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Red boxes, or sometimes ministerial boxes, are a type of
despatch box[ produced by ]Barrow Hepburn & Gale
Barrow Hepburn & Gale is a British luxury leather goods manufacturer best known as the producer of the despatch boxes used by the Government of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1760 as Hepburn and Sons. The company also makes Royal Maundy ...
or Wickwar & Co and are used by ministers in the British government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_est ...
and the British monarch
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government by which a hereditary monarchy, hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United ...
to carry government documents. Similar in appearance to a briefcase
A briefcase is a narrow hard-sided box-shaped bag or case used mainly for carrying papers and equipped with a handle. Lawyers commonly use briefcases to carry briefs to present to a court, hence the name. Businesspeople and other white collar ...
, they are primarily used to hold and transport official ministerial papers. Red boxes are one modern form of despatch boxes, which have been in government use for centuries. Despatch boxes of a very different design remain in use in the chamber of the lower house of the British and Australian parliaments. Those boxes hold religious books for swearing-in new members of the chamber, but are also used as lecterns by front bench
In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then kn ...
members.
Ministerial boxes
According to HM Treasury
His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...
:
Historical and famous red boxes
The boxes are used by ministers on a daily basis while in government and thus become an important memory of their time in office, with many opting to buy and keep their red boxes. Many boxes owned and used by famous political figures from British history have been sold at auction. Those boxes represent some of the most important possessions of former prime ministers.
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
's ministerial dispatch box was sold at auction by Christie's in 2015 for £242,500. Winston Churchill's red box (manufactured by Wickwar) was sold by Sotheby's in 2014 for £158,500, 25 times the estimated price.
Red boxes are often gifted to the outgoing President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
as a symbol of the relationship between the US and UK governments. George W. Bush received one such box from Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of the ...
.
Design
The boxes are manufactured by Barrow Hepburn & Gale
Barrow Hepburn & Gale is a British luxury leather goods manufacturer best known as the producer of the despatch boxes used by the Government of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1760 as Hepburn and Sons. The company also makes Royal Maundy ...
or Wickwar & Co to the original Wickwar design. The boxes are constructed of slow-grown pine, lined with lead and black satin. The lead lining, which has been retained in modern boxes, was once meant to ensure that the box sank when thrown overboard in the event of capture. Each box takes three days to finish.
They are wrapped in leather and employ a bespoke print, which is applied after curing and staining. Each box is embossed in gold print with the royal cypher of the reigning monarch, the title of the owner and recipient of the red box, with the recipient's title given precedence. Each is also given a unique number to aid identification and control of the contents. Another unique feature of the boxes is the location of the handle on the hinge side, opposite of the lock, so that when placed on a desk, the lock faces the recipient, who has the key and the authority to access the contents of the box. That also ensures the box is locked before being carried.
Colour
Two reasons have been given for the use of red as the predominant colour of the despatch boxes used in government. One is that Prince Albert preferred the colour because it was the predominant one on the arms of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.[ However, it is also claimed that the practice began in the late 16th century, when Queen Elizabeth I's representative, Francis Throckmorton, presented the Spanish ambassador, Bernardino de Mendoza, with a specially-constructed red briefcase filled with black puddings.]
Today, although 'red box' has now come to be synonymous with the despatch boxes,[ other colours are also used, to denote the many different functions of the boxes in Parliament.
Black is used for those boxes prepared for government whips] and for discretion when boxes are designed for travel.[ A blue box with a red stripe is used specifically for confidential papers only seen by the prime minister, their private secretary, and intelligence officials. This box is known as "Old Stripey" due to the red stripe. Permanent secretaries, who are civil servants rather than MPs or Lords, have similar boxes but coloured green. These have exactly the same function as the ministerial red boxes. Barrow Hepburn and Gale have also made available despatch boxes in green for members of parliament.
William Hague, while Leader of the Opposition, had a blue box made for him with lettering denoting his office. It is not known whether a blue box is in use today.
]
Cost
One box cost £865.43 to make in 2010.[ Another box made in 2021 by Aldridge's cost £1100. Between 2002 and 2007, the British government spent £57,260 on new boxes.][
]
Budget box
There is an annual custom of the Chancellor of the Exchequer holding up a red box to the press in Downing Street
Downing Street is a street in Westminster in London that houses the official residences and offices of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Situated off Whitehall, it is long, and a few minutes' walk ...
to symbolise the new budget of the UK government. Rather than containing the new budget
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
, the red box contains the chancellor's speech and notes.
The red box of William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-con ...
was made by Wickwar & Co for his first budget in 1853. Gladstone served as Chancellor of the Exchequer on four separate occasions and held the post for longer than anyone in the UK's history.[
Gladstone's red box was used by every subsequent chancellor until 2011, with the exceptions of James Callaghan (1964–1967) and ]Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...
(1997–2007), who had new ones commissioned in 1965 and 1997 respectively: 51 chancellors for over 150 years. Gladstone's budget box was used by Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (born 28 November 1953) is a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under Prime Minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was a Member ...
(2007–2010) and, for the last time, by George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born Gideon Oliver Osborne; 23 May 1971) is a former British politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the ...
in June 2010.[
The budget of the spring of 1868 was infamous for Chancellor George Ward-Hunt opening his dispatch box to find that he had left his speech at home.][
Since March 2011, a new budget box commissioned by ]The National Archives
National archives are central archive, archives maintained by countries. This article contains a list of national archives.
Among its more important tasks are to ensure the accessibility and preservation of the information produced by government ...
has been used.
Royal red boxes
Red boxes are delivered to the British sovereign
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...
every day (except Christmas Day
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
and Easter Sunday
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
) by government departments, via the page of the presence. The monarch's role as head of state requires being kept abreast of what is happening in Parliament and the governments of all the other Commonwealth countries, as well as current events from around the world. Documents which the monarch must sign and provide royal assent
Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...
for are delivered in red despatch boxes, which are addressed daily. Many governors general
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
, governors
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...
and lieutenant governors in Commonwealth Realms
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations whose monarch and head of state is shared among the other realms. Each realm functions as an independent state, equal with the other realms and nations of the Commonw ...
also make use of red boxes.
Scotland
The Scottish Government has nine blue Cabinet Secretary despatch boxes for its ministers.
Singapore
Early in the independence of Singapore, ministers had red boxes similar to the British ones, but with the coat of arms of Singapore.
Education Minister Heng Swee Keat
Heng Swee Keat (; born 15 April 1961) is a Singaporean politician, former police officer and civil servant who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore since 2019 and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies since 2020 and a ...
, formerly principal private secretary
A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family.
The role exists in t ...
to Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...
, revealed in a Facebook post that Lee continued using the red box throughout his life until 4 February 2015, the day before his final hospitalisation.
Sri Lanka
Until the late 2000s the Minister of Finance used a red box with the national emblem to carry the Cabinet's annual budget plans, similar to the budget box of the British government. In 2022, the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
The Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (SLEME) ( ''Shri Lanka Viduli Ha Yanthrika Injineru Rejimentuwa'') is a Combat Support corps of the Sri Lanka Army. It is made up of six regular regiments and one volunteer (reserve) regiment. Re ...
produced several red boxes made of red lather designated "Presidential Dispatch Bag" for the use of the President of Sri Lanka
The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...
.
References
External links
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{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2013
Politics of the United Kingdom
Legislatures
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