# Economic Secretary to the Treasury

The Economic Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, ranked below the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General and the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and alongside the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury. It ranks at Parliamentary Secretary level and the holder does not attend Cabinet. Since 2014, the holder has also generally held the position of City Minister. It is shadowed by the Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

## History

The office was created in November 1947. In 1961, the Economic Secretary became junior to the new office of Chief Secretary to the Treasury, which held a seat in cabinet.
Following the establishment of the Department of Economic Affairs in 1964, the Economic Secretary, Anthony Crosland, transferred to become Minister of State in that department. The post of Economic Secretary to the Treasury was abolished on 22 December 1964. Although the Department of Economic Affairs closed in 1969, the Treasury post was not re-established until 11 November 1981.
From April 2014 to September 2022, and since October 2022, the office of Economic Secretary to the Treasury has been held concurrently with the portfolio of 'City Minister'.

## Responsibilities

The Economic Secretary is responsible, though more senior ministers share in decision-making, for the answering of written and verbal parliamentary questions and for the devising of regulations, orders and legislation in various matters. Until September 2022, these matters included banking and finance, including banks, insurance, personal savings, financial regulation, and foreign exchange reserves. He or she was also involved in taxation as it impacted on these areas, such as tax on savings and pensions, and Insurance Premium Tax. In addition, the Economic Secretary, until September 2002, advised on economic policy and continues to work with other Treasury ministers on the Comprehensive Spending Review and finance bills.

## Economic Secretaries to the Treasury, 1947–present

Colour key (for political parties):  Conservative  Labour
| Economic Secretary | Economic Secretary | Economic Secretary | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Prime Minister | Chancellor |
| | | Douglas Jay | 13 November 1947 | 2 March 1950 | Labour | Attlee | Cripps |
| | | John Edwards | 19 October 1950 | 26 October 1951 | Labour | Attlee | Gaitskell |
| Office not in use | Office not in use | Office not in use | 26 October 1951 | 24 November 1952 | | Churchill | Butler |
| | | Reginald Maudling | 24 November 1952 | 7 April 1955 | Conservative | Churchill | Butler |
| | | Sir Edward Boyle | 7 April 1955 | 11 November 1956 | Conservative | Eden | Macmillan |
| | | Derek Walker-Smith | 11 November 1956 | 16 January 1957 | Conservative | Eden | Macmillan |
| | | Nigel Birch | 16 January 1957 | 6 January 1958 | Conservative | Macmillan | Thorneycroft |
| Office not in use | Office not in use | Office not in use | 6 January 1958 | 23 October 1958 | | Macmillan | H-Amory |
| | | Frederick Erroll | 23 October 1958 | 22 October 1959 | Conservative | Macmillan | H-Amory |
| | | Anthony Barber | 22 October 1959 | 16 July 1962 | Conservative | Macmillan | H-Amory |
| | | Anthony Barber | 22 October 1959 | 16 July 1962 | Conservative | Macmillan | Lloyd |
| | | Edward du Cann | 16 July 1962 | 21 October 1963 | Conservative | Macmillan | Maudling |
| | | Maurice Macmillan | 21 October 1963 | 16 October 1964 | Conservative | D-Home | Maudling |
| | | Anthony Crosland | 19 October 1964 | 22 December 1964 | Labour | Wilson | Callaghan |
| Office not in use | Office not in use | Office not in use | 22 December 1964 | 11 November 1981 | | Wilson | Callaghan |
| Office not in use | Office not in use | Office not in use | 22 December 1964 | 11 November 1981 | | Wilson | Jenkins |
| Office not in use | Office not in use | Office not in use | 22 December 1964 | 11 November 1981 | | Heath | Macleod |
| Office not in use | Office not in use | Office not in use | 22 December 1964 | 11 November 1981 | | Heath | Barber |
| Office not in use | Office not in use | Office not in use | 22 December 1964 | 11 November 1981 | | Wilson | Healey |
| Office not in use | Office not in use | Office not in use | 22 December 1964 | 11 November 1981 | | Callaghan | Healey |
| Office not in use | Office not in use | Office not in use | 22 December 1964 | 11 November 1981 | | Thatcher | Howe |
| | | Jock Bruce-Gardyne | 11 November 1981 | 13 June 1983 | Conservative | Thatcher | Howe |
| | | John Moore | 13 June 1983 | 19 October 1983 | Conservative | Thatcher | Lawson |
| | | Ian Stewart | 19 October 1983 | 11 June 1987 | Conservative | Thatcher | Lawson |
| | | Peter Lilley | 11 June 1987 | 24 July 1989 | Conservative | Thatcher | Lawson |
| | | Richard Ryder | 24 July 1989 | 14 July 1990 | Conservative | Thatcher | Lawson |
| | | Richard Ryder | 24 July 1989 | 14 July 1990 | Conservative | Thatcher | Major |
| | | John Maples | 23 July 1990 | 14 April 1992 | Conservative | Thatcher | Major |
| | | John Maples | 23 July 1990 | 14 April 1992 | Conservative | Major | Lamont |
| | | Anthony Nelson | 14 April 1992 | 6 July 1995 | Conservative | Major | Lamont |
| | | Anthony Nelson | 14 April 1992 | 6 July 1995 | Conservative | Major | Clarke |
| | | Angela Knight | 6 July 1995 | 2 May 1997 | Conservative | Major | Clarke |
| | | Helen Liddell | 3 May 1997 | 27 July 1998 | Labour | Blair | Brown |
| | | Patricia Hewitt | 27 July 1998 | 17 May 1999 | Labour | Blair | Brown |
| | | Melanie Johnson | 17 May 1999 | 8 June 2001 | Labour | Blair | Brown |
| | | Ruth Kelly | 8 June 2001 | 15 May 2002 | Labour | Blair | Brown |
| Office not in use | Office not in use | Office not in use | 15 May 2002 | 30 May 2002 | | Blair | Brown |
| | | John Healey | 30 May 2002 | 6 May 2005 | Labour | Blair | Brown |
| | | Ivan Lewis | May 2005 | May 2006 | Labour | Blair | Brown |
| | | Ed Balls | 6 May 2006 | 28 June 2007 | Labour | Blair | Brown |
| | | Kitty Ussher | 29 June 2007 | 5 October 2008 | Labour | Brown | Darling |
| | | Ian Pearson | 5 October 2008 | 11 May 2010 | Labour | Brown | Darling |
| | | Justine Greening | 13 May 2010 | 14 October 2011 | Conservative | Cameron (Coalition) | Osborne |
| | | Chloe Smith | 14 October 2011 | 4 September 2012 | Conservative | Cameron (Coalition) | Osborne |
| | | Sajid Javid | 4 September 2012 | 7 October 2013 | Conservative | Cameron (Coalition) | Osborne |
| | | Nicky Morgan | 7 October 2013 | 9 April 2014 | Conservative | Cameron (Coalition) | Osborne |
| | | Andrea Leadsom | 9 April 2014 | 11 May 2015 | Conservative | Cameron (Coalition) | Osborne |
| | | Harriett Baldwin | 11 May 2015 | 16 July 2016 | Conservative | Cameron (II) | Osborne |
| | | Simon Kirby | 17 July 2016 | 9 June 2017 | Conservative | May (I) | Hammond |
| | | Steve Barclay | 14 June 2017 | 9 January 2018 | Conservative | May (II) | Hammond |
| | | John Glen | 9 January 2018 | 6 July 2022 | Conservative | May (II) | Hammond |
| | | John Glen | 9 January 2018 | 6 July 2022 | Conservative | Johnson | Javid |
| | | John Glen | 9 January 2018 | 6 July 2022 | Conservative | Johnson | Sunak |
| | | Richard Fuller | 8 July 2022 | 27 October 2022 | Conservative | Johnson | Zahawi |
| | | Richard Fuller | 8 July 2022 | 27 October 2022 | Conservative | Truss | Kwarteng |
| | | Richard Fuller | 8 July 2022 | 27 October 2022 | Conservative | Truss | Hunt |
| | | Andrew Griffith | 27 October 2022 | 13 November 2023 | Conservative | Sunak | Hunt |
| | | Bim Afolami | 13 November 2023 | 5 July 2024 | Conservative | Sunak | Hunt |
| | | Tulip Siddiq | 9 July 2024 | 14 January 2025 | Labour | Starmer | Reeves |
| | | Emma Reynolds | 14 January 2025 | Incumbent | Labour | Starmer | Reeves |