Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury

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Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury Government Chief Whip in the House of Commons
Royal Arms as used by Her Majesty's Government
Incumbent Chris Heaton-Harris MP since 8 February 2022
HM Treasury
Appointer	The British Monarch on advice of the Prime Minister
Inaugural holder	Sir Philip Warwick
Formation	1660
Website	HM Treasury

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is a senior ministerial position in the British Government. However, the office is now attached to the Treasury in name only; the holder is typically also the Chief Whip of the House of Commons. The office can be seen as a sinecure, in order to allow the chief whip to draw a Government salary, attend Cabinet, and use a Downing Street residence.

The incumbent as of February 2022 is Chris Heaton-Harris after a small cabinet reshuffle.

History[]

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 the '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.^[1]

Parliamentary Secretaries to the Treasury, 1830–present[]

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

19th century[]

• Edward Ellice 1830–1832
• Charles Wood 1832–1834
• Sir George Clerk, Bt 1834–1835
• Hon. Edward Stanley 1835–1841
• Denis Le Marchant 1841
• Sir Thomas Fremantle, Baronet 1841–1844
• John Young 1844–1846
• Henry Tufnell 1846–1850
• William Goodenough Hayter 1850–1852
• William Forbes Mackenzie 1852
• William Goodenough Hayter 1853–1858
• Sir William Jolliffe, Baronet 1858–1859
• Henry Brand 1859–1866
• Thomas Edward Taylor 1866–1868
• Gerard Noel 1868
• George Glyn 1868–1873
• Arthur Wellesley Peel 1873–1874
• Sir William Hart Dyke, Bt 1874–1880
• Lord Richard Grosvenor 1880–1885
• Aretas Akers-Douglas 1885–1886
• Arnold Morley 1886
• Aretas Akers-Douglas 1886–1892
• Edward Marjoribanks 1892–1894
• Thomas Edward Ellis 1894–1895
• Sir William Walrond, Baronet 1895–1902

20th century[]

• Sir Alexander Acland-Hood, Baronet 1902–1905
• George Whiteley 1905–1908
• Jack Pease 1908–1910
• Master of Elibank 1910–1912
• Percy Holden Illingworth 1912–1915
• John William Gulland 1915
• Lord Edmund Talbot 1915–1916 (Conservative, jointly)
• John William Gulland 1915–1916 (Liberal, jointly)
• Lord Edmund Talbot 1916–1921 (Conservative, jointly)
• Neil Primrose 1916–1917 (Liberal, jointly)
• Frederick Guest 1917–1921 (Liberal, jointly)
• Leslie Orme Wilson 1921–1922 (Conservative, jointly)
• Charles McCurdy 1921–1922 (Liberal, jointly)
• Leslie Orme Wilson 1922–1923
• Bolton Eyres-Monsell 1923–1924
• Ben Spoor 1924
• Bolton Eyres-Monsell 1924–1929
• Tom Kennedy 1929–1931
• David Margesson 1931–1940
• Sir Charles Edwards 1940–1942 (Labour, jointly)
• James Gray Stuart 1941–1945 (Conservative, jointly)
• William Whiteley 1942–1951 (Labour, jointly until 1945)
• Patrick Buchan-Hepburn 1951–1955
• Edward Heath 1955–1959
• Martin Redmayne 1959–1964
• Ted Short 1964–1966
• John Silkin 1966–1969
• Bob Mellish 1969–1970
• Francis Pym 1970–1973
• Humphrey Atkins 1973–1974
• Bob Mellish 1974–1976
• Michael Cocks 1976–1979
• Michael Jopling 1979–1983
• John Wakeham 1983–1987
• David Waddington 1987–1989
• Tim Renton 1989–1990
• Richard Ryder 1990–1995
• Alastair Goodlad 1995–1997
• Nick Brown 1997–1998
• Ann Taylor 1998–2001

21st century[]

• Hilary Armstrong 2001–2006
• Jacqui Smith 2006–2007
• Geoff Hoon 2007–2008
• Nick Brown 2008–2010
• Patrick McLoughlin 2010–2012
• Andrew Mitchell 2012
• Sir George Young, Bt. CH 2012–2014
• Michael Gove 2014–2015
• Mark Harper 2015–2016
• Gavin Williamson 2016–2017
• Julian Smith 2017–2019
• Mark Spencer 2019–2022
• Chris Heaton-Harris 2022–present

References[]