First Secretary of State


The First Secretary of State is a title sometimes given to a senior Cabinet minister in the Government of the United Kingdom. It implies seniority over all other Secretaries of State in terms of Cabinet rank, but has no specific powers or authority attached to it beyond that of any other Secretary of State. When no Deputy Prime Minister is in office, the post is de facto second in Government, although neither of these posts confers the right to succeed a Prime Minister who becomes incapacitated or resigns. If there is no First Secretary of State, the Chancellor of the Exchequer is typically de facto second in Government, although under Theresa May, David Lidington as Minister for the Cabinet Office held a higher Cabinet rank than Chancellor Philip Hammond.
The title is not always in use, so there have sometimes been extended gaps between successive holders of the title. The longest such gap was the 25 years between 1970 and 1995. After Damian Green resigned over sexual harassment allegations on 20 December 2017, no Secretary of State was appointed to fill the post until Prime Minister Boris Johnson appointed Dominic Raab on 24 July 2019 when he became Prime Minister.

Responsibilities

The role has had varying responsibilities over time. The most recent responsibilities are:
The post of Deputy Prime Minister had been created in 1942 for Clement Attlee, the leader of the Labour Party in Winston Churchill's wartime coalition ministry. The post indicated that the holder ranked second in government, after the Prime Minister, but did not confer cabinet rank and did not pay a salary. For this reason, the Deputy Prime Minister concurrently held other offices, entitling him to a place in cabinet.
The title First Secretary of State indicated the holder's rank as a Secretary of State, with a place in cabinet. The title was created in 1962 for Deputy Prime Minister R. A. Butler, granting him a place in cabinet despite not holding a specific cabinet portfolio. Michael Heseltine and John Prescott were also relieved of their cabinet portfolios when serving as Deputy Prime Minister, and were therefore additionally appointed First Secretary of State. In 1964, Prime Minister Harold Wilson established the alternative usage, appointing a First Secretary of State among the cabinet without appointing a Deputy Prime Minister.
The two titles have only existed concurrently with different holders in one government: in David Cameron's coalition ministry of 2010–15, Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, while former Conservative leader William Hague was appointed First Secretary of State.

List of First Secretaries of State

Timeline