Steve Barclay (politician)

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For other people with the same name, see Steve Barclay (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable
Steve Barclay
MP
Official portrait of Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP crop 2.jpg
Official portrait, 2020
Downing Street Chief of Staff
Assumed office
5 February 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byDan Rosenfield
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Assumed office
15 September 2021
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byMichael Gove
Minister for the Cabinet Office
In office
15 September 2021 – 8 February 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byMichael Gove
Succeeded byMichael Ellis
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office
13 February 2020 – 15 September 2021
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byRishi Sunak
Succeeded bySimon Clarke
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
In office
16 November 2018 – 31 January 2020
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Boris Johnson
Preceded byDominic Raab
Succeeded byOffice abolished
Junior ministerial offices
Minister of State for Health
In office
9 January 2018 – 16 November 2018
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byPhilip Dunne
Succeeded byStephen Hammond
Economic Secretary to the Treasury
In office
14 June 2017 – 9 January 2018
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded bySimon Kirby
Succeeded byJohn Glen
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
In office
17 July 2016 – 14 June 2017
Prime MinisterTheresa May
Preceded byGeorge Hollingbery
Succeeded byDavid Rutley
Member of Parliament
for North East Cambridgeshire
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded byMalcolm Moss
Majority29,993 (56.6%)
Personal details
Born
Stephen Paul Barclay

(1972-05-03) 3 May 1972 (age 49)
Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse(s)Karen
Children2
EducationKing Edward VII School
Alma materPeterhouse, Cambridge
ProfessionSolicitor
WebsiteOfficial website
Military service
Allegiance United Kingdom
Branch/service British Army
Years of service1991
RankSecond lieutenant
UnitRoyal Regiment of Fusiliers

Stephen Paul Barclay (born 3 May 1972)[1][2] is a British politician serving as Downing Street Chief of Staff since 2022 and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster since 2021. Barclay previously served as Minister for the Cabinet Office from 2021 to 2022, Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2020 to 2021 and as Brexit Secretary from 2018 to 2020. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Cambridgeshire since 2010.

Born in Lancashire and educated at King Edward VII School, Barclay attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served in the British Army before reading history at Peterhouse, Cambridge. Qualifying as a solicitor from the College of Law, he worked in the financial sector while being active in the Conservative Party and unsuccessfully contesting Manchester Blackley in 1997 and Lancaster and Wyre in 2001.

Elected at the 2010 general election, Barclay served as Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from 2016 to 2017 and Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 2017 to 2018. After the 2018 cabinet reshuffle, he became Minister of State for Health. In November 2018, Barclay was appointed Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union by Theresa May following the resignation of Dominic Raab. He was retained in the position by Boris Johnson and remained in office until the United Kingdom officially left the EU on 31 January 2020. Barclay quickly returned to the cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the 2020 cabinet reshuffle. He was later promoted to Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office in the 2021 cabinet reshuffle, and was further promoted in February 2022 to Downing Street Chief of Staff, following the resignation of Dan Rosenfield.

Early life and education[]

Barclay was brought up in Lancashire. His father worked as a full-time trades union official and then in IT, and his mother worked full-time as a civil service administrator.[3] He is the youngest of three brothers, all of whom played rugby.[4]

Barclay was educated at King Edward VII School, an independent school in Lytham St Annes. After completing his A levels, he joined the British Army on a Gap Year Commission, attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and served as a Second Lieutenant with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers for five months.[5][6] His is the first generation of his family to go to university, and he read history at Peterhouse, Cambridge. He then studied at the College of Law at its Chester campus, to qualify as a solicitor in 1998.[3]

Early career[]

Barclay completed his training contract as an articled clerk with a large London law firm before working at Axa Insurance, the Financial Services Authority, and Barclays.[7]

Parliamentary career[]

After leaving university in 1994, Barclay joined the Conservative Party.[8] He was a member of the A-List and was twice an unsuccessful parliamentary candidate, contesting Manchester Blackley in 1997 and Lancaster and Wyre in 2001, coming within 500 votes of winning the latter seat.[9] In 2007, Barclay took over as the organiser of the Carlton Club political dinner, which raises funds for the Conservative Party's target seats.[7]

Barclay was selected in January 2008 to replace the outgoing North East Cambridgeshire MP, Malcolm Moss, and was elected at the May 2010 general election with a majority of 16,425. After the election, he was soon elected by fellow MPs to become a member of the Public Accounts Committee, which scrutinises government spending.[10] ConservativeHome named him as one of a minority of loyal Conservative backbench MPs not to have voted against the government in any substantive rebellions.[11]

Following the appointment of Theresa May as Prime Minister, Barclay was appointed as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury. He later joined HM Treasury as Economic Secretary to the Treasury in June 2017 and the Department for Health and Social Care as the Minister of State for Health in January 2018.

Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union[]

Barclay was appointed as Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union in November 2018 following the resignation of Dominic Raab.[12] It was reported that Barclay would focus on the domestic preparations rather than negotiations for Brexit.[13] He retained his role as Brexit Secretary in Boris Johnson's first and second cabinets.[14] He ceased to be Brexit Secretary at 11:00 pm on 31 January 2020, the moment the Department for Exiting the European Union was closed down as the UK formally left the EU.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury[]

Barclay was appointed as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in February 2020, replacing Rishi Sunak who had been appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer following the resignation of Sajid Javid.

In May 2020, Barclay appeared on BBC's Question Time and was corrected by presenter Fiona Bruce about the number of people who had received the government's COVID-19 testing.[15]

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Downing Street Chief of Staff[]

In a cabinet reshuffle on 15 September 2021, Barclay succeeded Michael Gove as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office.[16]

In February 2022, during the Partygate scandal, Johnson accused Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer of failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile during his tenure as Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The BBC found no evidence to suggest that Starmer was involved in the decision not to prosecute Savile while he was DPP.[17] While Johnson later clarified his statement, his failure to apologise triggered the resignation of Munira Mirza, Director of the Number 10 Policy Unit, on 3 February 2022, which subsequently triggered the resignation of numerous other Downing Street staff, including Chief of Staff Dan Rosenfield.[18] On 5 February, Johnson announced the appointment of Barclay as the new chief of staff.[19] Barclay is the first serving MP to hold this position. He said he would pursue a "smaller state" in his new role.[20]

Personal life[]

Barclay and his wife Karen have a son and a daughter.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ "No. 61230". The London Gazette. 18 May 2015. p. 9120.
  2. ^ a b "Barclay, Stephen Paul, (born 1972), MP (C) North East Cambridgeshire, since 2010; Economic Secretary to HM Treasury, since 2017". Who's Who. 2010. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.251452.
  3. ^ a b "Steve Barclay". ConservativeHome. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "No. 52531". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 May 1991. p. 7432.
  6. ^ "No. 52707". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 November 1991. p. 16855.
  7. ^ a b "Biography". stevebarclay.net. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  8. ^ Barclay, Steve. "Biography". Steve Barclay. Archived from the original on 20 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  9. ^ "ConservativeHome's Seats & Candidates blog: Where are the original A-Listers now? The 18 who have been selected for Conservative seats". ConservativeHome. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  10. ^ "Public Accounts Committee - Membership". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  11. ^ Barrett, Matthew. "The 24 Conservative MPs who are still on the backbenches and have never rebelled". ConservativeHome. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  12. ^ "Steve Barclay named new Brexit Secretary". BBC News. 16 November 2018. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  13. ^ "Stephen Barclay named new Brexit Secretary". BBC News. 16 November 2018. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  14. ^ Leishman, Fiona (24 July 2019). "MP Stephen Barclay holds on to Brexit secretary job in Boris' new cabinet". Cambridgeshire Live. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  15. ^ Lothian-McLean, Moya (15 May 2020). "Tory minister left red faced after being corrected over how many people received coronavirus tests". indy100. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  16. ^ Elworthy, John (15 September 2021). "Top Cabinet post for NE Cambs MP Steve Barclay". Cambs Times. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  17. ^ Reality Check (3 February 2022). "No evidence for Boris Johnson's claim about Keir Starmer and Jimmy Savile". BBC News. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  18. ^ Frot, Mathilde (4 February 2022). "Boris's Jewish adviser Dan Rosenfield resigns amid partygate row". The JC. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  19. ^ PA Media (5 February 2022). "Boris Johnson brings in new No 10 chief of staff and director of communications". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Steve Barclay: PM's new chief of staff pledges smaller state". BBC News. 13 February 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2022.

External links[]

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for
North East Cambridgeshire
2010–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Lord Commissioner of the Treasury
2016–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Economic Secretary to the Treasury
2017–2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of State for Health
2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Dominic Raab
 Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
2018–2020 		Office abolished
Preceded by
Rishi Sunak
 Chief Secretary to the Treasury
2020–2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Michael Gove
 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
2021–present 		Incumbent
Minister for the Cabinet Office
2021–present
Government offices
Preceded by Downing Street Chief of Staff
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