Secretary of State for Wales
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| Secretary of State for Wales | |
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 Royal Arms as used by HM Government | |
| Office of the Secretary of State for Wales | |
| Style | The Right Honourable (Formal prefix) Wales Secretary |
| Status | Secretary of state Minister of the Crown |
| Appointer | Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister |
| Formation | 18 October 1964 |
| Website | Official website |
| This article is part of a series within UK politics on the |
| Politics of Wales |
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Category ·  Wales portal
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The Secretary of State for Wales (Welsh: Ysgrifennydd Gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Wales Secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, 19th in the ministerial ranking.[1]
The officeholder works alongside the other Wales Office ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales. The incumbent is Simon Hart, following his appointment by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on 16 December 2019.
Creation[]
In the first half of the 20th century, a number of politicians had supported the creation of the post of Secretary of State for Wales as a step towards home rule for Wales. A post of Minister of Welsh Affairs was created in 1951 under the home secretary and was upgraded to minister of state level in 1954.
The Labour Party proposed the creation of a Welsh Office run by a Secretary of State for Wales in their manifesto for the 1959 general election. When they came to power in 1964 this was soon put into effect.
The post of Secretary of State for Wales came into existence on 17 October 1964; the first incumbent was Jim Griffiths, MP for Llanelli. The position entailed responsibility for Wales, and expenditure on certain public services was delegated from Westminster. In April 1965 administration of Welsh affairs, which had previously been divided between a number of government departments, was united in a newly created Welsh Office with the secretary of state for Wales at its head, and the Welsh secretary became responsible for education and training, health, trade and industry, environment, transport and agriculture within Wales.
History[]
During the 1980s and 1990s, as the number of Conservative MPs for Welsh constituencies dwindled almost to zero, the office fell into disrepute. Nicholas Edwards, MP for Pembrokeshire, held the post for eight years. On his departure, the government ceased to look within Wales for the secretary of state, and the post was increasingly used as a way of getting junior high-fliers into the Cabinet. John Redwood in particular caused embarrassment when he publicly demonstrated his inability to sing "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau", the Welsh national anthem, at a conference.
The introduction of the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Government, after the devolution referendum of 1997, was the beginning of a new era. On 1 July 1999 the majority of the functions of the Welsh Office transferred to the new assembly. The Welsh Office was disbanded, but the post of Secretary of State for Wales was retained, as the head of the newly created Wales Office.
Since 1999 there have been calls for the office of Welsh secretary to be scrapped or merged with the posts of Secretary of State for Scotland and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to reflect the lesser powers of the role since devolution.[2][3] Those calling for a Secretary of State for the Union include Robert Hazell,[4] in a department into which Rodney Brazier has suggested adding a Minister of State for England with responsibility for English local government.[5]
Ministers and secretaries of state[]
Colour key
Conservative
National Liberal
Labour
Ministers of Welsh Affairs (1951–1964)[] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Term of office | Length of term | Political party | Prime Minister | ||||
| Sir David Maxwell Fyfe MP for Liverpool West Derby (also Home Secretary) |
|
28 October 1951 | 18 October 1954 | 2 years, 11 months and 20 days | Conservative | Sir Winston Churchill | ||
| Gwilym Lloyd George MP for Newcastle North (also Home Secretary) |
|
18 October 1954 | 13 January 1957 | 2 years, 2 months and 26 days | Liberal & Conservative | |||
| Sir Anthony Eden | ||||||||
| Henry Brooke MP for Hampstead (also Min. of Housing & Local Govt.) |
13 January 1957 | 9 October 1961 | 4 years, 8 months and 26 days | Conservative | Harold Macmillan | |||
| Charles Hill MP for Luton (also Min. of Housing & Local Govt.) |
9 October 1961 | 13 July 1962 | 9 months and 4 days | National Liberal & Conservative | ||||
| Sir Keith Joseph MP for Leeds North East (also Min. of Housing & Local Govt.) |
13 July 1962 | 16 October 1964 | 2 years, 3 months and 3 days | Conservative | ||||
| Sir Alec Douglas-Home | ||||||||
Secretaries of State for Wales (1964–present)[] | ||||||||
| Name | Term of office | Length of term | Political party | Prime Minister | ||||
| Jim Griffiths MP for Llanelli |
18 October 1964 | 5 April 1966 | 1 year, 5 months and 18 days | Labour | Harold Wilson | |||
| Cledwyn Hughes MP for Anglesey |
5 April 1966 | 5 April 1968 | 2 years | Labour | ||||
| George Thomas MP for Cardiff West |
5 April 1968 | 20 June 1970 | 2 years, 2 months and 15 days | Labour | ||||
| Peter Thomas MP for Hendon South |
20 June 1970 | 5 March 1974 | 3 years, 8 months and 13 days | Conservative | Edward Heath | |||
| John Morris MP for Aberavon |
|
5 March 1974 | 4 May 1979 | 5 years, 1 month and 29 days | Labour | Harold Wilson | ||
| James Callaghan | ||||||||
| Nicholas Edwards MP for Pembrokeshire |
4 May 1979 | 13 June 1987 | 8 years, 1 month and 9 days | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher | |||
| Peter Walker MP for Worcester |
13 June 1987 | 4 May 1990 | 2 years, 10 months and 21 days | Conservative | ||||
| David Hunt MP for Wirral West |
|
4 May 1990 | 27 May 1993 | 3 years and 23 days | Conservative | John Major | ||
| John Redwood MP for Wokingham |
|
27 May 1993 | 26 June 1995[fn 1] | 2 years and 30 days | Conservative | |||
| David Hunt MP for Wirral West (acting) |
|
26 June 1995 | 5 July 1995 | 9 days | Conservative | |||
| William Hague MP for Richmond (Yorks) |
|
5 July 1995 | 2 May 1997 | 1 year, 9 months and 27 days | Conservative | |||
| Ron Davies MP for Caerphilly |
|
2 May 1997 | 27 October 1998[fn 2] | 1 year, 5 months and 25 days | Labour | Tony Blair | ||
| Alun Michael MP for Cardiff South and Penarth |
|
27 October 1998 | 28 July 1999[fn 3] | 9 months and 1 day | Labour | |||
| Paul Murphy MP for Torfaen |
|
28 July 1999 | 24 October 2002 | 3 years, 2 months and 26 days | Labour | |||
| Peter Hain MP for Neath (also Ldr. of the Commons 2003–05 Northern Ireland Sec. 2005–07 Work & Pensions Sec. 2007–08) |
|
24 October 2002 | 24 January 2008 | 5 years and 3 months | Labour | |||
| Gordon Brown | ||||||||
| Paul Murphy MP for Torfaen |
|
24 January 2008 | 5 June 2009 | 1 year, 4 months and 12 days | Labour | |||
| Peter Hain MP for Neath |
|
5 June 2009 | 11 May 2010 | 11 months and 6 days | Labour | |||
| Cheryl Gillan MP for Chesham and Amersham |
|
11 May 2010 | 4 September 2012 | 2 years, 3 months and 24 days | Conservative | David Cameron | ||
| David Jones MP for Clwyd West |
|
4 September 2012 | 14 July 2014 | 1 year, 10 months and 10 days | Conservative | |||
| Stephen Crabb MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire |
|
15 July 2014 | 19 March 2016 | 1 year, 8 months and 4 days | Conservative | |||
| Alun Cairns MP for Vale of Glamorgan |
|
19 March 2016 | 6 November 2019 | 3 years, 7 months and 18 days | Conservative | |||
| Theresa May | ||||||||
| Boris Johnson | ||||||||
| Simon Hart MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire |
|
16 December 2019[6] | Incumbent | 2 years, 1 month and 22 days* | Conservative | |||
* Incumbent's length of term last updated: 7 February 2022.
- Note
- ^ Redwood resigned to stand in the 1995 Conservative leadership election. During the election, Hunt acted as Secretary of State.
- ^ Resigned following a "moment of madness" on Clapham Common.
- ^ Following implementation of the Government of Wales Act 1998, and the 1999 Assembly election, Michael held office as inaugural First Secretary for Wales from 12 May 1999.
See also[]
- First Minister for Wales
- Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
- Secretary of State for Scotland
References[]
- ^ "Her Majesty's Government: The Cabinet". parliament.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "'Scrap Welsh secretary' demand". BBC News. 19 March 2001. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
- ^ "Wales Office in melting pot". BBC News. 12 June 2003. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
- ^ LETTERS@THETIMES.CO.UK, WRITE TO (30 July 2020). "Times letters: Mark Sedwill's call for a cull of the cabinet". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460.
- ^ UKCLA (7 September 2020). "Rodney Brazier: Why is Her Majesty's Government so big?". UK Constitutional Law Association. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ^ "Cabinet reshuffle: Simon Hart appointed new Welsh secretary". BBC News. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
External links[]
- Labour Party in Wales – covers the history of the post
- Hain promoted in Brown's cabinet, BBC News Online, 28 June 2007
- Hain takes work and pensions job, BBC News Online, 28 June 2007
Office of the Secretary of State for Wales | ||
| 1964–1970 |
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| 1970–1974 |
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| 1974–1979 |
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| 1979–1997 |
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| 1997–2010 | ||
| 2010–present | ||
*Also Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (2005–2007) | ||
 Wales Office | ||
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| Secretary of State |  | |
| Under-Secretary of State | ||
| Attorney General | ||
Predecessor: Welsh Office | ||
UK cabinet portfolios | ||
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Cabinet of the United Kingdom | ||
| Cabinet ministers |
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| Also attending Cabinet |
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- Politics of Wales
- Lists of government ministers of the United Kingdom
- Government of Wales
- Secretaries of State for Wales
- Ministerial offices in the United Kingdom
- 1964 establishments in the United Kingdom