 Iain Duncan Smith in his 2015 official portrait | |
| Iain Duncan Smith's tenure as Work and Pensions Secretary 12 May 2010 – 18 March 2016 | |
| Party | Conservative |
|---|---|
| Election | 2010, 2015 |
| Nominated by | David Cameron |
| Appointed by | Elizabeth II |
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Iain Duncan Smith served as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2010 to 2016. A member and previous leader of the Conservative Party, Duncan Smith was appointed to the cabinet by Prime Minister David Cameron following the 2010 general election and the formation of the coalition government between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. He was reappointed after the Conservatives won a majority in the 2015 general election but resigned in March 2016 in opposition to disability benefit cuts.
Under Duncan Smith, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) rolled out Universal Credit and a new Work Programme, as well as implemented a real terms cut in benefits and increased the number of benefit eligibility tests being carried out. During his time as Work and Pensions Secretary, the DWP was criticised for rises in food poverty and people being forced to use foodbanks and he himself was criticised for breaking the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.