Downing Street Press Secretary

Last updated
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
Downing Street
Press Secretary
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government) (2022).svg
Royal Arms as used by His Majesty's Government
Incumbent
Lucy Noakes
since 2 September 2023
Prime Minister's Office
Appointer Prime Minister
Formation1945
First holder Frank Williams
Website 10 Downing Street

The Downing Street Press Secretary is an adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on news media and how to manage the image of the British government to the press. The position is part of the Prime Minister's Office and involves using information on what is happening in the UK and around the world, to decide on how the Prime Minister should present his or her reaction to the media. The incumbent also advises on how to handle news stories and other information which could affect the current Prime Minister or the Ministry.

Contents

The current Press Secretary is Lucy Noakes.

Role

The Press Secretary will address the lobby correspondents at 10 Downing Street to give journalists information on events attended by the Prime Minister, as well as current affairs in Downing Street and in Parliament. [1] The Press Secretary works within the Prime Minister's Office and the Downing Street Press Office.

History

Various political advisers have in the past acted in a press secretary role. The first dedicated press officer, appointed in 1931 'to meet the need of a full-time public relations officer in the Prime Minister's Office', [2] was George Steward, [3] who remained in post until 1944. Francis Williams, a journalist who had served in the Ministry of Information during the Second World War, served under Clement Attlee, [4] as 'Adviser on Public Relations'. [5] Winston Churchill shunned the role, and did not appoint anyone to the role until several months into his premiership, when he hired Fife Clark. [5] In 1997 Alastair Campbell was appointed by then-Prime Minister Tony Blair. When David Cameron was elected, Gabby Bertin who had previously served as the head of press for the Conservative Party became the Downing Street Press Secretary. [6] She was later replaced by Susie Squire in 2012. [7] In July 2016 when Theresa May became Prime Minister, Lizzie Loudon was appointed as her Press Secretary. Following the resignation of Loudon in April 2017, Paul Harrison took over the role after the general election on 8 June.

Rob Oxley was appointed Press Secretary immediately following Boris Johnson's appointment as Prime Minister on 24 July 2019; [8] he served until March 2020, when he moved to perform a similar role at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. [9] On 8 October 2020 it was announced that Allegra Stratton would take over from him in an expanded role [10] to include fronting new daily televised press briefings. These were originally scheduled for launch in November 2020 but were repeatedly delayed before being scrapped on 20 April 2021, without any taking place. [11] [12] [13] [14]

Stratton was replaced by Rosie Bate-Williams, a former media special adviser in Downing Street, [15] who in turn was replaced by Alex Wild as part of the Truss ministry in September 2022. [16] On October 25, 2022, following the replacement of Liz Truss as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party by Rishi Sunak, Nerissa Chesterfield was appointed by Sunak as the new Press Secretary. [17]

List of Press Secretaries

Press Secretary [18] YearsPrime Minister
Francis Williams 1945–1947 Clement Attlee [4]
Philip Jordan1947–1951
Reginald Bacon1951
Fife Clark 1952–1955 Winston Churchill [4]
William D. Clark 1955–1956 Anthony Eden [4]
Alfred Richardson1956–1957
Harold Evans 1957–1963 Harold Macmillan [19]
John Groves1963–1964 Alec Douglas-Home [20]
Trevor Lloyd-Hughes 1964–1969 Harold Wilson [21]
Joe Haines 1969–1970
Donald Maitland [22] 1970–1973 Edward Heath
Robin Haydon [23] 1973–1974
Joe Haines1974–1976Harold Wilson
Tom McCaffrey1976–1979 James Callaghan [24]
Henry James [23] 1979 Margaret Thatcher
Bernard Ingham 1979–1990
Gus O'Donnell [25] 1990–1993 John Major
Christopher Meyer [4] 1993–1996
Jonathan Haslam [26] 1996–1997
Alastair Campbell 1997–2001 Tony Blair [5]
Godric Smith2001–2004
Tom Kelly2004–2007
Damian McBride 2007–2009 Gordon Brown [27]
Gabby Bertin 2010–2012 David Cameron
Susie Squire2012–2013
Graeme Wilson2013–2016
Lizzie Loudon 2016–2017 Theresa May
Paul Harrison2017–2019
Rob Oxley 2019–2020 Boris Johnson
Allegra Stratton 2020–2021
Rosie Bate-Williams2021–2022
Alex Wild (interim)2022 Liz Truss
Nerissa Chesterfield 2022–2023 Rishi Sunak
Lucy Noakes2023–present

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom</span> Senior member of the British government

The Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the second highest ranking minister of the Crown and a member of the British Cabinet. The title is not always in use and prime ministers have been known to appoint informal deputies without the title of deputy prime minister. The incumbent deputy prime minister is Oliver Dowden who also serves as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">10 Downing Street</span> Headquarters of the British government

10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11 Downing Street</span> Official residence of Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer

11 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 11, is the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The residence, in Downing Street in London, was built alongside the official residence of the Prime Minister at Number 10 in 1682.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Number 10 Policy Unit</span>

The Number 10 Policy Unit is a body of policymakers based in 10 Downing Street, providing policy advice directly to the British Prime Minister. Originally set up to support Harold Wilson in 1974, it has gone through a series of guises to suit the needs of successive prime ministers, staffed variously by political advisers, civil servants and more recently a combination of both.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom</span> Senior official in the British Civil Service

The Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a senior official in the United Kingdom Civil Service who acts as principal private secretary to the prime minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of this office is traditionally the head of the Prime Minister's Office in 10 Downing Street. In the Civil Service, the role is currently graded as director general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downing Street Chief of Staff</span> Most senior political appointee in the Office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The office of Downing Street Chief of Staff is the most senior political appointee in the Office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, acting as a senior aide to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The holder of the office retains a highly powerful, non-ministerial position within His Majesty's Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allegra Stratton</span> British journalist (born 1980)

Allegra Elizabeth Jane Stratton is a British former political aide, journalist, and writer who served as Downing Street Press Secretary under Boris Johnson from November 2020 to April 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alok Sharma</span> British Conservative politician

Sir Alok Kumar Sharma is a British Conservative Party politician who served as President for COP26 from 2021 to 2022, having previously served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2020 to 2021 and Secretary of State for International Development from 2019 to 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Reading West since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Barclay</span> UK Environment Secretary since 2023

Stephen Paul Barclay is a British politician who has been the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs since November 2023, having previously served in various cabinet positions under prime ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak between 2018 and 2023. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Cambridgeshire since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry (cat)</span> Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office since 2011

Larry is a British domestic tabby cat who has served as Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street since 2011. He is cared for by Downing Street staff and is not the personal property of the prime minister of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downing Street Director of Communications</span> British government official

The Downing Street director of communications is the post of director of communications for the prime minister of the United Kingdom. The position is held by an appointed special adviser.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Forsyth (journalist)</span> British journalist

James Forsyth is a British political aide and former political journalist. After serving as political editor of The Spectator magazine since 2009, he was appointed Political Secretary to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by Rishi Sunak in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rishi Sunak</span> Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2022

Rishi Sunak is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party since 2022. The first British Asian prime minister, he previously held two cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, latterly as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022. Sunak has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond (Yorks) since 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Dowden</span> British politician (born 1977)

Oliver James Dowden is a British politician and the current Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. A member of the Conservative Party, he is also Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hertsmere since 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz Sugg, Baroness Sugg</span>

Elizabeth Grace Sugg, Baroness Sugg is a British politician, life peer and political adviser. She currently serves as an advisor to Foreign Secretary David Cameron. A member of the Conservative Party, she served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Overseas Territories and Sustainable Development between February and November 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrie Johnson</span> Media advisor, married to Boris Johnson

Caroline Louise Beavan Johnson is an English media consultant and is married to former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson. She is the daughter of Matthew Symonds, co-founder of The Independent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 British cabinet reshuffle</span> First cabinet reshuffle undertaken by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson carried out the first significant reshuffle of his majority government on 13 February 2020. Following the December 2019 general election, there was considerable speculation that Johnson was planning a major reshuffle of the Cabinet, to take place after the United Kingdom's official withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020. There were reports that up to a third of the Cabinet would be dismissed, Whitehall departments abolished and civil servants replaced by policy experts; however, the reshuffle was smaller than expected and no departments were abolished. The anticipated reshuffle was nicknamed "The St Valentine's Day Massacre" in the press, due to its proximity to St Valentine's Day, the name being a reference to the 1929 gangland shooting in Chicago.

Jack Doyle is a British journalist who served as Downing Street Director of Communications from April 2021 to February 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours (Boris Johnson)</span> Honours awarded following the resignation of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister

The 2022 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours are honours awarded following the September 2022 resignation of the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

Amber de Botton is a British journalist and former political aide. She served as the Downing Street Director of Communications from October 2022 until September 2023, succeeding Guto Harri.

References

  1. ↑ "Lobby correspondents". BBC News Online . 1 October 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  2. ↑ Jones, G. W. (1976). "The Prime Ministers' Secretaries: Politicians or Administrators?". In Griffith, J. A. G. (ed.). From Policy to Administration: Essays in honour of William A. Robson. London: Routledge. p. 18.
  3. ↑ Blick, Andrew; Jones, George. "The Institution of Prime Minister". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Colin Seymour-Ure (April 1998). Memorandum submitted by Colin Seymour-Ure, Professor of Government, University of Kent at Canterbury (Report). Public Administration Select Committee. Archived from the original on 30 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Seymour-Ure, Colin (2003). Prime Ministers and the Media: Issues of Power and Control. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   0631187677.
  6. ↑ Singleton, David (19 May 2013). "Warning to Cameron as Tory advisers take Downing Street comms jobs". PR Week . Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Owens, John (31 October 2012). "Prime Minister picks Jean-Christophe Gray and Susie Squire for top comms roles". PR Week . Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  8. ↑ Peston, Robert (24 July 2019). "Vote Leave takes over Boris Johnson's government". ITV News . Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  9. ↑ "Robert Oxley LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  10. ↑ Stone, Jon (8 October 2020). "Who is Allegra Stratton, Boris Johnson's new spokesperson?". The Independent. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "Ex-Journalist Stratton to lead No 10 TV briefings". BBC News. 8 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  12. ↑ Walker, Peter (2 January 2021). "PM's press secretary Allegra Stratton to self-isolate due to Covid rules". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  13. ↑ "No 10 televised briefings hosted by Allegra Stratton delayed again due to third lockdown". inews.co.uk. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  14. ↑ "Downing Street scraps plans for White House-style press briefings". BBC News. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  15. ↑ Allegretti, Aubrey; Elgot, Jessica (21 April 2021). "Few tears likely to be shed as plan for No 10 TV press briefings dropped". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  16. ↑ "Welcome to Trussworld: Meet the new-look team in 10 Downing Street". POLITICO. 2022-09-08. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
  17. ↑ "Who's who in Team Sunak - new PM's core aides". 25 October 2022.
  18. ↑ Colin, Seymour-Ure (April 1998). "DOWNING STREET PRESS OFFICE". UK Parliament. Archived from the original on 2001-02-24. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  19. ↑ Seymour-Ure, Colin (1996). "Prime Minister and the Public". Churchill to Major: The British Prime Ministership since 1945. Routledge. ISBN   1563246368.
  20. ↑ "John Groves". The Daily Telegraph . 2 January 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  21. ↑ "Sir Trevor Lloyd-Hughes". The Daily Telegraph . 22 February 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  22. ↑ "Sir Donald Maitland". The Daily Telegraph . 25 August 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  23. 1 2 Ball, Stuart; Seldon, A., eds. (1996). The Heath Government 1970-74: A Reappraisal. London: Routledge. ISBN   0582259916.
  24. ↑ Hoggart, Simon (11 November 1999). "No joke for No 10 when a Hague gag hits the target". The Guardian . Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  25. ↑ Smedley, Tim (28 January 2015). "Gus O'Donnell: Number 10's ultimate insider". Financial Times . Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  26. ↑ Cann, Richard (7 January 2005). "Profile: Grand schemer - Jonathan Haslam, director of group communications, Jarvis". PR Week . Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  27. ↑ Seldon, Anthony; Lodge, Guy (2011). Brown at 10 . Biteback. ISBN   978-1849541220.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.