The Minister of State for Competitiveness was an office held by a member of the
United Kingdom government and appointed by the
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
The position was created within the
Department of Trade and Industry following
Tony Blair's victory in the
1997 general election and was initially held by
Ian McCartney. The office was vacant between 1999 and 2001. From 2001 to 2002, it was held by
Douglas Alexander and, from 2002 to 2004, by
Stephen Timms
Sir Stephen Creswell Timms (born 29 July 1955) is a British politician who served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2006 to 2007. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for East Ham, formerly Newham North Eas ...
; both having additional responsibility for .
Following
Gordon Brown's election as Labour leader and Prime Minister in July 2007, the
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was created and the position was re-established and held again by Timms until January 2008. He was succeeded by
Baroness Vadera
Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher th ...
, who served in the more junior role of
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State with additional responsibilities for small business, deregulation, the British Business Council and the
Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...
. She left the post in June 2009, when the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was merged with the
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
Ministers of State for Competitiveness 1997–2010
References
Competitiveness
Defunct ministerial offices in the United Kingdom
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