The secretary of state for Scotland (), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The Scottish secretary represent Scottish interests within the British Government, as well as advocating for British Government policies in Scotland. He is additionally responsible for partnership between the British and Scottish Governments, as well as relations between Westminster and Holyrood.

Much of the Scottish secretary's responsibility transferred to the office of the first minister of Scotland upon the establishment of a new Scottish Executive, since renamed the Scottish Government, and a new devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999, following the Scotland Act 1998.

The office holder works alongside the other Scotland Office ministers. The Scottish secretary is supported by his deputy, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for Scotland. The incumbent is Douglas Alexander, following his appointment by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in September 2025. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for Scotland.

Overview History of office Acts of Union, 1707

The post was first created after the Acts of Union 1707 united England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain. It was abolished in 1746, following the Jacobite rising of 1745. Scottish affairs thereafter were managed by the lord advocate until 1827, when responsibility passed to the Home Office. In 1885 the post of secretary for Scotland was re-created, with the incumbent usually a member of the Cabinet. In 1926 this post was upgraded to a full secretary of state appointment by the Secretaries of State Act 1926.

Devolution, 1999

After the 1999 Scottish devolution, the powers of the Scottish Office were divided, with most transferred to the Scottish Government or to other British government departments, leaving only a limited role for the Scotland Office. From June 2003 to October 2008, the holder of the office of secretary of state for Scotland also held another Cabinet post concurrently, leading to claims that the Scottish role was seen as a part-time ministry.

Functions Reduced responsibility With the advent of legislative devolution for Scotland in 1999, the role of Scottish secretary was diminished. Most of the functions vested in the office since administrative devolution in the 19th century were transferred to the newly established Scottish ministers upon the opening of the Scottish Parliament, or to other British government ministers. Many went to the first minister of Scotland as the head of the Scottish Government. Donald Dewar served as the first first minister of Scotland between 1999 and 2000, having previously served as the Scottish secretary between 1997 and 1999.

However, the Scottish secretary does represent Scotland in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom on matters that are not devolved to the Scottish Parliament, and also holds Scotland Questions on the first Wednesday of every month between 11:30 am and 12 noon, when any member of Parliament can ask a question on any matter relating to Scotland. However, devolved issues are not usually raised by MPs, as these are decided solely by Scottish Government policy, and influenced, discussed and voted on by members of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. Moreover, the Scottish secretary cannot introduce any bill or legislation in the British Parliament relating to a devolved matter, under the convention that the British Government will not introduce legislation on devolved areas without the agreement of the Scottish Parliament. The secretary of state is also the group leader of the Scottish MPs from the government party.

Scottish Government collaboration

The Scottish secretary mainly acts as a go-between for the British and Scottish governments and parliaments. However, due to the secretary's position as a minister in the British government, the convention of Cabinet collective responsibility applies, and as such the post is usually viewed as being a partisan one to promote the UK government's decision-making in Scotland, as adherence to the convention precludes doing anything else.

With the rise of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in both the Scottish Parliament and the British Parliament and the resultant interest in Scottish Independence, the secretary of state's role has also subsequently increased in prominence. The Scotland Office itself has received a cumulative increase in budget of 20% from 2013 to 2017, with a 14.4% increase in 2015/16 alone.

Responsibilities

The UK government's website lists the secretary of state for Scotland's responsibilities as being:

The secretary of state for Scotland is the UK Government Cabinet Minister representing Scotland. They act as the custodian of the Scottish devolution settlement. They represent Scottish interests within the UK Government They advocate for the UK Government’s policies in Scotland. They also promote partnership between the UK Government and the Scottish Government, as well as relations between the UK and Scottish Parliaments.

This seeming lack of responsibility has in recent years seen calls from opposition MPs for the scrapping of the role and the Scotland Office. Robert Hazell has suggested merging the offices of secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales into one secretary of state for the Union, in a department into which Rodney Brazier has suggested adding a minister of state for England with responsibility for English local government.

More broadly, the UK Government advocates that all UK Government cabinet ministers with responsibility for a territorial secretary of state position are responsible for:

the smooth running of the devolution settlements and act as the lynchpin of the relationship between the devolved government and HM Government handling legislation as it affects the territory representing the territory’s interests in cabinet and cabinet committees responding to parliamentary interests in territorial affairs transmitting the block grant to the devolved administration supporting collaboration between HM Government and the devolved administration promoting the interests of the territory

List of Scottish secretaries

Secretaries of state for Scotland (1707–1746)

John Erskine, Earl of Mar had served as Secretary of State of the independent Scotland from 1705. Following the Acts of Union 1707, he remained in office.

The post of secretary of state for Scotland existed after the Union of the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England in 1707 till the Jacobite rising of 1745. After the rising, responsibility for Scotland lay primarily with the office of the home secretary, usually exercised by the lord advocate.

Secretary of State Term of office John ErskineEarl of Mar 1707 1709 James Douglas2nd Duke of Queensberry 1709 1711 John ErskineEarl of Mar 1713 1714 James Graham1st Duke of Montrose 1714 1715 John Ker1st Duke of Roxburghe 1716 1725 John Hay4th Marquess of Tweeddale 1742 1746 Office thereafter vacant.

Secretaries for Scotland (1885–1926)

The secretary for Scotland was chief minister in charge of the Scottish Office in the United Kingdom government. The Scottish Office was created with the post of secretary for Scotland by the (48 & 49 Vict. c. 61).Secretary for Scotland Act 1885, section 2. From 1892 the secretary for Scotland sat in cabinet. The post was upgraded to full secretary of state rank as the secretary of state for Scotland in 1926.Secretaries of State Act 1926

From 1885 to 1999, secretaries for Scotland and secretaries of state for Scotland also ex officio held the post of Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland.Secretary for Scotland Act 1885, section 2; Secretaries of State Act 1926, section 1 From 1999, the position of keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland has been held by the first minister of Scotland.Scotland Act 1998, section 45(7)

Secretary of State Term of office Party Ministry Charles Gordon-LennoxDuke of Lennox in the peerage of Scotland 1885 1886 Conservative Salisbury I George Trevelyan 1886 1886 Liberal Gladstone III John Ramsay 1886 1886 Arthur Balfour 1886 1887 Conservative Salisbury II Schomberg Kerr 1887 1892 George Trevelyan 1892 1895 Liberal Gladstone IV Rosebery Alexander Bruce 1895 1903 Conservative Salisbury Balfour Andrew Murray 1903 1905 John Hope 1905 1905 John SinclairMP for Forfar until 1909; created Baron Pentland 1909 1905 1912 Liberal Campbell-Bannerman Asquith Thomas McKinnon Wood 1912 1916 Asquith Coalition Harold Tennant 1916 1916 Robert Munro MP for Wick Burghs until 1918; MP for Roxburgh and Selkirk thereafter 1916 1922 Lloyd George(Lib.–Con.–Lab.) Ronald Munro Ferguson 1922 1924 Independent Law Baldwin I William Adamson 1924 1924 Labour MacDonald I John Gilmour 1924 1926 Unionist Baldwin II

Secretaries of state for Scotland (1926–)

Secretary of State Term of office Party Ministry John Gilmour 26 July1926 4 June1929 Unionist Baldwin II William Adamson 7 June1929 24 August1931 Labour MacDonald II Archibald Sinclair 25 August1931 28 September1932 Liberal National I National II Godfrey Collins 28 September1932 29 October1936 Liberal National National III) Walter Elliot 29 October1936 6 May1938 Unionist National IV) John Colville 6 May1938 10 May1940 Chamberlain War) Ernest Brown 14 May1940 8 February1941 Liberal National Churchill War Thomas Johnston 8 February1941 23 May1945 Labour Harry Primrose6th Earl of Rosebery 25 May1945 26 July1945 Liberal National Churchill Caretaker Joseph Westwood 3 August1945 7 October1947 Labour Attlee Arthur Woodburn 7 October1947 28 February1950 Hector McNeil 28 February1950 26 October1951 James Stuart 30 October1951 13 January1957 Unionist Churchill III Eden John Maclay 13 January1957 13 July1962 Macmillan Michael Noble 13 July1962 16 October1964 Douglas-Home Willie Ross 18 October1964 19 June1970 Labour Wilson Gordon Campbell 20 June1970 4 March1974 Conservative Heath Willie Ross 5 March1974 8 April1976 Labour Wilson Bruce Millan 8 April1976 4 May1979 Callaghan George Younger 5 May1979 11 January1986 Conservative Thatcher I Thatcher II Malcolm Rifkind 11 January1986 28 November1990 Thatcher III Ian Lang 28 November1990 5 July1995 Major I Major II Michael Forsyth 5 July1995 2 May1997 Donald Dewar 2 May1997 17 May1999 Labour Blair I John Reid 17 May1999 25 January2001 Helen Liddell 25 January2001 13 June2003 Blair II Alistair Darling 13 June2003 5 May2006 Blair III Douglas Alexander 5 May2006 28 June2007 Des Browne 28 June2007 3 October2008 Brown Jim Murphy 3 October2008 11 May2010 Danny Alexander 12 May2010 29 May2010 Liberal Democrat Cameron–Clegg Michael Moore 29 May2010 7 October2013 Alistair Carmichael 7 October2013 8 May2015 David Mundell 11 May2015 24 July2019 Conservative Cameron II May I May II Alister Jack 24 July 2019 5 July 2024 Johnson I Johnson II Truss Sunak Ian Murray 5 July2024 5 September2025 Labour Starmer Douglas Alexander 5 September2025 Incumbent Burnham

Timeline

Notes

See also First Minister of Scotland Secretary of State, a senior post in the pre-Union government of the Kingdom of Scotland Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, junior minister supporting the Secretary of State for Scotland Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland Secretary of State (Jacobite) Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Secretary of State for Wales

Notes

References

External links Official website of the Scotland Office