First Secretary of State
First Secretary of State is a title held by a UK office holder . It implies a higher seniority than the other Secretaries of State with cabinet rank . But he has no greater powers. If no vice prime minister has been appointed, he de facto takes second place in government. However, neither of the two posts entitles him to succeed as prime minister. In the absence of a First Secretary of State, the Chancellor of the Exchequer usually represents the Prime Minister.
The office is not always occupied. The post was vacant for 25 years between 1970 and 1995.
tasks
The tasks have changed several times over the years. The incumbent is currently responsible for:
- Assisting the Prime Minister in running the UK Government
- Representation of the Prime Minister
- Advising the Prime Minister on the development and implementation of government policy
- Answering the Prime Minister's Questions in the absence of the Prime Minister
Relationship with the Vice Prime Minister
The post of Deputy Prime Minister in 1942 for Clement Attlee , leader of the Labor Party in the war government of Winston Churchill created. The post took second place in government, but had no cabinet rank and was not paid. Because of this, the vice-prime minister held another office in government that gave him cabinet rank.
The title of First Secretary of State given to the holder was a Secretary of State with cabinet rank. The title was created for Rab Butler in 1962 . Harold Macmillan decided after his night of long knives that he should give up the home office . In return, he received the post of Vice Prime Minister and the rank of First Secretary of State, which gave him cabinet rank. Although the position sounded high-profile, it had no portfolio of its own. Michael Heseltine and John Prescott were also released from their agendas as Vice Prime Ministers, and he held the title of First Secretary of State in order to maintain their cabinet rank. In 1964, Prime Minister Harold Wilson established the use of the office without appointment as Vice Prime Minister.
So far, both offices existed only in the coalition cabinet of David Cameron simultaneously with different incumbents. Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats , became Vice Prime Minister while former Conservative leader William Hague was First Secretary of State.
List of incumbents
image | Surname | Term of office | Further cabinet positions | Political party | cabinet | Ref. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rab Butler MP for Saffron Walden (1902–1982) |
July 13, 1962 | October 18, 1963 | Conservative | Macmillan II | |||
Title vacant | 1963-1964 | ||||||
George Brown MP for Belper (1914–1985) |
October 16, 1964 | August 11, 1966 | Labor | Wilson ( I & II ) | |||
Michael Stewart MP for Fulham (1906–1990) |
August 11, 1966 | April 6, 1968 | Labor | ||||
Barbara Castle MP for Blackburn (1910-2002) |
April 6, 1968 | June 19, 1970 | Labor | ||||
Title vacant | 1970-1995 | ||||||
Michael Heseltine MP for Henley (* 1933) |
July 20, 1995 | May 2, 1997 | Conservative | Major II | |||
Title vacant | 1997-2001 | ||||||
John Prescott MP for Kingston upon Hull East (* 1938) |
June 8, 2001 | June 27, 2007 | Labor | Blair II & III | |||
Title vacant | 2007-2009 | ||||||
Peter Mandelson Baron Mandelson (* 1953) |
June 5, 2009 | May 11, 2010 |
|
Labor | Brown | ||
William Hague MP for Richmond (Yorks) (* 1961) |
May 12, 2010 | May 8, 2015 | Conservative | Cameron I | |||
George Osborne MP for Tatton (* 1971) |
May 8, 2015 | July 13, 2016 | Conservative | Cameron ii | |||
Title vacant | 2016-2017 | ||||||
Damian Green MP for Ashford (* 1956) |
June 11, 2017 | 20th December 2017 | Conservative | May II | |||
Title vacant | 2017-2019 | ||||||
Dominic Raab MP for Esher and Walton (* 1974) |
July 24, 2019 | Conservative | Johnson ( I & II ) |
Timeline
Individual evidence
- ↑ Nicholas Watt: George Osborne made first secretary of state in cabinet reshuffle . In: The Guardian , May 8, 2015.
- ↑ Damian Green sacked after 'misleading statements' on porn claims . In: BBC News , December 21, 2017.
- ↑ Damian Green sacked over porn cover-up as Theresa May suffers third Cabinet departure in two months . In: The Telegraph .
- ↑ Dominic Raab appointed UK foreign secretary, first secretary of state: statement . In: Reuters , July 25, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
- ↑ First Secretary of State - GOV.UK . Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ↑ Anthony Howard: RAB: The Life of RA Butler . In: A&C Black . February 7, 2013.
- ^ A b c d David Butler and Gareth Butler, British Political Facts 1900–1994 (7th edn, Macmillan 1994) 62.
- ↑ Lord Heseltine . UK Parliament. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ↑ Lord Prescott . UK Parliament. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ↑ Lord Hague of Richmond . UK Parliament. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ↑ Rt Hon George Osborne . UK Parliament. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ Rt Hon Damian Green MP . UK Parliament. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ↑ Damian Green sacked as first secretary of state after porn allegations . In: The Guardian . Accessed December 31, 2017.
- ↑ https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-leader-raab/dominic-raab-appointed-uk-foreign-secretary-first-secretary-of-state-statement-idUSS8N23H00F