Red box (government)

Last updated

A pair of despatch boxes Leeds castle red boxes.JPG
A pair of despatch boxes

Red boxes, or sometimes ministerial boxes, are a type of despatch box [1] produced by Barrow Hepburn & Gale or Wickwar & Co and are used by ministers in the British government and the British monarch to carry government documents. Similar in appearance to a briefcase, they are primarily used to hold and transport official ministerial papers. Red boxes are one modern form of despatch boxes, which have been in government use for centuries. Despatch boxes of a very different design remain in use in the chamber of the lower house of the British and Australian parliaments. Those boxes hold religious books for swearing-in new members of the chamber, but are also used as lecterns by front bench members.

Contents

Ministerial boxes

Budget box of William Gladstone, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1852 and 1882 Cropped Gladstone's Red Box.jpg
Budget box of William Gladstone, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1852 and 1882

According to HM Treasury:

Ministers are permitted to use ordinary lockable briefcases to transport information which has been classified 'Confidential' or below. For information with a higher security level (such as 'Secret') they are required to use dispatch boxes, which offer greater security, and which are usually red. However, a travel version of the box is also available in black, which offers the same level of security as a red box, but is designed to be less conspicuous. In practice ministers use despatch boxes for transporting the majority of their documents due to the greater level of security they offer. [1]

Historical and famous red boxes

The boxes are used by ministers on a daily basis while in government and thus become an important memory of their time in office, with many opting to buy and keep their red boxes. Many boxes owned and used by famous political figures from British history have been sold at auction. Those boxes represent some of the most important possessions of former prime ministers.

Margaret Thatcher's ministerial dispatch box was sold at auction by Christie's in 2015 for £242,500. [2] Winston Churchill's red box (manufactured by Wickwar) was sold by Sotheby's in 2014 for £158,500, 25 times the estimated price. [3]

Red boxes are often given to the outgoing President of the United States as a symbol of the relationship between the US and UK governments. George W. Bush received one such box from Tony Blair.

Design

The boxes are manufactured by Barrow Hepburn & Gale or Wickwar & Co to the original Wickwar design. The 2–3-kilogram (4–7 lb) boxes are constructed of slow-grown pine, lined with lead and black satin. The lead lining, which has been retained in modern boxes, was once meant to ensure that the box sank when thrown overboard in the event of capture. [4] Each box takes three days to finish. [5]

They are wrapped in leather and employ a bespoke print, which is applied after curing and staining. Each box is embossed in gold print with the royal cypher of the reigning monarch, the title of the owner and recipient of the red box, with the recipient's title given precedence. Each is also given a unique number to aid identification and control of the contents. [6] Another unique feature of the boxes is the location of the handle on the hinge side, opposite of the lock, so that when placed on a desk, the lock faces the recipient, who has the key and the authority to access the contents of the box. That also ensures the box is locked before being carried. [7]

Colour

Two reasons have been given for the use of red as the predominant colour of the despatch boxes used in government. One is that Prince Albert preferred the colour because it was the predominant one on the arms of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. [7] However, it is also claimed that the practice began in the late 16th century, when Queen Elizabeth I's representative, Francis Throckmorton, presented the Spanish ambassador, Bernardino de Mendoza, with a specially-constructed red briefcase filled with black puddings. [8]

Today, although 'red box' has now come to be synonymous with the despatch boxes, [7] other colours are also used, to denote the many different functions of the boxes in Parliament.

Black is used for those boxes prepared for government whips [9] and for discretion when boxes are designed for travel. [7] A blue box with a red stripe is used specifically for confidential papers only seen by the prime minister, their private secretary, and intelligence officials. This box is known as "Old Stripey" due to the red stripe. Permanent secretaries, who are civil servants rather than MPs or Lords, have similar boxes but coloured green. These have exactly the same function as the ministerial red boxes. Barrow Hepburn and Gale have also made available despatch boxes in green for members of parliament.

William Hague, while Leader of the Opposition, had a blue box made for him with lettering denoting his office. [10] It is not known whether a blue box is in use today.

Cost

One box cost £865.43 to make in 2010. [1] Another box made in 2021 by Aldridge's cost £1100. [11] Between 2002 and 2007, the British government spent £57,260 on new boxes. [7]

Budget box

George Osborne, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, holding the budget box to announce the 2014 budget Budget 2014; Chancellor George Osborne delivering his Budget Statement.jpg
George Osborne, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, holding the budget box to announce the 2014 budget

There is an annual custom of the Chancellor of the Exchequer holding up a red box to the press in Downing Street to symbolise the new budget of the UK government. Rather than containing the new budget, the red box contains the chancellor's speech and notes.

The red box of William Ewart Gladstone was made by Wickwar & Co for his first budget in 1853. [12] Gladstone served as Chancellor of the Exchequer on four occasions and held the post for longer than anyone in the UK's history. [12]

Gladstone's red box was used by every subsequent chancellor until 2011, with the exceptions of James Callaghan (1964–1967) and Gordon Brown (1997–2007), who had new ones commissioned in 1965 and 1997 respectively: [13] 51 chancellors for over 150 years. Gladstone's budget box was used by Alistair Darling (2007–2010) and, for the last time, by George Osborne in June 2010. [8]

The budget of the spring of 1868 was infamous for Chancellor George Ward-Hunt opening his dispatch box to find that he had left his speech at home. [12]

Since March 2011, a new budget box commissioned by The National Archives has been used. [14]

Royal red boxes

The Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia's red box Lieutenant Governor Dispatch Box.jpg
The Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia's red box

Red boxes are delivered to the British sovereign every day (except Christmas Day and Easter Sunday) by government departments, via the page of the presence. [15] The monarch's role as head of state requires being kept abreast of what is happening in Parliament and the governments of all the other Commonwealth countries, as well as current events from around the world. Documents which the monarch must sign and provide royal assent for are delivered in red despatch boxes, which are addressed daily. Many governors general, governors and lieutenant governors in Commonwealth Realms also make use of red boxes. [16]

Scotland

The Scottish Government has nine blue Cabinet Secretary despatch boxes for its ministers. [17]

Singapore

Early in the independence of Singapore, ministers had red boxes similar to the British ones, but with the coat of arms of Singapore.

Education Minister Heng Swee Keat, formerly principal private secretary to Lee Kuan Yew, revealed in a Facebook post that Lee continued using the red box throughout his life until 4 February 2015, the day before his final hospitalisation. [18]

Sri Lanka

Traditionally the Minister of Finance used a red wooden box with the national emblem to carry the Cabinet's annual budget plans, similar to the budget box of the British government to symbolise the new budget, containing the minister's speech. [19]

In 2022, the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers produced several red boxes made of red leather designated as "Presidential Dispatch Bag" for the use of the President of Sri Lanka. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Minister of the United Kingdom</span> Head of government in the United Kingdom

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chancellor of the Exchequer</span> Lead minister of His Majestys Treasury

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to Chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the chancellor is a high-ranking member of the British Cabinet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Treasury</span> Ministerial department of the UK Government

His Majesty's Treasury, occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and economic policy. The Treasury maintains the Online System for Central Accounting and Reporting (OSCAR), the replacement for the Combined Online Information System (COINS), which itemises departmental spending under thousands of category headings, and from which the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA) annual financial statements are produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Childers</span> Australian politician

Hugh Culling Eardley Childers was a British Liberal statesman of the nineteenth century. He is perhaps best known for his reform efforts at the Admiralty and the War Office. Later in his career, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, his attempt to correct a budget shortfall led to the fall of the Liberal government led by William Gladstone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Ward Hunt</span>

George Ward Hunt was a British statesman of the Conservative Party who was Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Lord of the Admiralty in the first and second ministries of Benjamin Disraeli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Government</span> Devolved government of Scotland

The Scottish Government is the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution. It has the responsibility for the economy of Scotland, the educational system in Scotland, health care, justice, Scots law, rural affairs, housing, environment, equal opportunities, the transportation network and tax, amongst others.

In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords acting as whips in the House of Commons to whom this title is usually applied.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Gladstone ministry</span>

The third Gladstone ministry was one of the shortest-lived ministries in British history. It was led by William Gladstone of the Liberal Party upon his reappointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by Queen Victoria. It lasted five months until July 1886.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Briefcase</span> Narrow hard-sided box shaped bag or case used to equip materials

A briefcase is a narrow hard-sided box-shaped bag or case used mainly for carrying papers and equipped with a handle. Lawyers commonly use briefcases to carry briefs to present to a court, hence the name. Businesspeople and other white collar professionals also use briefcases to carry papers, and since the 1980s, electronic devices such as laptop computers and tablet computers. Some briefcases have only a main internal space, while others may have subsections, accordion sections, small pockets, or dividers. Briefcases may be made from leather, vinyl, durable fabric, thin metal, or plastic. Leather, vinyl, or fabric briefcases may have externally-accessible pockets or sleeves in addition to the main storage space. Some briefcases made of fabric may have a shoulder strap. Briefcases typically have a lock to protect the contents. Nowadays, briefcases may have padded internal pouches to protect laptop computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union budget of India</span> Annual budget of the Republic of India

The Union Budget of India, also referred to as the Annual Financial Statement in Article 112 of the Constitution of India, is the annual budget of the Republic of India set by Ministry of Finance for the following financial year, with the revenues to be gathered by Department of Revenue to identify planned government spending and expected government revenue and the expenditures gathered by Department of Expenditure of the public sector, to forecast economic conditions in compliance with government policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prinsjesdag</span> Royal Holiday in the Netherlands

Prinsjesdag is the day on which the reigning monarch of the Netherlands addresses a joint session of the States-General of the Netherlands to give the Speech from the Throne, similar to the annual State of the Union in the United States or the British State Opening of Parliament. This speech sets out the main features of government policy for the coming parliamentary session.

Budget Day is the day that a government presents its budget to a legislature for approval, in a ceremonial fashion. It only exists in some countries of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladstone bag</span> Small portmanteau suitcase

A Gladstone bag is a small portmanteau suitcase built over a rigid frame, which can separate into two equal sections. Gladstones are typically made of stiff leather and often belted with lanyards. The bags are named after William Gladstone (1809–1898), the four-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)</span> Ministerial department of the UK Government

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is a ministerial department of His Majesty's Government, headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. Its stated priorities are to reduce re-offending and protect the public, to provide access to justice, to increase confidence in the justice system, and to uphold people's civil liberties. The Secretary of State is the minister responsible to Parliament for the judiciary, the court system, prisons, and probation in England and Wales, with some additional UK-wide responsibilities, e.g., the UK Supreme Court and judicial appointments by the Crown. The department is also responsible for areas of constitutional policy not transferred in 2010 to the Deputy Prime Minister, human rights law, and information rights law across the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Despatch box</span> Ministerial file holder

A despatch box is one of several types of boxes used in government business. Despatch boxes primarily include both those sometimes known as red boxes or ministerial boxes, which are used by the Sovereign and his ministers in the British government to securely transport sensitive documents, and boxes used in the lower houses of the parliaments of the United Kingdom and Australia. The term was used as early as the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, referring to a box used to carry an important message for the Queen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury</span> Junior minister in the British Treasury

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 is not a Cabinet office. Unlike the other posts of Secretary to the Treasury, it is only used occasionally, normally when the post of Paymaster General is allocated to a minister outside the Treasury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of the United Kingdom</span> Executive authority of the United Kingdom

His Majesty's Government 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 Conservative-led government since 2010, with successive prime ministers being the then-leader of the Conservative Party. The prime minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, known as the Cabinet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heng Swee Keat</span> Singaporean politician

Heng Swee Keat is a Singaporean politician and former police officer who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore since 2019 and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies since 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Bedok division of East Coast GRC since 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barrow Hepburn & Gale</span> British luxury leather goods manufacturer

Barrow Hepburn & Gale is a British luxury leather goods manufacturer best known as the producer of the despatch boxes used by the Government of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1760 as Hepburn and Sons. The company also makes Royal Maundy purses, for which it was granted a royal warrant in 1968.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Red Boxes". gov.uk. HM Treasury. 1 March 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
  2. ↑ "Thatcher's red box sells for £242,500". BBC News. 15 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "Sir Winston Churchill's red despatch box sells for £150,000". The Daily Telegraph . London. Press Association. 17 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Anderson, Ross (9 April 2001). "Chapter 14 – Physical Tamper Resistance". Security Engineering: A Guide to Building Dependable Distributed Systems (1st ed.). John Wiley & Sons. p.  278. ISBN   978-0471389224 – via Cambridge University.
  5. ↑ "The perfect present for a Cabinet minister facing the chop". The Independent . 31 March 2013.
  6. ↑ "Despatch Boxes". Barrow Hepburn Gale. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Vaidyanathan, Rajini (23 March 2010). "Thinking inside the box". BBC News.
  8. 1 2 "What is the Budget Box? Why is it red?". Birmingham Mail . 27 October 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  9. ↑ Brennan, Kevin. "Black Box Business". Archived from the original on 24 November 2009.
  10. ↑ “The worst job in politics”, BBC News. 17 June 1999. (Retrieved 2021-01-25.)
  11. ↑ "Yes minister, I can make you a red despatch box", Henley Standard . 13 December 2021. (Retrieved 2021-12-16.)
  12. 1 2 3 "UK Tradition Carried on in Battered Red Box". Morning Edition . NPR. 25 March 2010.
  13. ↑ "The Budget Box". The Daily Telegraph. London. 4 November 2008. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010.
  14. ↑ Read, Simon. "The Budget: Red Boxes and Booze!". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013.
  15. ↑ "The Royal Household: Pages of the Presence". Royal Central. 17 November 2014.
  16. ↑ McCreery, Christopher (2020). Government House Halifax: A Place of History and Gathering. Fredericton: Goose Lane Editions. ISBN   978-1773102016.
  17. ↑ "Despatch boxes used by Scottish Government Ministers, cost and number: FOI release". Scottish Government. 22 May 2019.
  18. ↑ Yuen-C, Tham (24 March 2015). "Mr Lee Kuan Yew's Red Box: Heng Swee Keat". The Straits Times.
  19. ↑ "Budget 2022 - Budget Speech (Second Reading of the Appropriation Bill)". parliament.lk. Parliament of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  20. ↑ "Presidential Dispatch Bag designed by Army handed over to President". newsfirst.lk. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
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.