The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the

Government of the United Kingdom 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_es ...

, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office holder works alongside the other transport ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the

shadow secretary of state for transport The Shadow Secretary of State for Transport is a political post in the United Kingdom. It has been consistently held by a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet since May 1979. The Shadow Secretary helps hold the Transport Secretary and ...

, and the secretary of state is also scrutinised by the

Transport Select Committee The Transport Select Committee is a select committee of the House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The remit of the Committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Transport and its asso ...

History

The Ministry of Transport absorbed the Ministry of Shipping and was renamed the Ministry of War Transport in 1941, but resumed its previous name at the end of the war. The Ministry of Civil Aviation was created by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

in 1944 to look at peaceful ways of using

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...

and to find something for the aircraft factories to do after the war. The new Conservative government in 1951 appointed the same minister to both Transport and Civil Aviation, finally amalgamating the ministries on 1 October 1953. The Ministry was renamed back to the Ministry of Transport on 14 October 1959, when a separate

Ministry of Aviation The Ministry of Aviation was a department of the United Kingdom government established in 1959. Its responsibilities included the regulation of civil aviation and the supply of military aircraft, which it took on from the Ministry of Supply. ...

was formed. Transport responsibilities were subsumed by the Department for the Environment, headed by the

secretary of state for the environment The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment (DoE). This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of T ...

from 15 October 1970 to 10 September 1976. The Department for Transport was recreated as a separate department by James Callaghan in 1976. The super-department

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions was a United Kingdom Cabinet position created in 1997, with responsibility for the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). The position and department ...

was created in 1997 for

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

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 from 1997 to 2007 and as First Secretary of State from 2001 to 2007. A member of the Labour Party, he w ...

. In 2001, the

was widely considered unwieldy and so was broken up, with the Transport functions now combined with Local Government and the Regions in the DTLR (Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions). Critics argued from the outset that this was a mistake and that a post of secretary of state for transport was needed in its own right.

List of Ministers and Secretary of State

Minister of Transport (1919–1941)

Colour key (for political parties):

Minister of (War) Transport and Minister of Civil Aviation (1941–1953)

Colour key (for political parties):

Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation (1953–1959)

Colour key (for political parties):

Minister of Transport (1959–1970)

Colour key (for political parties):

Minister within the Department of the Environment (1970–1976)

Colour key (for political parties):
The junior ministers responsible for transport within the Department for the Environment:

Minister for Transport Industries (1970–1974)

* John Peyton (''Conservative, 15 October 1970 – 7 March 1974'')

Minister for Transport (1974–1976)

Fred Mulley Frederick William Mulley, Baron Mulley, PC (3 July 1918 – 15 March 1995) was a British Labour politician, barrister-at-law and economist. Early life Mulley attended Warwick School between 1929 and 1936. He served in the Worcestershire Regime ...

(''Labour, 7 March 1974 – 12 June 1975'') * John Gilbert (''Labour, 12 June 1975 – 10 September 1976'')

Secretary of State for Transport (1976–1979)

Colour key (for political parties):

Minister of Transport (1979–1981)

Not an official member of the cabinet. Colour key (for political parties):

Secretary of State for Transport (1981–1997)

Colour key (for political parties):

Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions (1997–2001)

Colour key (for political parties):

Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (2001–2002)

Colour key (for political parties):
After Byers' resignation, such a division was made, with the portfolios of Local Government and the Regions transferred to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. During the lifetime of DTLGR,

John Spellar John Francis Spellar (born 5 August 1947) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Warley, formerly Warley West, since 1992. A member of the Labour Party, he previously represented Birmingham Northfield from 1 ...

served as Minister of State for Transport with a right to attend Cabinet. *

(''8 June 2001 – 29 May 2002'')

Secretary of State for Transport (2002–present)

Colour key (for political parties):

References

External links

Track record: Transport secretaries
{{Cabinet positions in the United Kingdom

Transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

Ministerial offices in the United Kingdom Department for Transport Transport ministers 1919 establishments in the United Kingdom

History

List of Ministers and Secretary of State

Minister of Transport (1919–1941)

Minister of (War) Transport and Minister of Civil Aviation (1941–1953)

Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation (1953–1959)

Minister of Transport (1959–1970)

Minister within the Department of the Environment (1970–1976)

Minister for Transport Industries (1970–1974)

Minister for Transport (1974–1976)

Secretary of State for Transport (1976–1979)

Minister of Transport (1979–1981)

Secretary of State for Transport (1981–1997)

Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions (1997–2001)

Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (2001–2002)

Secretary of State for Transport (2002–present)

See also

References

External links