Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury

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Template:Short description Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox Political post

Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is the official title of the most senior whip of the governing party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Today, any official links between the Treasury and this office are nominal and the title of the office can be seen as a sinecure that allows the incumbent to draw a Government salary, attend Cabinet, and use a Downing Street residence, traditionally 12 Downing Street.

The position is currently held by Jonathan Reynolds since 5 September 2025.

History

The position of Secretary to the Treasury was created in 1660. Until 1711, there was only one Secretary to the Treasury; however, in that year, a second position was created to help deal with the increasing workload. This new position was known as the junior secretary to the Treasury, and the existing post as the senior secretary to the Treasury. Initially, when the position of Senior Secretary to the Treasury became vacant (except as the result of an election causing a change of government), the junior secretary was usually automatically promoted to the senior role. Over time, however, the roles of the Senior and Junior Secretaries began to diverge, the Senior Secretary post being used as a sinecure post for the chief whip, with no formal responsibilities to the Treasury. The junior secretary post remained a substantive position working in the Treasury. As such, the senior secretary became known as the parliamentary secretary to the Treasury while the junior secretary became known as Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and the 'automatic' promotion from Junior to Senior ceased. While the exact date on which this change occurred is disputed, it is agreed that the distinction was complete by 1830.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the mid-nineteenth century, the parliamentary secretary to the Treasury was referred to as the patronage secretary to the Treasury.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Parliamentary secretaries to the Treasury, 1830–present

19th century

20th century

21st century

Colour key (for political parties):

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Secretary Term of office Political party Prime Minister
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Official portrait of Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top crop 2, 2019.jpg Hilary Armstrong 8 June 2001 5 May 2006 Labour style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Tony Blair
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Official portrait of Baroness Smith of Malvern crop 2, 2025.jpg Jacqui Smith 5 May 2006 28 June 2007 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Tony Blair
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Geoffrey Hoon at the Pentagon.jpg Geoff Hoon 28 June 2007 3 October 2008 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Gordon Brown
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style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Official portrait of Rt Hon Nicholas Brown MP crop 2.jpg Nick Brown 3 October 2008 11 May 2010 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Gordon Brown
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style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Official portrait of Lord McLoughlin, 2022.jpg Patrick McLoughlin 12 May 2010 4 September 2012 Conservative style="background-color:Template:Party color" | David Cameron
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Andrew Mitchell Official Cabinet Portrait, October 2022 (cropped).jpg Andrew Mitchell 4 September 2012 19 October 2012 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | David Cameron
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Official portrait of Lord Young of Cookham, 2020.jpg Sir George Young, 6th Baronet 19 October 2012 15 July 2014 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | David Cameron
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Michael Gove Official Cabinet Portrait, October 2022 (cropped).jpg Michael Gove 15 July 2014 9 May 2015 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | David Cameron
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Official portrait of Rt Hon Mark Harper MP crop 2.jpg Mark Harper 9 May 2015 14 July 2016 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | David Cameron
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style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Official portrait of Rt Hon Gavin Williamson MP crop 2.jpg Gavin Williamson 14 July 2016 2 November 2017 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Theresa May
Template:Small
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Official portrait of Julian Smith crop 2.jpg Julian Smith 2 November 2017 24 July 2019 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Theresa May
Template:Small
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Mark Spencer Official Cabinet Portrait, September 2021 (cropped).jpg Mark Spencer 24 July 2019 8 February 2022 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Boris Johnson
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style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Chris Heaton-Harris Official Cabinet Portrait, February 2022 (cropped).jpg Chris Heaton-Harris 8 February 2022 6 September 2022 style="background-color:Template:Party color" |
style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Official portrait of Wendy Morton MP crop 2.jpg Wendy Morton 6 September 2022 25 October 2022 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Liz Truss
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style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Simon Hart Official Cabinet Portrait, October 2022 (cropped).jpg Simon Hart 25 October 2022 5 July 2024 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Rishi Sunak
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style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Official portrait of Rt Hon Sir Alan Campbell MP crop 2.jpg Alan Campbell 5 July 2024 5 September 2025 Labour rowspan=2 style="background-color:Template:Party color" | Keir Starmer
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style="background-color:Template:Party color" | File:Jonathan Reynolds Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg Jonathan Reynolds 5 September 2025 Incumbent

References

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