# Paymaster General

His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The position is currently held by Nick Thomas-Symonds of the Labour Party.

## History

The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the positions of the offices of the Paymaster of the Forces (1661–1836), the Treasurer of the Navy (1546–1835), the Paymaster and Treasurer of Chelsea Hospital (responsible for Army pensions) (1681–1835) and the Treasurer of the Ordnance (1670–1835).
Initially, the Paymaster General only had responsibilities in relation to the armed services but in 1848 two more offices were merged into that of Paymaster General: the Paymaster of Exchequer Bills (1723–1848) and the Paymaster of the Civil Service (1834–1848), the latter followed by its Irish counterpart in 1861. They thus became 'the principal paying agent of the government and the banker for all government departments except the revenue departments and the National Debt Office'.
From 1848 to 1868, the post was held concurrently with that of Vice-President of the Board of Trade.
The longest-serving holder of the post was Dawn Primarolo, whose portfolio covered HM Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue (which during her tenure became merged as HM Revenue and Customs) and who served from 1999 to 2007.

## Role

Today, the Paymaster General is usually a minister without portfolio available for any duties which the government of the day may designate. The post may be combined with another office, or may be left unfilled.
Though the Paymaster General was titular head of the Paymaster General's Office, their executive functions were delegated to the Assistant Paymaster General, a permanent civil servant who (though acting in the name of the Paymaster General) was answerable to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

### Office of HM Paymaster General

The Paymaster General was formerly in nominal charge (and at one time in actual charge) of the Office of HM Paymaster General (OPG), which held accounts at the Bank of England on behalf of government departments and selected other public bodies. Funds which were made available from the Consolidated Fund were then channelled into OPG accounts, from where they were used by the relevant body. OPG operated a full range of accounts and banking transaction services, including cheque and credit, BACS and CHAPS services for its customers via an electronic banking system. Integration of OPG accounts held with commercial banks was provided by the private company Xafinity Paymaster which is now part of the Equiniti group.
However, in 2008, the government announced that the Office of the Paymaster General would be incorporated into a new body, the Government Banking Service, which also provides banking operations for HM Revenue & Customs and National Savings and Investments. Following the Bank of England's decision to withdraw from providing retail banking services, retail banking and payment services for the GBS are provided by a range of financial institutions including Barclays, Citibank, NatWest, and Worldpay, although the Bank of England still plays a role in managing the government's higher level accounts.

## List of paymasters general
### 19th century

* Sir Henry Parnell, Bt. 1836–1841
* Edward Stanley 1841
* Sir Edward Knatchbull, Bt. 1841–1845
* Bingham Baring 1845–1846
* Thomas Babington Macaulay 1846–1848
* Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville 1848–1852
* Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley 1852
* Charles Abbot, 2nd Baron Colchester 1852
* Edward Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley of Alderley 1853–1855
* Edward Pleydell-Bouverie 1855
* Robert Lowe 1855–1858
* Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 4th Earl of Donoughmore 1858–1859
* Algernon Percy, Lord Lovaine 1859
* James Wilson 1859
* William Cowper 1859–1860
* William Hutt 1860–1865
* George Goschen 1865–1866
* William Monsell 1866
* Stephen Cave 1866–1868
* Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Earl of Dufferin 1868–1872
* Hugh Childers 1872–1873
* William Adam 1873–1874
* Stephen Cave 1874–1880
* David Plunket 1880
* George Glyn, 2nd Baron Wolverton 1880–1885
* Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp 1885–1886
* Thomas Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce, 5th Baron Thurlow 1886
* Frederick Lygon, 6th Earl Beauchamp 1886–1887
* Adelbert Brownlow-Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow 1887–1889
* Victor Child Villiers, 7th Earl of Jersey 1889–1890
* Robert Windsor-Clive, 14th Baron Windsor 1890–1892
* Charles Seale-Hayne 1892–1895
* John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun 1895–1899
* Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough 1899–1902

### 20th century

* Savile Crossley 1902–1905
* Richard Causton (1st Baron Southwark after 13 July 1910) 1905–1910
* Ivor Guest, 1st Baron Ashby St Ledgers 1910–1912
* Edward Strachey, 1st Baron Strachie 1912–1915
* Thomas Legh, 2nd Baron Newton 1915–1916
* Arthur Henderson 1916
* Joseph Compton-Rickett 1916–1919
* Tudor Walters 1919–1922
* Office vacant 1922–1923
* Neville Chamberlain 1923
* William Joynson-Hicks 1923
* Archibald Boyd-Carpenter 1923–1924
* Harry Gosling 1924
* Office vacant 1924–1925
* George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland 1925–1928
* Richard Onslow, 5th Earl of Onslow 1928–1929
* Sydney Arnold 1929–1931
* Office vacant 1931
* Tudor Walters 1931
* Ernest Lamb, 1st Baron Rochester 1931–1935
* Robert Hutchison, 1st Baron Hutchison of Montrose 1935–1938
* Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster 1938–1939
* Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton 1939
* Office vacant 1939–1940
* Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Viscount Cranborne 1940
* Office vacant 1940–1941
* Maurice Hankey 1941–1942
* William Jowitt 1942
* Frederick Lindemann, 1st Baron Cherwell 1942–1945
* Office vacant 1945–1946
* Arthur Greenwood 9 July 1946 Lab
* Hilary Marquand 5 March 1947 Lab
* The Viscount Addison 2 July 1948 also Leader of the House of Lords Lab
* The Lord Macdonald of Gwaenysgor 1 April 1949 Lab
| Paymaster General | Paymaster General | Paymaster General | Term of office | Term of office | Concurrent office(s) | Political party | Prime Minister |
| | | Frederick Lindemann Viscount Cherwell | 30 October 1951 | 11 November 1953 | | Conservative | Winston Churchill (III) |
| | | George Douglas-Hamilton Earl of Selkirk | 11 November 1953 | 20 October 1955 | | Conservative | Winston Churchill (III) |
| Office vacant | Office vacant | Office vacant | 20 October 1955 | 18 October 1956 | | Conservative | Anthony Eden (Eden) |
| | | Walter Monckton MP for Bristol West | 18 October 1956 | 16 January 1957 | | Conservative | Anthony Eden (Eden) |
| | | Reginald Maudling MP for Barnet | 16 January 1957 | 14 October 1959 | | Conservative | Harold Macmillan (I) |
| | | Percy Mills Viscount Mills | 14 October 1959 | 9 October 1961 | | Conservative | Harold Macmillan (II) |
| | | Henry Brooke MP for Hampstead | 9 October 1961 | 13 July 1962 | Chief Secretary to the Treasury | Conservative | Harold Macmillan (II) |
| | | John Boyd-Carpenter MP for Kingston-upon-Thames | 13 July 1962 | 19 October 1964 | Chief Secretary to the Treasury | Conservative | Alec Douglas-Home (Douglas-Home) |
| | | George Wigg MP for Dudley | 19 October 1964 | 12 November 1967 | | Labour | Harold Wilson (I & II) |
| Office vacant | Office vacant | Office vacant | 12 November 1967 | 6 April 1968 | | Labour | Harold Wilson (II) |
| | | Edward Shackleton Baron Shackleton | 6 April 1968 | 1 November 1968 | | Labour | Harold Wilson (II) |
| | | Judith Hart MP for Clydesdale | 1 November 1968 | 6 October 1969 | | Labour | Harold Wilson (II) |
| | | Harold Lever MP for Manchester Cheetham | 6 October 1969 | 23 June 1970 | | Labour | Harold Wilson (II) |
| | | David Eccles Viscount Eccles | 23 June 1970 | 2 December 1973 | Minister for the Arts | Conservative | Edward Heath (Heath) |
| | | Maurice Macmillan MP for Farnham | 2 December 1973 | 4 March 1974 | | Conservative | Edward Heath (Heath) |
| | | Edmund Dell MP for Birkenhead | 4 March 1974 | 10 September 1976 | | Labour | Harold Wilson (III & IV) |
| | | Shirley Williams MP for Hitchin | 10 September 1976 | 4 May 1979 | Secretary of State for Education and Science | Labour | James Callaghan (Callaghan) |
| | | Angus Maude MP for Stratford-on-Avon | 4 May 1979 | 5 January 1981 | | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher (I) |
| | | Francis Pym MP for Cambridgeshire | 5 January 1981 | 14 September 1981 | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (5 January 1981 – 14 September 1981) Leader of the House of Commons (5 January 1981 – 5 April 1982) | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher (I) |
| | | Cecil Parkinson MP for South Hertfordshire | 14 September 1981 | 11 June 1983 | Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (6 April 1982 – 11 June 1983) | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher (I) |
| Office vacant | Office vacant | Office vacant | 11 June 1983 | 11 September 1984 | | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher (II) |
| | | John Gummer MP for Suffolk Coastal | 11 September 1984 | 1 September 1985 | | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher (II) |
| | | Kenneth Clarke MP for Rushcliffe | 2 September 1985 | 13 July 1987 | Minister of State for Employment | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher (II) |
| | | Peter Brooke MP for City of London and Westminster South | 13 July 1987 | 24 July 1989 | | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher (III) |
| | | Malcolm Sinclair Earl of Caithness | 25 July 1989 | 14 July 1990 | | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher (III) |
| | | Richard Ryder MP for Mid Norfolk | 14 July 1990 | 28 November 1990 | | Conservative | John Major (I) |
| | | John Ganzoni Baron Belstead | 28 November 1990 | 11 April 1992 | Minister of State for Northern Ireland | Conservative | John Major (I) |
| | | John Cope MP for Northavon | 14 April 1992 | 20 July 1994 | | Conservative | John Major (lI) |
| | | David Heathcoat-Amory MP for Wells | 20 July 1994 | 20 July 1996 | | Conservative | John Major (lI) |
| | | David Willetts MP for Havant | 20 July 1996 | 21 November 1996 | | Conservative | John Major (lI) |
| | | Michael Bates MP for Langbaurgh | 21 November 1996 | 2 May 1997 | Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (17 October 1995 – 11 December 1996) | Conservative | John Major (lI) |
| | | Geoffrey Robinson MP for Coventry North West | 2 May 1997 | 23 December 1998 | | Labour | Tony Blair (I) |

### 21st century

| Paymaster General | Term of office | Term of office | Concurrent office(s) | Political party | Prime Minister |
| Dawn Primarolo MP for Bristol South | 4 January 1999 | 28 June 2007 | | Labour | Tony Blair (I, II, III) |
| Tessa Jowell MP for Dulwich and West Norwood | 28 June 2007 | 11 May 2010 | Minister for the Olympics Minister for the Cabinet Office (from 5 June 2009) Minister for London (until 3 October 2008; from 5 June 2009) | Labour | Gordon Brown (Brown) |
| Francis Maude MP for Horsham | 12 May 2010 | 11 May 2015 | Minister for the Cabinet Office | Conservative | David Cameron (I) |
| Matt Hancock MP for West Suffolk | 11 May 2015 | 14 July 2016 | Minister for the Cabinet Office | Conservative | David Cameron (II) |
| Ben Gummer MP for Ipswich | 14 July 2016 | 13 June 2017 | Minister for the Cabinet Office | Conservative | Theresa May (I) |
| Mel Stride MP for Central Devon | 13 June 2017 | 23 May 2019 | Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Conservative | Theresa May (II) |
| Jesse Norman MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire | 23 May 2019 | 24 July 2019 | Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Conservative | Theresa May (II) |
| Oliver Dowden MP for Hertsmere | 24 July 2019 | 13 February 2020 | Minister for the Cabinet Office | Conservative | Boris Johnson (I & II) |
| Penny Mordaunt MP for Portsmouth North | 13 February 2020 | 16 September 2021 | | Conservative | Boris Johnson (II) |
| Michael Ellis MP for Northampton North | 16 September 2021 | 6 September 2022 | Minister for the Cabinet Office (from 8 February 2022) | Conservative | Boris Johnson (II) |
| Edward Argar MP for Charnwood | 6 September 2022 | 14 October 2022 | Minister for the Cabinet Office | Conservative | Liz Truss (Truss) |
| Chris Philp MP for Croydon South | 14 October 2022 | 25 October 2022 | Minister for the Cabinet Office | Conservative | Liz Truss (Truss) |
| Jeremy Quin MP for Horsham | 25 October 2022 | 13 November 2023 | Minister for the Cabinet Office | Conservative | Rishi Sunak (Sunak) |
| John Glen MP for Salisbury | 13 November 2023 | 5 July 2024 | Minister for the Cabinet Office | Conservative | Rishi Sunak (Sunak) |
| Nick Thomas-Symonds MP for Torfaen | 8 July 2024 | | Minister for the Cabinet Office | Labour | Keir Starmer (Starmer) |

## List of shadow paymasters general

| Shadow Paymaster general | Term of office | Term of office | Party | Opposition Leader |
| Richard Ottaway | 1 June 2000 | 1 June 2001 | Conservative | Hague |
| Stephen O'Brien | 1 June 2002 | 1 June 2003 | Conservative | Duncan Smith |
| Andrew Tyrie | 1 June 2004 | 1 June 2005 | Conservative | Howard |
| Mark Francois | 10 May 2005 | 3 July 2007 | Conservative | Howard |
| Mark Francois | 10 May 2005 | 3 July 2007 | Conservative | Cameron |
| Jack Dromey | 14 May 2021 | 4 December 2021 | Labour | Starmer |
| Fleur Anderson | 4 December 2021 | 4 September 2023 | Labour | Starmer |
| Jonathan Ashworth | 4 September 2023 | 5 July 2024 | Labour | Starmer |
| John Glen | 8 July 2024 | Incumbent | Conservative | Sunak |