The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to the chancellor, is a senior
minister of the Crown
Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realm
A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state
A sovereign state is a polity, political entity represented by one centralized government that has sovereignt ...
within the
Government of the United Kingdom
ga, Rialtas na Ríochta Aontaithe sco, Govrenment o the Unitit Kinrick
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size=220px, date_established =
, state = United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, comm ...
, and the
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer, or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company
A company, abbreviated as c ...
of
Her Majesty's Treasury
Her Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), sometimes referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is the Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for develop ...
. As one of the four
Great Offices of State
The Great Offices of State are senior offices in the Government of the United Kingdom, UK government. They are the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary, respective ...
, the chancellor is a high-ranking member of the
British Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is a group of the most senior ministers of the crown in the government of the United Kingdom
The Government of the United Kingdom, domestically referred to as Her Majesty's Government, is the central go ...
and is third in the
ministerial ranking
The ministerial ranking or order of precedence in Cabinet refers to the "...pecking order" of senior ministers in the UK government
The Government of the United Kingdom, domestically referred to as Her Majesty's Government, is the central g ...
, behind the prime minister and deputy prime minister.
Responsible for all economic and financial matters, the role is equivalent to that of a
finance minister
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names across the world, such as "treasury", ...
in other countries. The chancellor is now always Second Lord of the Treasury as one of at least six
Lords Commissioners of the TreasuryIn the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain,Usage is mixed. The Guardian' and Telegraph' use Britain as a synonym for the United Kingdom. Some prefer to u ...
, responsible for executing the office of the
Treasurer of the Exchequer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an Lord High Treasurers of England, English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-r ...
the others are the Prime Minister and Commons government whips. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, it was common for the prime minister also to serve as Chancellor of the Exchequer if he sat in the Commons; the last chancellor who was simultaneously prime minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer was
Stanley Baldwin
Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, (3 August 186714 December 1947) was a British Conservative
Conservatism is an aesthetic
Aesthetics, or esthetics (), is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and ...
in 1923. Formerly, in cases when the chancellorship was vacant, the
Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales and the President of the Courts of England and Wales.
The officeholder until 2005 could be viewed as the second-highest judge of the Courts of Engla ...
would act as chancellor ''pro tempore''. The last Lord Chief Justice to serve in this way was
Lord Denman in 1834.
The chancellor is the third-oldest major state office in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
English is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language first spoken in History of Anglo-Saxon England, early medieval England, which has eventually become the World language, leading lan ...
and
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
history, and in recent times has come to be the most powerful office in British politics after the
prime minister
A prime minister or a premier is the head of the cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transpa ...
. They originally carried responsibility for the
Exchequer
In the civil service
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transi ...
, the medieval English institution for the collection and auditing of royal revenues. The earliest surviving
records
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science)
In computer science
Computer science deals with the theoretical foundations of information, algorithms and the architectures ...
which are the results of the exchequer's audit, date from 1129–30 under King
Henry IHenry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the Nord ...

and show continuity from previous years.
[Chrimes ''Administrative History'' pp. 62–63] The chancellor has oversight of
fiscal policy
In economics
Economics () is a social science
Social science is the branch
A branch ( or , ) or tree branch (sometimes referred to in botany
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plan ...

, therefore of
taxation
A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity
In law
Law is a system
A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act accord ...
and
public spending
Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual or ...
across
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Departmen ...
departments. It previously controlled
monetary policy
Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority
In finance and economics, a monetary authority is the entity that manages a country’s currency and money supply, often with the objective of controlling inflation targeting, infla ...

as well until 1997, when the
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for t ...

was granted independent control of its interest rates.
Since 1718, all chancellors of the exchequer, except at times the
lord chief justice
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales
There are various levels of judiciary in England and Wales — different types of courts have different styles of judges. They also form a strict ...
as interim holders, have been
members of the House of Commons with
Lord Stanhope being the last chancellor from the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, formally The Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled, is the of the . Membership is by , or . Like the , it meets in the .
ar ...

.
Second Lord of the Treasury
The holder of the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer is ''
ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ''ex officio
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) ...
'' Second Lord of the Treasury as a
member of the commission exercising the ancient office of
Lord High Treasurer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officers of State (Un ...
. As Second Lord, his official residence is
11 Downing Street in London, next door to the residence of the
first lord of the Treasury
The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, commission exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom, and is by convention also the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, pri ...
(a title that has for many years been held by the
prime minister
A prime minister or a premier is the head of the cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transpa ...
), who resides in
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street in London
London is the and of and the . It stands on the in south-east England at the head of a down to the , and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The , its ancient core and financial centre, was f ...

. While in the past both houses were private residences, today they serve as interlinked offices, with the occupant living in an apartment made from attic rooms previously resided in by servants.
Since 1827, the chancellor has always simultaneously held the office of Second Lord of the Treasury when that person has not also been the prime minister.
Roles and responsibilities
A previous chancellor,
Robert Lowe
Robert Lowe, 1st Viscount Sherbrooke, , (4 December 1811 – 27 July 1892), British , was a pivotal conservative spokesman who helped shape British politics in the latter half of the 19th century. He held office under as between 1868 and 1873 ...
, described the office in the following terms in the House of Commons, on 11 April 1870: "The Chancellor of the Exchequer is a man whose duties make him more or less of a taxing machine. He is entrusted with a certain amount of misery which it is his duty to distribute as fairly as he can."
Fiscal policy
The chancellor has considerable control over other departments as it is the Treasury which sets Departmental Expenditure Limits. The amount of power this gives to an individual chancellor depends on their personal forcefulness, their status within their party and their relationship with the prime minister.
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government
The head of government is either the h ...

, who became chancellor when Labour came into Government in 1997, had a large personal power base in the party. Perhaps as a result,
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. On his resig ...

chose to keep him in the same position throughout his ten years as prime minister; making Brown an unusually dominant figure and the longest-serving chancellor since the Reform Act of 1832. This has strengthened a pre-existing trend towards the chancellor occupying a clear second position among government ministers, elevated above his traditional peers, the
foreign secretary
The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, also referred to as the foreign secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibili ...
and
home secretary
The home secretary, officially the secretary of state for the Home Department, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for all Home Office business. The ...
.
One part of the chancellor's key roles involves the framing of the annual year
budget
A budget is a financial plan
In general usage, a financial plan is a comprehensive evaluation of an individual's current pay and future financial state by using current known variables to predict future income, asset values and withdrawal p ...
. As of 2017, the first is the
Autumn Budget, also known as
Budget Day
Budget Day is the day that a government presents its budget
A budget is a financial plan
In general usage, a financial plan is a comprehensive evaluation of an individual's current pay and future financial state by using current known var ...
which forecasts government spending in the next financial year and also announces new financial measures. The second is a
Spring Statement, also known as a "mini-Budget". Britain's
tax year
A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many jur ...
has retained the old
Julian end of year: 24 March (Old Style) / 5 April (New Style, i.e. Gregorian). From 1993, the Budget was in spring, preceded by an annual autumn statement. This was then called
Pre-Budget Report
The Spring Statement of the British Government, also known as the "mini-budget", is one of the two statements HM Treasury makes each year to Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislature, legislative body of g ...
. The Autumn Statement usually took place in November or December. The 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006,
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical YearImage:IHY logo.png, 200px, right
The International Heliophysical Year is a United Nations, UN-sponsored scientifically driven international program of scientific collaboration to unde ...
,
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of LanguagesThe United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, pursuant to a resolution of UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultura ...
,
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives2012 was designated as the International Year of Cooperatives by the United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 2009.
The designation has honored the use of cooperative organiz ...
and
2016 budgets were all delivered on a Wednesday, summarised in a speech to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers
Chambers may refer to: Places
Canada:
*Chambers Township, Ontario
United States:
*Chambers County, Alabama
*Chambers, Arizona, an unincorpor ...

.
The budget is a state secret until the chancellor reveals it in his speech to Parliament.
Hugh Dalton
Edward Hugh John Neale Dalton, Baron Dalton, (16 August 1887 – 13 February 1962) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party economist and politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1945 to 1947. He shaped Labour Party foreig ...

, on his way to giving the budget speech in 1947, inadvertently blurted out key details to a newspaper reporter, and they appeared in print before he made his speech. Dalton was forced to resign.
Monetary policy
Although the
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for t ...

is responsible for setting interest rates, the chancellor also plays an important part in the monetary policy structure. He sets the inflation target which the Bank must set interest rates to meet. Under the Bank of England Act 1998 the chancellor has the power of appointment of four out of nine members of the Bank's
Monetary Policy CommitteeMonetary Policy Committee (MPC) may refer to:
* Monetary Policy Committee (India) of the Reserve Bank of India
* Monetary Policy Committee (United Kingdom)
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is a committee of the Bank of England, which meets ...
– the so-called 'external' members. He also has a high level of influence over the appointment of the Bank's Governor and Deputy Governors, and has the right of consultation over the appointment of the two remaining MPC members from within the Bank. The Act also provides that the Government has the power to give instructions to the Bank on interest rates for a limited period in extreme circumstances. This power has never been officially used.
Ministerial arrangements
At
HM Treasury
Her Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), sometimes referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is the department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance
...
the chancellor is supported by a political team of four junior ministers and by permanent
civil servants
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadersh ...
. The most important junior minister is the
chief secretary to the Treasury
The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (CST) is the third most senior ministerial office in HM Treasury, after the First Lord of the Treasury (though this office is only nominal and held by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister, who ...
, a member of the Cabinet, to whom the negotiations with other government departments on the details of government spending are delegated, followed by the
paymaster general
Her Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Michael Ellis (British politician), Michael Ellis MP.
History
The post was crea ...
, the
financial secretary to the Treasury
Financial Secretary to the Treasury is a mid-level ministerial post in the HM Treasury, British Treasury. It is the fifth most significant ministerial role within the Treasury after the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, ...
and the
economic secretary to the Treasury. Whilst not continuously in use, there can also be appointed a
commercial secretary to the Treasury
The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury is a United Kingdom Government
The Government of the United Kingdom, domestically referred to as Her Majesty's Government, is the central government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Norther ...
and an
exchequer secretary to the Treasury
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in the British Treasury, ranked below the First Lord of the Treasury
The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the commission
Commission or commissioning may refer to:
...
. Two other officials are given the title of a
Secretary to the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are several Secretaries to the Treasury, who are Treasury ministers nominally acting as secretaries to HM Treasury. The origins of the office are unclear, although it probably originated during Lord Burghley's tenure a ...
, although neither is a government minister in the Treasury: the
parliamentary secretary to the Treasury
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is a senior ministerial position in the British Government
The Government of the United Kingdom, domestically referred to as Her Majesty's Government, is the central government of the United Kingdo ...
is the Government
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to ensure the Whip (politics), whipping system that tries to ensure that members of the Political party, party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.
United Kingdom
In Politics of ...
in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers
Chambers may refer to: Places
Canada:
*Chambers Township, Ontario
United States:
*Chambers County, Alabama
*Chambers, Arizona, an unincorpor ...
; the
permanent secretary to the TreasuryThe UK Permanent Secretary to the Treasury is the most senior civil servant at HM Treasury. The post originated as that of Assistant Secretary to the Treasury in 1805; that office was given new duties and renamed in 1867 as a Permanent Secretaryship. ...
is not a
minister
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity)Image:LutheranClergy.JPG, upA Lutheran minister wearing a Geneva gown and Bands (neckwear), bands. In many churches, ministers wear distinctive clothing, called vestments, when presiding over service ...
but the senior civil servant in the Treasury.
The chancellor is obliged to be a member of the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state (polity), state#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of state
He or HE may refer to:
...
, and thus is
styled the
Right Honourable
The Right Honourable (abbreviation: The Rt Hon. or Rt Hon.) is an honorific Style (form of address), style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nat ...
(Rt. Hon.). Because the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, formally The Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled, is the of the . Membership is by , or . Like the , it meets in the .
ar ...

is excluded from financial matters by tradition confirmed by the
Parliament Acts, the office is effectively limited to members of the House of Commons; apart from the occasions when the
lord chief justice of the King's Bench
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales and the President of the Courts of England and Wales.
The officeholder until 2005 could be viewed as the second-highest judge of the Courts of Engla ...
has acted as interim chancellor. The last peer to hold the office was
Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington
Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington (13 January 1652 – 2 January 1694) was a Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative of the people who live in their constituency. In many countries with Bicameralism, bic ...
(at that time only a Baron, Lord Delamer) from 9 April 1689 to 18 March 1690. The chancellor holds the formerly independent office of
Master of the Mint
Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is a government-owned Mint (facility), mint that produces coins for the United Kingdom. Operating under the legal name ''The Royal Mint Limited'', the mint is a limited company ...
as a subsidiary office.
Perquisites of the office
Official residence
The chancellor of the Exchequer has no official London residence as such but since 1828 in his role as Second Lord of the Treasury he lives in the second lord's official residence, No.
11 Downing Street. In 1997, the then first and second Lords,
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. On his resig ...

and
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government
The head of government is either the h ...

respectively, swapped apartments, as the Chancellor's apartment in No. 11 was bigger and thus better suited to the needs of Blair (who had children living with him, including one born during his tenure) than Brown who was at that stage unmarried.
Dorneywood
Dorneywood is the summer residence that is traditionally made available to the chancellor, though it is the
prime minister
A prime minister or a premier is the head of the cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transpa ...
who ultimately decides who may use it.
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government
The head of government is either the h ...

, on becoming chancellor in 1997, refused to use it and the house, which is set in of parkland, was allocated to
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott (born 31 May 1938) is a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom (DPM) is a senior minister of the Crown
Minister ...
. It reverted to the chancellor in 2007, then
Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (born 28 November 1953) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government 2007-2010, Labour Government from 2007 to 20 ...

.
Budget box

The chancellor traditionally carries his Budget speech to the House of Commons in a particular
red Despatch Box. The chancellor's red briefcase is identical to the briefcases used by all other government ministers (known as ministerial boxes or "
Despatch Boxes") to transport their official papers but is better known because the chancellor traditionally displays the briefcase, containing the Budget speech, to the press in the morning before delivering the speech.
The original Budget briefcase was first used by
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone (; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
*a supporter of liberalism, a political and moral philosophy
**Liberalism by country
*an ...

in 1853 and continued in use until 1965 when
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, (; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdo ...

was the first chancellor to break with tradition when he used a newer box. Prior to Gladstone, a generic red
Despatch Box
A despatch box (alternatively dispatch box) is one of several types of boxes used in government business. Despatch boxes primarily include both those sometimes known as red boxes or ministerial boxes, which are used by the Sovereign and her minis ...
of varying design and specification was used. The practice is said to have begun in the late 16th century, when Queen
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to i ...

's representative
Francis Throckmorton
Sir Francis Throckmorton (1554July 1584) was a conspirator against Queen Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland
Ireland (; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ...
presented the Spanish Ambassador,
Bernardino de Mendoza 250px, Coat of arms of the House of Mendoza.
:''For the naval commander of the same name, see Bernardino de Mendoza (Captain General)Image:Blason fam es Mendoza.svg, 250px, Coat of arms of the House of Mendoza.
:''For the naval commander of the sam ...
, with a specially constructed red briefcase filled with
black pudding
Black pudding is a distinct regional type of blood sausage originating in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain,Usage is mixed. The Guardian' an ...
s.
In July 1997, Gordon Brown became the second chancellor to use a new box for the Budget. Made by industrial trainees at Babcock Rosyth Defence Ltd ship and submarine dockyard in Fife, the new box is made of yellow pine, with a brass handle and lock, covered in scarlet leather and embossed with the Royal cypher and crest and the Chancellor's title. In his
first Budget, in March 2008, Alistair Darling reverted to using the original budget briefcase and his successor, George Osborne, continued this tradition for his first budget, before announcing that it would be retired due to its fragile condition. The key to the original budget box has been lost.
Budget tipple
By tradition, the chancellor has been allowed to drink whatever they wish while making the annual
Budget Speech to parliament. This includes alcohol, which is otherwise banned under parliamentary rules.
Previous chancellors have opted for whisky (
Kenneth Clarke
Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham, (born 2 July 1940), often known as Ken Clarke, is a British politician who served as Home Secretary
The home secretary, officially the secretary of state for the Home Department, is a se ...
), gin and tonic (
Geoffrey Howe
Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015), known from 1970 to 1992 as Sir Geoffrey Howe, was a British Conservative
Conservatism is a Political philosophy, political and social ...

), brandy and water (
Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881), was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government
The head of government ...

and
John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. He served in the Third Thatcher mi ...

), spritzer (
Nigel Lawson
Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, (born 11 March 1932) is a British Conservative
Conservatism is an aesthetic
Aesthetics, or esthetics (), is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), ...
) and sherry and beaten egg (
William Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone (; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
*a supporter of liberalism, a political and moral philosophy
**Liberalism by country
*an a ...

).
The recent chancellors,
Philip Hammond
Philip Hammond, Baron Hammond of Runnymede (born 4 December 1955) is a British politician and life peer who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to the Chancellor, is a high ranking Minist ...
,
George Osborne
George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born Gideon Oliver Osborne; 23 May 1971) is a British politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to the chancellor, is a seni ...

,
Alistair Darling
Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (born 28 November 1953) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government 2007-2010, Labour Government from 2007 to 20 ...

and
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government
The head of government is either the h ...

, opted for water. In fact Darling drank what was named "Standard Water" in reference to, and support of, the London ''Evening Standard'' newspaper's campaign to have plain tap water available in restaurants at no charge to customers.
Robe of office
The chancellor has a robe of office, similar to that of the lord chancellor (as seen in several of the portraits depicted below). In recent times, it has only regularly been worn at
coronations
A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of other ...
, but some chancellors (at least until the 1990s) have also worn it when attending the
Trial of the Pyx
The Trial of the Pyx () is a judicial ceremony in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain,Usage is mixed. The Guardian' and Telegraph' use Britain as ...
as
Master of the Mint
Master of the Mint is a title within the Royal Mint
The Royal Mint is a government-owned Mint (facility), mint that produces coins for the United Kingdom. Operating under the legal name ''The Royal Mint Limited'', the mint is a limited company ...
. According to George Osborne, the robe (dating from Gladstone's time in office, and worn by the likes of
Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was a Welsh statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was the final Liberal to hold the post of prime ministe ...

and
Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, (30 November 187424 January 1965) was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government
The head of government is either the highe ...

) 'went missing' during Gordon Brown's time as chancellor.
List of chancellors of the Exchequer
Chancellors of the Exchequer of England (c. 1221 – c. 1558)
: Died in office.
Chancellors of the Exchequer of England (c. 1558 – 1708)
Chancellors of the Exchequer of Great Britain (1708–1817)
Chancellors of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom (1817–present)
Although the Kingdoms of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atoll
An atoll (), ...

and
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel, the Irish Sea ...

had been united by the
Acts of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes referred to as a single Act of Union 1801) were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 17 ...
(39 & 40 Geo. III c. 67), the Exchequers of the two Kingdoms were not consolidated until 1817 under 56 Geo. III c. 98.
For the holders of the Irish office before this date, see
Chancellor of the Exchequer of IrelandThe Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland and a member of the Dublin Castle administration under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Kingdom of Ireland. In early times the title was sometimes given as Chanc ...
.
See also
*
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is in ...
*
List of Lord High Treasurers of England and Great Britain
This is a list of Lord High Treasurer
The post of Lord High Treasurer or Lord Treasurer was an Lord High Treasurers of England, English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder ...
Notes
References
Further reading
* Barber, Stephen. "'Westminster's wingman'? Shadow chancellor as a strategic and coveted political role." ''British Politics'' 11.2 (2016): 184–204.
* Baxter, Stephen B. ''The Development of the Treasury, 1660–1702'' (1957
online
* Browning, Peter. ''The Treasury and Economic Policy: 1964–1985'' (Longman, 1986).
* Dell, Edmund. ''The Chancellors: A History of the Chancellors of the Exchequer, 1945–90'' (HarperCollins, 1997) 619pp; 17 chapters covering the terms of each chancellor.
* Holt, Richard. ''Second Amongst Equals: Chancellors of the Exchequer and the British Economy'' (Profile Books, 2001).
* Jenkins, Roy. ''The Chancellors'' (1998); 497pp; covers entire career as well as term in office of 19 chancellors from 1886 to 1947.
*
Kynaston, David. ''The chancellor of the exchequer'' (T. Dalton, 1980).
* Peden, G. C''The Treasury and British Public Policy, 1906–1959'' (Oxford UP, 2000)
online* Vincent, Nicholas C. "The Origins of the Chancellorship of the Exchequer." ''English Historical Review'' 108.426 (1993): 105–121
in JSTOR* Woodward, Nicholas. ''The management of the British economy, 1945–2001'' (Manchester University Press, 2004).
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chancellor Of The Exchequer
Ceremonial officers in the United Kingdom
Chancellors of the Exchequer
Chancellor ( la, links=no, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the ''cancellarii'' of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the ''cancelli'' or lattice wor ...
Exchequer offices
Finance ministries, United Kingdom
Lists of government ministers of the United Kingdom
Ministerial offices in the United Kingdom