# Secretary of State for Transport

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, 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, and the secretary of state is also scrutinised by the Transport Select Committee.
The position of secretary of state for transport is held by Heidi Alexander, who was appointed by Keir Starmer following the resignation of Louise Haigh.

## 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 in 1944 to look at peaceful ways of using aircraft 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 was formed.
Transport responsibilities were subsumed by the Department for the Environment, headed by the secretary of state for the environment 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 was created in 1997 for Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott.
In 2001, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions 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).

## List of ministers and secretaries of state
### Minister of Transport (1919–1941)

Colour key (for political parties):  Conservative  Labour  National Labour  Liberal  National Liberal
| Minister | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Prime Minister |
| Eric Campbell Geddes | 19 May 1919 | 7 November 1921 | Conservative | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| William Peel, Viscount Peel | 7 November 1921 | 12 April 1922 | Conservative | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| David Lindsay, 27th Earl of Crawford | 12 April 1922 | 31 October 1922 | Conservative | David Lloyd George (Coalition) |
| John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven | 31 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | Bonar Law |
| John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven | 31 October 1922 | 22 January 1924 | Conservative | Stanley Baldwin |
| Harry Gosling | 24 January 1924 | 3 November 1924 | Labour | Ramsay MacDonald |
| Wilfrid Ashley | 11 November 1924 | 4 June 1929 | Conservative | Stanley Baldwin |
| Herbert Morrison | 7 June 1929 | 24 August 1931 | Labour | Ramsay MacDonald |
| John Pybus | 3 September 1931 | 22 February 1933 | Liberal | Ramsay MacDonald (1st & 2nd National min.) |
| Hon. Oliver Stanley | 22 February 1933 | 29 June 1934 | Conservative | Ramsay MacDonald (1st & 2nd National min.) |
| Leslie Hore-Belisha | 29 June 1934 | 28 May 1937 | National Liberal | Ramsay MacDonald (1st & 2nd National min.) |
| Leslie Hore-Belisha | 29 June 1934 | 28 May 1937 | National Liberal | Stanley Baldwin (3rd National min.) |
| Leslie Burgin | 28 May 1937 | 21 April 1939 | National Liberal | Neville Chamberlain (4th National min.) |
| Euan Wallace | 21 April 1939 | 14 May 1940 | Conservative | Neville Chamberlain (War Coalition) |
| John Reith | 14 May 1940 | 3 October 1940 | National Independent | Winston Churchill (War Coalition) |
| John Moore-Brabazon | 3 October 1940 | 1 May 1941 | Conservative | Winston Churchill (War Coalition) |

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

Colour key (for political parties):  Conservative  Labour  National Liberal
| Minister of Transport | Minister of Civil Aviation | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Prime Minister |
| Frederick Leathers, 1st Viscount Leathers (Min. of War Transport) | — | 1 May 1941 | 26 July 1945 | Conservative | Winston Churchill (War Coalition) |
| Frederick Leathers, 1st Viscount Leathers (Min. of War Transport) | Philip Cunliffe-Lister, Viscount Swinton | 8 October 1944 | 26 July 1945 | Conservative | Winston Churchill (War Coalition) |
| Alfred Barnes | Reginald Fletcher, 1st Baron Winster | 3–4 August 1945 | 4 October 1946 | Labour | Clement Attlee |
| Alfred Barnes | Harry Nathan, 1st Baron Nathan | 4 October 1946 | 31 May 1948 | Labour | Clement Attlee |
| Alfred Barnes | Francis Pakenham, Lord Pakenham | 31 May 1948 | 1 June 1951 | Labour | Clement Attlee |
| Alfred Barnes | David Rees-Williams, 1st Baron Ogmore | 1 June 1951 | 26 October 1951 | Labour | Clement Attlee |
| Hon. John Maclay | Hon. John Maclay | 31 October 1951 | 7 May 1952 | National Liberal | Winston Churchill |
| Alan Lennox-Boyd | Alan Lennox-Boyd | 7 May 1952 | 1 October 1953 | Conservative | Winston Churchill |

### Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation (1953–1959)

Colour key (for political parties):  Conservative
| Minister | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Prime Minister |
| Alan Lennox-Boyd | 1 October 1953 | 28 July 1954 | Conservative | Winston Churchill |
| John Boyd-Carpenter | 28 July 1954 | 20 December 1955 | Conservative | Winston Churchill |
| Harold Watkinson | 20 December 1955 | 14 October 1959 | Conservative | Anthony Eden |
| Harold Watkinson | 20 December 1955 | 14 October 1959 | Conservative | Harold Macmillan |

### Minister of Transport (1959–1970)

Colour key (for political parties):  Conservative  Labour
| Minister | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Prime Minister |
| Ernest Marples | 14 October 1959 | 16 October 1964 | Conservative | Harold Macmillan |
| Ernest Marples | 14 October 1959 | 16 October 1964 | Conservative | Alec Douglas-Home |
| Thomas Fraser | 16 October 1964 | 23 December 1965 | Labour | Harold Wilson |
| Barbara Castle | 23 December 1965 | 6 April 1968 | Labour | Harold Wilson |
| Richard Marsh | 6 April 1968 | 6 October 1969 | Labour | Harold Wilson |
| Fred Mulley | 6 October 1969 | 22 June 1970 | Labour | Harold Wilson |
| John Peyton | 23 June 1970 | 14 October 1970 | Conservative | Edward Heath |

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

Colour key (for political parties):  Conservative  Labour
| Minister | Term of office | Term of office | Length of Term | Political party | Prime Minister |
| Peter Walker | 15 October 1970 | 5 November 1972 | 2 years | Conservative | Edward Heath |
| Geoffrey Rippon | 5 November 1972 | 4 March 1974 | 1 year, 3 months | Conservative | Edward Heath |
| Anthony Crosland | 5 March 1974 | 8 April 1976 | 2 years, 1 month | Labour | Harold Wilson |
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 (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):  Labour
| Secretary of State | Secretary of State | Secretary of State | Term of office | Term of office | Length of Term | Political party | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| | | Bill Rodgers | 10 September 1976 | 4 May 1979 | 2 years, 7 months | Labour | | James Callaghan |

### Minister of Transport (1979–1981)

Not an official member of the cabinet.
Colour key (for political parties):  Conservative
| Minister | Minister | Minister | Term of office | Term of office | Length of Term | Political party | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| | | Norman Fowler | 11 May 1979 | 5 January 1981 | 1 year, 7 months | Conservative | | Margaret Thatcher |

### Secretary of State for Transport (1981–1997)

Colour key (for political parties):  Conservative
| Secretary of State | Term of office | Term of office | Length of Term | Political party | Prime Minister |
| Norman Fowler | 5 January 1981 | 14 September 1981 | 8 months | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| David Howell | 14 September 1981 | 11 June 1983 | 1 year, 8 months | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| Tom King | 11 June 1983 | 16 October 1983 | 4 months | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| Hon. Nicholas Ridley | 16 October 1983 | 21 May 1986 | 2 years, 7 months | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| John Moore | 21 May 1986 | 13 June 1987 | 1 year | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| Paul Channon | 13 June 1987 | 24 July 1989 | 2 years, 1 month | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| Cecil Parkinson | 24 July 1989 | 28 November 1990 | 1 year, 4 months | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher |
| Malcolm Rifkind | 28 November 1990 | 10 April 1992 | 2 years, 8 months | Conservative | John Major |
| John MacGregor | 11 April 1992 | 20 July 1994 | 2 years, 3 months | Conservative | John Major |
| Brian Mawhinney | 20 July 1994 | 5 July 1995 | 11 months | Conservative | John Major |
| Sir George Young, 6th Baronet | 5 July 1995 | 2 May 1997 | 1 year, 9 months | Conservative | John Major |

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

Colour key (for political parties):  Labour
| Secretary of State | Secretary of State | Secretary of State | Term of office | Term of office | Length of Term | Political party | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| | John Prescott MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle | MP for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle | 2 May 1997 | 7 June 2001 | 4 years, 1 month | Labour | | Tony Blair |

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

Colour key (for political parties):  Labour
| Secretary of State | Secretary of State | Term of office | Term of office | Length of Term | Political party | Prime Minister | Prime Minister |
| | Stephen Byers MP for North Tyneside | 8 June 2001 | 28 May 2002 | 11 months | Labour | | Tony Blair |
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 served as Minister of State for Transport with a right to attend Cabinet.
* John Spellar (8 June 2001 – 29 May 2002)

### Secretary of State for Transport (2002–present)

Colour key (for political parties):  Conservative  Labour
| Secretary of State | Term of office | Term of office | Length of Term | Political party | Prime Minister |
| Alistair Darling MP for Edinburgh South West | 29 May 2002 | 5 May 2006 | 3 years, 11 months | Labour | Tony Blair |
| Douglas Alexander MP for Paisley and South Renfrewshire | 5 May 2006 | 28 June 2007 | 1 year, 1 month | Labour | Tony Blair |
| Ruth Kelly MP for Bolton West | 28 June 2007 | 5 October 2008 | 1 year, 3 months | Labour | Gordon Brown |
| Geoff Hoon MP for Ashfield | 5 October 2008 | 5 June 2009 | 8 months | Labour | Gordon Brown |
| Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis | 6 June 2009 | 6 May 2010 | 11 months | Labour | Gordon Brown |
| Philip Hammond MP for Runnymede and Weybridge | 12 May 2010 | 14 October 2011 | 1 year, 5 months | Conservative | David Cameron (Coalition) |
| Justine Greening MP for Putney | 14 October 2011 | 6 September 2012 | 10 months | Conservative | David Cameron (Coalition) |
| Patrick McLoughlin MP for Derbyshire Dales | 6 September 2012 | 14 July 2016 | 3 years, 10 months | Conservative | David Cameron (Coalition) |
| Patrick McLoughlin MP for Derbyshire Dales | 6 September 2012 | 14 July 2016 | 3 years, 10 months | Conservative | David Cameron (II) |
| Chris Grayling MP for Epsom and Ewell | 14 July 2016 | 24 July 2019 | 3 years, 10 days | Conservative | Theresa May |
| Grant Shapps MP for Welwyn Hatfield | 24 July 2019 | 6 September 2022 | 3 years, 1 month | Conservative | Boris Johnson |
| Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed | 6 September 2022 | 25 October 2022 | 7 weeks | Conservative | Liz Truss |
| Mark Harper MP for Forest of Dean | 25 October 2022 | 5 July 2024 | 1 year, 8 months | Conservative | Rishi Sunak |
| Louise Haigh MP for Sheffield Heeley | 5 July 2024 | 29 November 2024 | 4 months | Labour | Keir Starmer |
| Heidi Alexander MP for Swindon South | 29 November 2024 | Incumbent | 3 months and 10 days | Labour | Keir Starmer |