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The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. As modern prime ministers hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, they sit as members of Parliament.
The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, making the home secretary one of the most senior and influential ministers in the government. The incumbent is a statutory member of the British Cabinet and National Security Council.
The shadow cabinet or shadow ministry is a feature of the Westminster system of government. It consists of a senior group of opposition spokespeople who, under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition, form an alternative cabinet to that of the government, and whose members shadow or mirror the positions of each individual member of the Cabinet. Their areas of responsibility, in parallel with the ruling party's ministries, may be referred to as a shadow portfolio. Members of a shadow cabinet have no executive power. It is the shadow cabinet's responsibility to scrutinise the policies and actions of the government, as well as to offer alternative policies. The shadow cabinet makes up the majority of the Official Opposition frontbench, as part of frontbenchers to the parliament. Smaller opposition parties in Britain and Ireland have Frontbench Teams.
Hilary Jane Armstrong, Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top, DL is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Durham from 1987 to 2010.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister, and senior to the Minister for the Cabinet Office. The role includes as part of its duties the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The secretary of state for defence, also known as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Defence. As a senior minister, the incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
The Welsh Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Wales. The government consists of cabinet secretaries and ministers. It is led by the first minister, usually the leader of the largest party in the Senedd, who selects ministers with the approval of the Senedd. The government is responsible for tabling policy in devolved areas for consideration by the Senedd and implementing policy that has been approved by it.
The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
Shona McRory Robison is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she previously served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 2023 to 2024. Robison has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dundee City East since 2003 and was an additional member for the North East Scotland region from 1999 to 2003.
The secretary of state for housing, communities and local government is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, and Cabinet minister, responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). They are responsible for local government in England.
Roberta Carol Blackman-Woods is a British academic and former Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for the City of Durham from 2005 to 2019.
Angela Constance is a Scottish politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Almond Valley since 2007.
Following poor results for the Labour Party in the local elections in England on 4 May 2006, British Prime Minister Tony Blair held a cabinet reshuffle the following day.
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, ranked below the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General and the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and alongside the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. It ranks at Parliamentary Secretary level and the holder does not attend Cabinet.
The Social Exclusion Task Force (SETF) was a part of the Cabinet Office that provided the UK Government with strategic advice and policy analysis in its drive against social exclusion. It was preceded by the Social Exclusion Unit, which was set up by the Labour government in 1997 and formed part of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The SETF was abolished in November 2010, and its functions absorbed into the Office for Civil Society.
The shadow secretary of state for housing, communities and local government is a position with the UK Opposition's Shadow Cabinet; if the opposition party forms a new government, the designated person is a likely choice to become the new secretary of state for housing, communities and local government.
Peter John Kyle is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hove and Portslade, formerly Hove, since 2015. Kyle previously served as Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice, Shadow Minister for Schools, and Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary.
The third Blair ministry lasted from May 2005 to June 2007. The election on 5 May 2005 saw Labour win a historic third successive term in power, though their majority now stood at 66 seats – compared to 167 four years earlier – and they failed to gain any new seats. Blair had already declared that the new term in parliament would be his last.
The second Johnson ministry began on 16 December 2019, three days after Boris Johnson's audience with Queen Elizabeth II where she invited him to form a new government following the 2019 general election. The Conservative Party was returned to power with a majority of 80 seats in the House of Commons. Initially the ministers were largely identical to those at the end of the first Johnson ministry, but changed significantly in cabinet reshuffles in February 2020 and September 2021.
In the United Kingdom, a minister without portfolio is often a cabinet position, or often attends cabinet. The role is sometimes used to enable the chairman of the governing party, contemporarily either the chairman of the Conservative Party or the chair of the Labour Party, to attend cabinet meetings. The sinecure positions of Lord Privy Seal, Paymaster General, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which have few responsibilities and have a higher rank in the order of precedence than minister without portfolio can also be used to similar effect. There is currently one minister without portfolio, Ellie Reeves, who was appointed following the 2024 general election.
References
- ↑ "Cabinet to get exclusion minister". BBC News. 24 February 2006. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
- ↑ "Mrs Barbara Roche". UK Parliament. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ↑ "Mr Phil Woolas". UK Parliament. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ↑ "Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top". UK Parliament. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
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