United Kingdom Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Ministry of Defence | |
Style | Veterans Minister (informal) |
Type | Minister of the Crown |
Status | Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State |
Reports to | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
Seat | Westminster |
Nominator | Prime Minister |
Appointer | The Monarch (on the advice of the Prime Minister) |
Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
Formation |
|
First holder | Earl of Arran (as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence) |
Website | Official website |
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People is a ministerial position in the Ministry of Defence in British government, currently held by Alistair Carns. From 2022 to 2024, the role was Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs in Cabinet Office and the minister attended the Cabinet. [1]
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. [2] 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. [3] [4] 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. [5] [6]
On 7 July 2024, after the 2024 United Kingdom General Election Mercer criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s new Labour government for failing to appoint a new Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs at the same time as the rest of his cabinet. He said; "You will note already that, despite his explicit personal promises in the election campaign, Keir Starmer has not appointed a veterans minister to his cabinet", adding, "If you understand what veterans need from their Government, this matters very much". [7]
Alistair Carns was appointed Minister for Veterans on 9 July 2024; the position is now that of a parliamentary under-secretary of state, the most junior level of minister. [8] [9]
The minister has the following ministerial responsibilities: [10]
Name | Portrait | Entered office | Left office | Political party | Prime Minister | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence | |||||||
The Earl of Arran | ![]() | 25 July 1989 | 26 July 1990 | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher | ||
Kenneth Carlisle | October 1990 | March 1992 | Conservative | John Major | |||
The Earl of Arran | ![]() | 28 November 1990 | 15 April 1992 | Conservative | John Major | ||
Viscount Cranborne | ![]() | 22 April 1992 | 20 July 1994 | Conservative | John Major | ||
The Lord Henley | ![]() | 20 July 1994 | 5 July 1995 | Conservative | John Major | ||
The Earl Howe | ![]() | 5 July 1995 | 2 May 1997 | Conservative | John Major | ||
John Spellar | ![]() | 6 May 1997 | 28 July 1999 | Labour | Tony Blair | ||
Peter Kilfoyle | 28 July 1999 | 30 January 2000 | Labour | Tony Blair | |||
Lewis Moonie | 31 January 2001 | 13 June 2003 | Labour | Tony Blair | |||
Ivor Caplin | 13 June 2003 | 11 May 2005 | Labour | Tony Blair | |||
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans | |||||||
Don Touhig | ![]() | 11 May 2005 | 5 May 2006 | Labour | Tony Blair | ||
Tom Watson | ![]() | 5 May 2006 | 6 September 2006 | Labour | Tony Blair | ||
Derek Twigg | ![]() | 6 September 2006 | 5 October 2008 | Labour | |||
Kevan Jones | ![]() | 5 October 2008 | 11 May 2010 | Labour | Gordon Brown | ||
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Welfare and Veterans | |||||||
Andrew Robathan | ![]() | 13 May 2010 | 4 September 2012 | Conservative | David Cameron | ||
Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans | |||||||
Mark Francois | ![]() | 4 September 2012 | 7 October 2013 | Conservative | David Cameron | ||
Anna Soubry | ![]() | 7 October 2013 | 11 May 2015 | Conservative | David Cameron | ||
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Veterans, Reserves and Personnel | |||||||
Mark Lancaster | ![]() | 12 May 2015 | 13 June 2017 | Conservative | |||
Tobias Ellwood | ![]() | 14 June 2017 | 26 July 2019 | Conservative | Theresa May | ||
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans | |||||||
Johnny Mercer | ![]() | 28 July 2019 | 20 April 2021 | Conservative | Boris Johnson | ||
Leo Docherty | ![]() | 20 April 2021 | 7 July 2022 | Conservative | Boris Johnson | ||
Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs | |||||||
Johnny Mercer | ![]() | 7 July 2022 | 6 September 2022 [11] | Conservative | Boris Johnson | ||
25 October 2022 | 5 July 2024 | Rishi Sunak | |||||
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Veterans and People | |||||||
Alistair Carns | ![]() | 9 July 2024 | Incumbent | Labour | Keir Starmer |
Sir Alan Campbell is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tynemouth since 1997.
John Healey is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Defence since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough, formerly Wentworth and Wentworth and Dearne respectively, since 1997.
Gillian Joanna Merron, Baroness Merron is a British politician and life peer serving as Chief Executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews since 2014. A member of the Labour Party, she has been serving as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety, Women's Health and Mental Health since 2024. She served as the shadow spokesperson for Health and Social Care from 2021 to 2024. She was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Lincoln from 1997 till 2010 and held several ministerial offices in the Blair and Brown governments.
A parliamentary private secretary (PPS) is a member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a government minister or a shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the "eyes and ears" of the minister in the House of Commons.
Emily Anne Thornberry is a British Labour politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005. She served as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales from 2021 until the 2024 UK general election, and previously from 2011 to 2014. Thornberry has also served in a number of other senior positions on Labour's front bench, namely as Shadow Foreign Secretary from 2016 to 2020, Shadow First Secretary of State from 2017 to 2020 and Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade from 2020 to 2021.
Patrick Bosco McFadden is a British politician who has served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South East since 2005. McFadden has previously held various junior ministerial positions and shadow portfolios in his parliamentary career between 2005 and 2024.
SirKeir Rodney Starmer is a British politician and barrister who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 5 July 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously served as Leader of the Opposition from 2020 to 5 July 2024, and has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras since 2015.
The Government of the United Kingdom, is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The government is led by the prime minister who selects all the other ministers. The country has had a Labour-led government since 2024. The prime minister Keir Starmer and his most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, known as the Cabinet.
Lisa Eva Nandy is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport since 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wigan since 2010. Nandy previously served as Shadow Foreign Secretary, Shadow Levelling Up Secretary, Shadow Energy Secretary and Shadow International Development Minister.
The minister of state for security is a senior ministerial position in the government of the United Kingdom, falling under the Home Office. The post was created by then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 3 June 2009 by splitting the now-defunct post of the minister for security, counter-terrorism, crime and policing between this post and the new post of Minister for Crime and Policing.
Scott Leslie Mann is a former British Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Cornwall from 2015 to 2024. He served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Growth and Rural Affairs from September to October 2022 and a Government Whip. Between 2009 and 2016 he represented the Wadebridge West ward on Cornwall Council.
John Luther Mercer is a former British Conservative Party politician and former British Army officer who served as Minister of State for Veterans’ Affairs from July to September 2022 and from October 2022 to July 2024. He was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans from July 2019 to April 2021. A member of the Conservative Party, Mercer served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Plymouth Moor View from 2015 to 2024.
Leo Docherty is a former British Conservative politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aldershot from 2017 to 2024. He served as Minister of State for the Armed Forces from March 2024.
Stephen James Morgan is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Portsmouth South since 2017.
Luke Pollard is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport since 2017. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, he has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces since July 2024.
Keir Starmer assumed the position of Leader of the Opposition after being elected as leader of the Labour Party on 4 April 2020; the election was triggered by Jeremy Corbyn's resignation following the Labour Party's electoral defeat at the 2019 general election when Boris Johnson formed a majority Conservative government. Starmer appointed his Shadow Cabinet on 5 and 6 April. He reshuffled his Shadow Cabinet five times: in June 2020, May 2021, June 2021, November 2021 and 2023.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Middle East and North Africa is a mid-level position in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the British government. Hamish Falconer MP was appointed to the role by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in July 2024.
In the aftermath of relatively poor results in the 2021 local elections, Keir Starmer carried out a May 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle.
The frontbench of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow cabinet and other shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. From 2020 to 2024, His Majesty's Loyal Opposition was the Labour Party, and the Leader of the Opposition was Keir Starmer.
The Sunak ministry began on 25 October 2022 when Rishi Sunak was invited by King Charles III to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister of the United Kingdom. Truss resigned as leader of the Conservative Party the previous day after Sunak was elected unopposed as her successor. The Sunak ministry was formed from the 2019 Parliament of the United Kingdom, as a Conservative majority government. Sunak reshuffled his cabinet twice, first in February 2023 and later in November 2023.
Alistair Carns MP as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defence (Minister for Veterans)