Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury is the official title of the most senior whip of the governing party in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Today, any official links between the Treasury and this office are nominal and the title of the office can be seen as a sinecure that allows the incumbent to draw a Government salary, attend Cabinet, and use a Downing Street residence, traditionally 12 Downing Street.
The position is currently held by Anneliese Midgley since 20 July 2026.
History The position of Secretary to the Treasury was created in 1660. Until 1711, there was only one Secretary to the Treasury; however, in that year, a second position was created to help deal with the increasing workload. This new position was known as the junior secretary to the Treasury, and the existing post as the senior secretary to the Treasury. Initially, when the position of Senior Secretary to the Treasury became vacant (except as the result of an election causing a change of government), the junior secretary was usually automatically promoted to the senior role. Over time, however, the roles of the Senior and Junior Secretaries began to diverge, the Senior Secretary post being used as a sinecure post for the chief whip, with no formal responsibilities to the Treasury. The junior secretary post remained a substantive position working in the Treasury. As such, the senior secretary became known as the parliamentary secretary to the Treasury while the junior secretary became known as Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and the 'automatic' promotion from Junior to Senior ceased. While the exact date on which this change occurred is disputed, it is agreed that the distinction was complete by 1830. In the mid-nineteenth century, the parliamentary secretary to the Treasury was referred to as the patronage secretary to the Treasury.
Parliamentary secretaries to the Treasury, 1830–present 19th century Edward Ellice 1830–1832 Charles Wood 1832–1834 Sir George Clerk, 6th Baronet 1834–1835 Edward Stanley 1835–1841 Denis Le Marchant 1841 Sir Thomas Fremantle, 1st Baronet 1841–1844 John Young 1844–1846 Henry Tufnell 1846–1850 William Goodenough Hayter 1850–1852 William Forbes Mackenzie 1852 William Goodenough Hayter 1853–1858 Sir William Jolliffe, 1st Baronet 1858–1859 Henry Brand 1859–1866 Thomas Edward Taylor 1866–1868 Gerard Noel 1868 George Glyn 1868–1873 Arthur Wellesley Peel 1873–1874 Sir William Hart Dyke, 7th Baronet 1874–1880 Lord Richard Grosvenor 1880–1885 Aretas Akers-Douglas 1885–1886 Arnold Morley 1886 Aretas Akers-Douglas 1886–1892 Edward Marjoribanks 1892–1894 Thomas Edward Ellis 1894–1895 Sir William Walrond, 2nd Baronet 1895–1902
20th century Sir Alexander Acland-Hood, 4th Baronet 1902–1905 George Whiteley 1905–1908 Jack Pease 1908–1910 Alexander Murray, Master of Elibank 1910–1912 Percy Holden Illingworth 1912–1915 John William Gulland 1915 Lord Edmund Talbot 1915–1916 (Conservative, jointly) John William Gulland 1915–1916 (Liberal, jointly) Lord Edmund Talbot 1916–1921 (Conservative, jointly) Neil Primrose 1916–1917 (Liberal, jointly) Frederick Guest 1917–1921 (Liberal, jointly) Leslie Orme Wilson 1921–1922 (Conservative, jointly) Charles McCurdy 1921–1922 (Liberal, jointly) Leslie Orme Wilson 1922–1923 Bolton Eyres-Monsell 1923–1924 Ben Spoor 1924 Bolton Eyres-Monsell 1924–1929 Tom Kennedy 1929–1931 David Margesson 1931–1940 Sir Charles Edwards 1940–1942 (Labour, jointly) James Gray Stuart 1941–1945 (Conservative, jointly) William Whiteley 1942–1951 (Labour, jointly until 1945) Patrick Buchan-Hepburn 1951–1955 Edward Heath 1955–1959 Martin Redmayne 1959–1964 Ted Short 1964–1966 John Silkin 1966–1969 Bob Mellish 1969–1970 Francis Pym 1970–1973 Humphrey Atkins 1973–1974 Bob Mellish 1974–1976 Michael Cocks 1976–1979 Michael Jopling 1979–1983 John Wakeham 1983–1987 David Waddington 1987–1989 Tim Renton 1989–1990 Richard Ryder 1990–1995 Alastair Goodlad 1995–1997 Nick Brown 1997–1998 Ann Taylor 1998–2001
21st century Colour key (for political parties):
Secretary Term of office Political party Prime Minister Hilary Armstrong 8 June 2001 5 May 2006 Labour Tony Blair Jacqui Smith 5 May 2006 28 June 2007 Tony Blair Geoff Hoon 28 June 2007 3 October 2008 Gordon Brown Nick Brown 3 October 2008 11 May 2010 Patrick McLoughlin 12 May 2010 4 September 2012 Conservative David Cameron Andrew Mitchell 4 September 2012 19 October 2012 Sir George Young, 6th Baronet 19 October 2012 15 July 2014 Michael Gove 15 July 2014 9 May 2015 Mark Harper 9 May 2015 14 July 2016 David Cameron Gavin Williamson 14 July 2016 2 November 2017 Theresa May Julian Smith 2 November 2017 24 July 2019 Theresa May Mark Spencer 24 July 2019 8 February 2022 Boris Johnson Chris Heaton-Harris 8 February 2022 6 September 2022Boris Johnson Wendy Morton 6 September 2022 25 October 2022 Liz Truss Simon Hart 25 October 2022 5 July 2024 Rishi Sunak Alan Campbell 5 July 2024 5 September 2025 Labour Keir Starmer Jonathan Reynolds 5 September 2025 20 July 2026 Anneliese Midgley 20 July 2026 Incumbent Andy Burnham
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