Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs

Last updated
United Kingdom
Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government) (2022).svg
Johnny Mercer Official Cabinet Portrait, October 2022.jpg
Incumbent
Johnny Mercer
since 25 October 2022
Cabinet Office
Style Veterans Minister
(informal)
The Right Honourable
(within the UK and Commonwealth)
Type Minister of the Crown
Status Minister of State
Member of
Reports to Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Seat Westminster
NominatorPrime Minister
Appointer The Monarch
(on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term length At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation
  • 25 July 1989:
    (as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence)
  • 7 July 2022:
    (as Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs)
First holder Earl of Arran
(as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence)
Salary£115,824 per annum (2022) [1]
(including £86,584 MP salary) [2]
Website Official website

The minister of state for veterans' affairs is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office in the British government, currently held by Johnny Mercer who took the office on 25 October 2022. Earlier, it was jointly with the Ministry of Defence. [3] The officeholder has attended cabinet since 7 July 2022.

Contents

History

It was formerly known as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence from 1989 to 2005 and as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Veterans, Reserves and Personnel under Tobias Ellwood.[ citation needed ] Johnny Mercer was appointed minister in July 2019 to the new government by incoming Prime Minister Boris Johnson. On 20 April 2021, Mercer was "sacked by text" after offering to resign at the end of Wednesday 21 April, but refusing to go earlier. [4] In a tweet, Mercer said he was "relieved of [his] responsibilities in Government" because of his disagreements with the scope of the proposed Overseas Operations Bill. [5] [6] This new government law is designed to protect veterans from unfounded prosecutions. However, Mercer said it was a "red line" for him that British soldiers who served in Northern Ireland are excluded. [7] [8]

Responsibilities

The minister has the following ministerial responsibilities: [9]

List of ministers

NamePortraitEntered officeLeft officePolitical partyPrime Minister
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence
The Earl of Arran Official portrait of The Earl of Arran crop 2.jpg 25 July 198926 July 1990 Conservative Margaret Thatcher
Kenneth Carlisle October 1990March 1992 Conservative John Major
The Earl of Arran Official portrait of The Earl of Arran crop 2.jpg 28 November 199015 April 1992 Conservative John Major
Viscount Cranborne Robert Gascoyne-Cecil 2013-crop.jpg 22 April 199220 July 1994 Conservative John Major
The Lord Henley Official portrait of Lord Henley 2020 crop 2.jpg 20 July 19945 July 1995 Conservative John Major
The Earl Howe Official portrait of Earl Howe 2020 crop 2.jpg 5 July 19952 May 1997 Conservative John Major
John Spellar Official portrait of John Spellar crop 2.jpg 6 May 199728 July 1999 Labour Tony Blair
Peter Kilfoyle 28 July 199930 January 2000 Labour Tony Blair
Lewis Moonie 31 January 200113 June 2003 Labour Tony Blair
Ivor Caplin 13 June 200311 May 2005 Labour Tony Blair
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans
Don Touhig Official portrait of Lord Touhig crop 2, 2019.jpg 11 May 20055 May 2006 Labour Tony Blair
Tom Watson Portrait of Tom Watson in 2018.jpg 5 May 20066 September 2006 Labour Tony Blair
Derek Twigg Official portrait of Derek Twigg crop 2.jpg 6 September 20065 October 2008 Labour
Kevan Jones Official portrait of Mr Kevan Jones crop 2.jpg 5 October 200811 May 2010 Labour Gordon Brown
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Welfare and Veterans
Andrew Robathan Official portrait of Lord Robathan 2020 crop 2.jpg 13 May 20104 September 2012 Conservative David Cameron
Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans
Mark Francois Official portrait of Rt Hon Mark Francois MP crop 2.jpg 4 September 20127 October 2013 Conservative David Cameron
Anna Soubry Official portrait of Anna Soubry crop 2.jpg 7 October 201311 May 2015 Conservative David Cameron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Veterans, Reserves and Personnel
Mark Lancaster Official portrait of Mark Lancaster crop 2.jpg 12 May 201513 June 2017 Conservative
Tobias Ellwood Official portrait of Tobias Ellwood, 2022 (cropped).jpg 14 June 201726 July 2019 Conservative Theresa May
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans
Johnny Mercer Official portrait of Johnny Mercer (cropped).jpg 28 July 201920 April 2021 Conservative Boris Johnson
Leo Docherty Official portrait of Leo Docherty MP crop 2.jpg 20 April 20217 July 2022 Conservative Boris Johnson
Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs
Johnny Mercer Official portrait of Johnny Mercer (cropped).jpg 7 July 20226 September 2022 [10] Conservative Boris Johnson
25 October 2022Incumbent Rishi Sunak

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References

  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 December 2022.
  3. "Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Defence People and Veterans) - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  4. "Johnny Mercer: Sacked minister attacks 'distrustful' government". BBC News. 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  5. "Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament". bills.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  6. Johnny Mercer [@JohnnyMercerUK] (April 20, 2021). "I'm sorry to have been relieved of my responsibilities in Government tonight" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  7. "Johnny Mercer: Tory MP resigns as defence minister". BBC News. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  8. "Defence minister Johnny Mercer resigns from government". The Guardian. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  9. "Minister of State (Minister for Veterans' Affairs) - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  10. "Johnny Mercer twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-09-06.