The lord president of the Council is the presiding officer of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the fourth of the Great Officers of State, ranking above the lord keeper of the privy seal. The lord president usually attends and is responsible for chairing the meetings of the Privy Council, presenting business for the approval of the sovereign.
The office and its history The Privy Council meets once a month, wherever the sovereign may be residing at the time, to give formal approval to Orders in Council. Only a few privy counsellors need attend such meetings, and only when invited to do so at the government's request. As the duties of the Lord President are not onerous, the post has often been given to a government minister whose responsibilities are not department-specific. In recent years it has been most typical for the Lord President also to serve as Leader of the House of Commons or Leader of the House of Lords. The Lord President has no role in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
In the history of British government, the President of the Council is a relatively recent creation. The first certain appointment to the office was that of the Duke of Suffolk in 1529. Although there is a reference to Edmund Dudley serving as 'president of the council' in 1497, it was only in 1529 that the role was given the style and precedence of a Great Officer of State by the (21 Hen. 8. c. 20).An Act that the President of the King's Counsel shall be associate with the Chancellor and Treasurer of England, and the Keeper of the King's Privy Seal. Prior to 1679 there were several periods in which the office was left vacant. During coronations of the monarch, the Lord President carries the Sword of State.
In the 19th century, the Lord President was generally the cabinet member responsible for the education system, amongst his other duties. This role was gradually scaled back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but remnants of it remain, such as the oversight of the governance of various universities.
During times of National or coalition government the office of Lord President has sometimes been held by the leader of a minority party (e.g. Baldwin 1931–1935, MacDonald 1935–1937, Attlee 1943–1945, Clegg 2010–2015). It has been suggested that the office has been intermittently used for Prime Ministerial deputies in the past.
A particularly important role was played by the Lord President of the Council during the Second World War. At this time the Lord President served as chairman of the Lord President's Committee. This committee acted as a central clearing house which dealt with the country's economic problems. This was vital to the smooth running of the British war economy and consequently the entire British war effort.
Winston Churchill, clearly believing that this wartime co-ordinating role was beneficial, introduced a similar but expanded system in the first few years of his post-war premiership.Hennessy, Peter. The Prime Minister: The Office and Its Holders Since 1945 (2000), pp.189–190. The so-called 'overlord ministers' included Frederick Leathers as Secretary of State for the Co-ordination of Transport, Fuel and Power and Lord Woolton as Lord President. Woolton's job was to co-ordinate the then separate ministries of agriculture and food.Hennessy, p.191 A thesis by Michael Kandiah called Woolton was "arguably the most successful of the Overlords" partly because his ministries were quite closely related; indeed, they were merged in 1955 as the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield, p. 193
On several occasions since 1954, non-British Ministers have served briefly as acting Lords President of the Council, solely to preside over a meeting of the Privy Council held in a Commonwealth realm. Examples of this practice are the meetings in New Zealand in 1990 and 1995, when Geoffrey Palmer and James Bolger respectively were acting Lords President.
Andrea Leadsom's appointment in June 2017 was the first in some time where the post holder was not a full Cabinet member.
Role and responsibilities Routine functions
The routine functions of the lord president are as follows: Preside at Privy Council meetings, including any emergency meetings, and attend to both ministerial correspondence and parliamentary questions relating to Privy Council business. Consider for approval prerogative and statutory Orders in Council. Prerogative orders deal with the basic functioning of the British state and are thus applicable under a number of circumstances, including but not limited to the prorogation of Parliament, the granting, amendment, and revocation of royal charters, the appointment of high sheriffs, or the governance of British Overseas Territories. On the other hand, statutory orders are a form of delegated legislation conferred on His Majesty's Government by Parliament for the purposes of creating detailed regulations through rulemaking. Unlike prerogative orders, statutory Orders in Council are subject to parliamentary scrutiny. As a consequence, most Orders in Council operate on statutory footing as opposed to the common law authorities conferred by the royal prerogative. Consider for approval Orders of Council concerning various matters of state, namely appointments to and regulation of professional bodies and institutions of higher education. Unlike Orders in Council which are enacted by the sovereign on the advice of the Privy Council, Orders of Council are enacted by the Privy Council itself pursuant to statutory authority conferred by Parliament. As a member of the Privy Council's Committee for the Affairs of Jersey and Guernsey, review laws passed by the bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, and make recommendations to the sovereign concerning their approval.
Visitorial functions In addition to his or her routine functions, the lord president also serves as the visitor for several English universities, including:
University of Birmingham University of Bristol University of Hull Imperial College London Keele University University of Leeds University of Leicester University of Liverpool University of London (but not King's College London or University College London) University of Nottingham University of Reading University of Sheffield (but not Sheffield Hallam University) University of Southampton University of Sussex University of Wales
Partial list of Lords President of the Council Lords President of the Council (c. 1530–1702) +Lord President of the Council Lord President Term of office Charles Brandon1st Duke of Suffolk 1530 1545 William Paulet1st Marquess of Winchester 1546 1550 John Dudley1st Duke of Northumberland 1550 1553 Henry Montagu1st Earl of Manchester 1621 1628 James Ley1st Earl of Marlborough 1628 1628 Edward Conway1st Viscount Conway 1628 1631 Anthony Ashley-Cooper1st Earl of Shaftesbury 1679 1679 John Robartes1st Earl of Radnor 1679 1684 Laurence Hyde1st Earl of Rochester 1684 1685 George Savile1st Marquess of Halifax 1685 1685 Robert Spencer2nd Earl of Sunderland 1685 1688 Richard Graham1st Viscount Preston 1688 1688 Thomas Osborne1st Duke of LeedsMarquess of Carmarthen from 1689, created Duke of Leeds in 1694 1689 1699 Thomas Herbert8th Earl of Pembroke 1699 1702 Charles Seymour6th Duke of Somerset 1702 1702
Lords President of the Council (1702–present)