# Minister without portfolio (United Kingdom)

In the United Kingdom, a minister without portfolio is often a cabinet position, or often attends cabinet. The role is sometimes used to enable the chairman of the governing party, contemporarily either the chairman of the Conservative Party or the chair of the Labour Party, to attend cabinet meetings. (If so, they hold the title of "Party chairman".) The sinecure positions of Lord Privy Seal, Paymaster General, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which have few responsibilities and have a higher rank in the order of precedence than minister without portfolio can also be used to similar effect. There is currently one minister without portfolio, Ellie Reeves, who was appointed following the 2024 general election.
The corresponding shadow minister is the Shadow Minister without Portfolio.

## List of office holders

* The Lord Somers, as part of the Townshend ministry
* Henry Seymour Conway, as part of the Chatham ministry and Grafton ministry
| Minister | Minister | Minister | Concurrent office(s) | Tenure | Political party | Prime Minister |
| | | William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland | | January 1805 – February 1806 | Whig | William Pitt the Younger |
| | | William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam | | October 1806 – March 1807 | Whig | William Grenville (Ministry of All the Talents) |
| | | William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland | | 4 October 1809 – 30 October 1809 | Tory | Spencer Perceval |
| | | Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby | | November 1809 – June 1812 | Tory (Pittite) | Spencer Perceval |
| | | John Pratt, 2nd Earl Camden (created 1st Marquess Camden, August 1812) | | 8 April 1812 – December 1812 | Tory | Spencer Perceval |
| | | John Pratt, 2nd Earl Camden (created 1st Marquess Camden, August 1812) | | 8 April 1812 – December 1812 | Tory | Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool |
| | | Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave | | January 1819 – May 1820 | Tory | Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool |
| | | Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne | | April 1827 – July 1827 | Whig | George Canning |
| | | William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland | | July 1827 – September 1827 | Tory (Canningite) | George Canning |
| | | George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle | | 22 November 1830 – 5 June 1834 | Whig | Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey |
| | | Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington | | 3 September 1841 – July 1846 | Conservative | Robert Peel |
| | | Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne | | 28 December 1852 – 21 February 1858 | Whig | George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen (until February 1855) |
| | | Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne | | 28 December 1852 – 21 February 1858 | Whig | Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston |
| | | Lord John Russell | | February 1853 – June 1854 | Whig | George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen |
| | | Spencer Horatio Walpole | | May 1867 – February 1868 | Conservative | Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby |
| | | Michael Hicks Beach | | 7 March 1887 – 20 February 1888 | Conservative | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury |
| | | Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne | | 25 May 1915 – December 1916 | Liberal Unionist | H. H. Asquith (Coalition) |
| | | Arthur Henderson | Member of the War Cabinet | 10 December 1916 – 12 August 1917 | Labour | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| | | Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner | Member of the War Cabinet | 10 December 1916 – 18 April 1918 | Conservative | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| | | Jan Smuts | Member of the War Cabinet | 22 June 1917 – 10 January 1919 | South African Party | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| | | Edward Carson | Member of the War Cabinet | 17 July 1917 – 21 January 1918 | Ulster Unionist Party (Irish Unionist) | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| | | George Barnes | Member of the War Cabinet (until October 1919) | 13 August 1917 – 27 January 1920 | Labour | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| | | Austen Chamberlain | Member of the War Cabinet | 18 April 1918 – 10 January 1919 | Conservative | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| | | Eric Campbell Geddes | Member of the War Cabinet | 10 January 1919 – 31 October 1919 | Conservative | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| | | Laming Worthington-Evans | Member of the War Cabinet (until October 1919) | 10 January 1919 – 13 February 1921 | Conservative | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| | | Christopher Addison | | 1 April 1921 – 14 July 1921 | Liberal | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| | | Anthony Eden | Minister for League of Nations affairs | 7 June 1935 – 22 December 1935 | Conservative | Stanley Baldwin (Coalition) |
| | | Eustace Percy | | 7 June 1935 – 31 March 1936 | Conservative | Stanley Baldwin (Coalition) |
| | | Leslie Burgin | Minister of Supply-designate | 21 April 1939 – 14 July 1939 | National Liberal Party | Neville Chamberlain (Coalition) |
| | | Maurice Hankey | Member of the War Cabinet | September 1939 – 10 May 1940 | no party | Neville Chamberlain (Coalition) |
| | | Arthur Greenwood | Member of the War Cabinet | 11 May 1940 – 22 February 1942 | Labour | Winston Churchill (Coalition) |
| | | William Jowitt | | 30 December 1942 – 8 October 1944 | Labour | Winston Churchill (Coalition) |
| | | A. V. Alexander | | 4 October 1946 – 20 December 1946 | Labour Co-operative | Clement Attlee |
| | | Arthur Greenwood | | 17 April 1947 – 29 September 1947 | Labour | Clement Attlee |
| | | Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster | | 18 October 1954 – 1957 | Conservative | Winston Churchill |
| | | Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster | | 18 October 1954 – 1957 | Conservative | Anthony Eden |
| | | Stormont Mancroft, 2nd Baron Mancroft | | 11 June 1957 – 1958 | Conservative | Harold Macmillan |
| | | Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn, 11th Earl of Dundee | | 23 October 1958 – 1961 | Unionist | Harold Macmillan |
| | | Percy Mills, 1st Baron Mills | Deputy Leader of the House of Lords | 9 October 1961 – 13 July 1962 | Conservative | Harold Macmillan |
| | | Bill Deedes | | 13 July 1962 – 16 October 1964 | Conservative | Harold Macmillan |
| | | Bill Deedes | | 13 July 1962 – 16 October 1964 | Conservative | Alec Douglas-Home |
| | | Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington | Leader of the House of Lords | 20 October 1963 – 16 October 1964 | Conservative | Alec Douglas-Home |
| | | Eric Fletcher | | 19 October 1964 – 6 April 1966 | Labour | Harold Wilson |
| | | Arthur Champion, Baron Champion | Deputy Leader of the House of Lords | 21 October 1964 – 7 January 1967 | Labour | Harold Wilson |
| | | Douglas Houghton | | 6 April 1966 – 7 January 1967 | Labour | Harold Wilson |
| | | Edward Shackleton, Baron Shackleton | Deputy Leader of the House of Lords | 7 January 1967 – 16 January 1968 | Labour | Harold Wilson |
| | | Patrick Gordon Walker | | 7 January 1967– 21 August 1967 | Labour | Harold Wilson |
| | | George Thomson | | 17 October 1968 – 6 October 1969 | Labour | Harold Wilson |
| | | Peter Shore | | 6 October 1969 – 19 June 1970 | Labour | Harold Wilson |
| | | Niall Macpherson, 1st Baron Drumalbyn | | 15 October 1970 – 1974 | Unionist | Edward Heath |
| | | Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare | | 8 January – March 1974 | Conservative | Edward Heath |
| | | David Young, Baron Young of Graffham | advising on unemployment | 11 September 1984 – 3 September 1985 | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| | | Jeremy Hanley | Chairman of the Conservative Party | 20 July 1994 – 5 July 1995 | Conservative | John Major |
| | | Brian Mawhinney | Chairman of the Conservative Party | 5 July 1995 – 2 May 1997 | Conservative | John Major |
| | | Peter Mandelson | called the "Dome Secretary" | 5 May 1997 – 26 July 1998 | Labour | Tony Blair |
| | | Charles Clarke | Labour Party Chair | 8 June 2001 – 24 October 2002 | Labour | Tony Blair |
| | | John Reid | Labour Party Chair | 24 October 2002 – 4 April 2003 | Labour | Tony Blair |
| | | Ian McCartney | Labour Party Chair | 4 April 2003 – 5 May 2006 | Labour | Tony Blair |
| | | Hazel Blears | Labour Party Chair | 5 May 2006 – 28 June 2007 | Labour | Tony Blair |
| no appointment | no appointment | no appointment | no appointment | 28 June 2007 – 12 May 2010 | Labour | Gordon Brown |
| | | Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi | Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party | 12 May 2010 – 6 September 2012 | Conservative | David Cameron (Coalition) |
| | | Grant Shapps | Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party | 6 September 2012 – 8 May 2015 | Conservative | David Cameron (Coalition) |
| | | Kenneth Clarke | Trade envoy | 6 September 2012 – 14 July 2014 | Conservative | David Cameron (Coalition) |
| | | John Hayes | Senior Parliamentary Adviser to the Prime Minister (Cabinet Office) | 28 March 2013 – 15 July 2014 | Conservative | David Cameron (Coalition) |
| | | Robert Halfon | Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party | 8 May 2015 – 17 July 2016 | Conservative | David Cameron |
| no appointment | no appointment | no appointment | no appointment | 17 July 2016 – 8 January 2018 | Conservative | Theresa May |
| | | Brandon Lewis | Chairman of the Conservative Party | 8 January 2018 – 24 July 2019 | Conservative | Theresa May |
| | | James Cleverly | Chairman of the Conservative Party | 24 July 2019 – 13 February 2020 | Conservative | Boris Johnson |
| | | Amanda Milling | Chairman of the Conservative Party | 13 February 2020 – 15 September 2021 | Conservative | Boris Johnson |
| | | Oliver Dowden | Chairman of the Conservative Party | 15 September 2021 – 24 June 2022 | Conservative | Boris Johnson |
| no appointment | no appointment | no appointment | no appointment | 24 June 2022 – 7 July 2022 | Conservative | Boris Johnson |
| | | Andrew Stephenson | Chairman of the Conservative Party | 7 July 2022 – 6 September 2022 | Conservative | Boris Johnson |
| | | Sir Jake Berry | Chairman of the Conservative Party | 6 September 2022 – 25 October 2022 | Conservative | Liz Truss |
| | | Nadhim Zahawi | Chairman of the Conservative Party | 25 October 2022 – 29 January 2023 | Conservative | Rishi Sunak |
| | | Greg Hands | Chairman of the Conservative Party | 7 February 2023 – 13 November 2023 | Conservative | Rishi Sunak |
| | | Richard Holden | Chairman of the Conservative Party | 13 November 2023 – 5 July 2024 | Conservative | Rishi Sunak |
| | | Ellie Reeves | Chair of the Labour Party | 6 July 2024 – present | Labour | Keir Starmer |