1830 14 November 1834 Whig The Earl Grey
The Viscount Melbourne
The Lord Denman
(interim: Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench)		 14 November 1834 15 December 1834 Whig The Duke of Wellington
(Caretaker Min.)
Sir Robert Peel, Bt 15 December 1834 8 April 1835 Conservative Sir Robert Peel, Bt
Thomas Spring Rice 18 April 1835 26 August 1839 Whig The Viscount Melbourne
Francis Baring 26 August 1839 30 August 1841 Whig
Henry Goulburn 3 September 1841 27 June 1846 Conservative Sir Robert Peel, Bt
Sir Charles Wood, Bt 6 July 1846 21 February 1852 Whig Lord John Russell
Benjamin Disraeli 27 February 1852 17 December 1852 Conservative The Earl of Derby
William Ewart Gladstone 28 December 1852 28 February 1855 Peelite The Earl of Aberdeen
(Coalition)
Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Bt 28 February 1855 21 February 1858 Whig The Viscount Palmerston
Benjamin Disraeli 26 February 1858 11 June 1859 Conservative The Earl of Derby
William Ewart Gladstone 18 June 1859 26 June 1866 Liberal The Viscount Palmerston
The Earl Russell
Benjamin Disraeli 6 July 1866 29 February 1868 Conservative The Earl of Derby
George Ward Hunt 29 February 1868 1 December 1868 Conservative Benjamin Disraeli
Robert Lowe 9 December 1868 11 August 1873 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone[17] 11 August 1873 17 February 1874 Liberal
Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt 21 February 1874 21 April 1880 Conservative Benjamin Disraeli
William Ewart Gladstone[17] 28 April 1880 16 December 1882 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
Hugh Childers 16 December 1882 9 June 1885 Liberal
Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt 24 June 1885 28 January 1886 Conservative The Marquess of Salisbury
Sir William Vernon Harcourt 6 February 1886 20 July 1886 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
Lord Randolph Churchill 3 August 1886 22 December 1886 Conservative The Marquess of Salisbury
George Goschen 14 January 1887 11 August 1892 Liberal Unionist
Sir William Vernon Harcourt 18 August 1892 21 June 1895 Liberal William Ewart Gladstone
The Earl of Rosebery
Sir Michael Hicks Beach, Bt 29 June 1895 11 August 1902 Conservative The Marquess of Salisbury
(Unionist Coalition)

Chancellors of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, 1902 to date

Name Portrait Term of office Political party Prime Minister
Charles Ritchie 11 August 1902 9 October 1903 Conservative Arthur Balfour
(Unionist Coalition)
Austen Chamberlain 9 October 1903 4 December 1905 Liberal Unionist
H. H. Asquith 10 December 1905 12 April 1908 Liberal Henry Campbell-Bannerman
David Lloyd George 12 April 1908 25 May 1915 Liberal H. H. Asquith
Reginald McKenna 25 May 1915 10 December 1916 Liberal H. H. Asquith
(Coalition)
Andrew Bonar Law 10 December 1916 10 January 1919 Conservative David Lloyd George
(Coalition)
Austen Chamberlain 10 January 1919 1 April 1921 Conservative
Sir Robert Horne 1 April 1921 19 October 1922 Conservative
Stanley Baldwin 27 October 1922 27 August 1923 Conservative Andrew Bonar Law
Stanley Baldwin
Neville Chamberlain 27 August 1923 22 January 1924 Conservative
Philip Snowden 22 January 1924 3 November 1924 Labour Ramsay MacDonald
Winston Churchill 6 November 1924 4 June 1929 Conservative Stanley Baldwin
Philip Snowden 7 June 1929 24 August 1931 Labour Ramsay MacDonald
24 August 1931 5 November 1931 National Labour Ramsay MacDonald
(1st National Min.)
Neville Chamberlain 5 November 1931 28 May 1937 Conservative Ramsay MacDonald
(2nd National Min.)
Stanley Baldwin
(3rd National Min.)
Sir John Simon 28 May 1937 12 May 1940 Liberal National Neville Chamberlain
(4th National Min.;
War Coalition)
Sir Kingsley Wood[18] 12 May 1940 21 September 1943 (died) Conservative Winston Churchill
(War Coalition)
Sir John Anderson 24 September 1943 26 July 1945 National Independent
Hugh Dalton 27 July 1945 13 November 1947 Labour Clement Attlee
Sir Stafford Cripps 13 November 1947 19 October 1950 Labour
Hugh Gaitskell 19 October 1950 26 October 1951 Labour
R. A. Butler 26 October 1951 20 December 1955 Conservative Sir Winston Churchill
Harold Macmillan 20 December 1955 13 January 1957 Conservative Sir Anthony Eden
Peter Thorneycroft 13 January 1957 6 January 1958 Conservative Harold Macmillan
Derick Heathcoat-Amory 6 January 1958 27 July 1960 Conservative
Selwyn Lloyd 27 July 1960 13 July 1962 Conservative
Reginald Maudling 13 July 1962 16 October 1964 Conservative
Sir Alec Douglas-Home
James Callaghan 16 October 1964 30 November 1967 Labour Harold Wilson
Roy Jenkins 30 November 1967 19 June 1970 Labour
Iain Macleod[18] 20 June 1970 20 July 1970 (died) Conservative Edward Heath
Anthony Barber 25 July 1970 4 March 1974 Conservative
Denis Healey 5 March 1974 4 May 1979 Labour Harold Wilson
James Callaghan
Sir Geoffrey Howe 4 May 1979 11 June 1983 Conservative Margaret Thatcher
Nigel Lawson 11 June 1983 26 October 1989 Conservative
John Major 26 October 1989 28 November 1990 Conservative
Norman Lamont 28 November 1990 27 May 1993 Conservative John Major
Kenneth Clarke 27 May 1993 2 May 1997 Conservative
Gordon Brown 2 May 1997 27 June 2007 Labour Tony Blair
Alistair Darling 28 June 2007 11 May 2010 Labour Gordon Brown
George Osborne 12 May 2010 Incumbent Conservative David Cameron
(I · II)

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Joseph Haydn, Horace Ockerby (ed.): The Book of Dignities, 3rd edition, Part III (Political and Official), p. 164. W.H. Allen & Co., London 1894, reprinted by Firecrest Publishing Ltd, Pancakes, 1969
  2. ↑ "Gordon Brown: Chancellor of the Exchequer". Encyclopedia II. Experiencefestival.com. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  3. ↑ "Monetary Policy | Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) | Framework". Bank of England. 6 May 1997. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  4. ↑ "History of Number 11 Downing Street". UK Government. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
  5. ↑ "Local History". Burnham Parish Council.
  6. ↑ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article2532776.ece Archived 28 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ The Guardian, 11 March 2011
  8. ↑ Alistair Darling, Back from the Brink(2011)
  9. ↑ "The Budget and Parliament". Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  10. ↑ Lydall, Ross (6 March 2008). "Chancellor names his preferred Budget tipple—a glass of plain London tap water". The Scotsman. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  11. ↑ Murphy, Joe (5 March 2008). "Darling chooses tap water for Budget Day to support Standard campaign". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  12. ↑ "Photograph".
  13. ↑ "Portrait".
  14. ↑ Vina, Gonzalo (10 December 2010). "www.bloomberg.com". Bloomberg.
  15. ↑ DNB
  16. ↑ DNB
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Also served as Prime Minister for some or all of their Chancellorship.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Died in office.
  19. ↑ Joseph Haydn, Horace Ockerby (ed.): The Book of Dignities, 3rd edition, Part X (Ireland), p. 562. W.H. Allen & Co., London 1894, reprinted by Firecrest Publishing Ltd, Bath, 1969

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