Chancellor of the Exchequer

For the historic position in Ireland, see Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland. For the 1983 simulation game, see Chancellor of the Exchequer (video game).
Not to be confused with Lord Chancellor, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Chancellor of the High Court, or Chief Baron of the Exchequer.

United Kingdom
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Second Lord of the Treasury
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Incumbent
Rachel Reeves
since 5 July 2024
His Majesty's Treasury
StyleThe Chancellor
(informal)
The Right Honourable
(within the UK and Commonwealth)
TypeMinister of the Crown
StatusGreat Office of State
Member of
Reports toFirst Lord of the Treasury
(Prime Minister of the United Kingdom)
Residence11 Downing Street
SeatWestminster
NominatorThe Prime Minister
AppointerThe Monarch
(on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
Formationc. 1221
First holderEustace of Fauconberg
(in the Kingdom of England only)
DeputyChief Secretary to the Treasury
Salary£163,891 per annum (2024)[1]
(including £91,346 MP salary)[2]
WebsiteOfficial website

The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to Chancellor,[3] is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the chancellor is a high-ranking member of the British Cabinet.

Responsible for all economic and financial matters, the role is equivalent to that of a finance minister in other countries. The chancellor is now always second lord of the Treasury as one of at least six lords commissioners of the Treasury, responsible for executing the office of the Treasurer of the Exchequer – the others are the prime minister and Commons government whips. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, it was common for the prime minister also to serve as Chancellor of the Exchequer if he sat in the Commons; the last Chancellor who was simultaneously prime minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer was Stanley Baldwin in 1923. Formerly, in cases when the chancellorship was vacant, the lord chief justice of the King's Bench would act as chancellor pro tempore.[4] The last lord chief justice to serve in this way was Lord Denman in 1834.

The chancellor is the third-oldest major state office in English and British history, and in recent times has come to be the most powerful office in British politics after the prime minister. It originally carried responsibility for the Exchequer, the medieval English institution for the collection and auditing of royal revenues. The earliest surviving records which are the results of the exchequer's audit date from 1129 to 1130 under King Henry I and show continuity from previous years.[5] The chancellor has oversight of fiscal policy, therefore of taxation and public spending across government departments. It previously controlled monetary policy as well until 1997, when the Bank of England was granted independent control of its interest rates.

Since 1718, all chancellors of the exchequer, except at times the lord chief justice as interim holders, have been members of the House of Commons, with Lord Stanhope being the last chancellor from the House of Lords.

The office holder works alongside the other Treasury ministers and the permanent secretary to the Treasury. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow chancellor of the Exchequer, and the chancellor is also scrutinised by the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson and the Treasury Select Committee.[6]

The current chancellor is Rachel Reeves, the first woman to serve as the chancellor of the exchequer over the role's eight hundred years of history.

  1. ^ "Salaries of Members of His Majesty's Government – Financial Year 2022–23" (PDF). 15 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Pay and expenses for MPs". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  3. ^ Martin, Ben (13 July 2016). "Who is Philip Hammond, Britain's new Chancellor, and what are likely to be his first steps?". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  4. ^ Joseph Haydn, Horace Ockerby (ed.): The Book of Dignities, 3rd edition, Part III (Political and Official), p. 164. W.H. Allen & Co., London 1894, reprinted by Firecrest Publishing Ltd, Pancakes, 1969.
  5. ^ Chrimes, Administrative History, pp. 62–63.
  6. ^ "George Osborne gives evidence on Budget to the Treasury Select Committee". ITV.COM. Retrieved 25 April 2022. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne gives evidence to the Treasury Select Committee.