| United Kingdom Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
|---|---|
 Arms of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
 Flag of theDuchy of Lancaster | |
.jpg) | |
| Style | The Right Honourable (within the UK and Commonwealth) |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | |
| Nominator | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
| Appointer | The Monarch (on the advice of thePrime Minister) |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| Inaugural holder | Sir Henry de Haydock |
| Formation | 1361 |
| Deputy | |
| Salary | £159,038 per annum (2022)[1] (including £86,584MP salary)[2] |
| Website | www |
TheChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office[3] in theGovernment of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in theCabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister, and senior to theMinister for the Cabinet Office.[4] The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is the most senior minister within the Cabinet Office, but the role does not outrank other Cabinet ministers and does not have automatic authority outside that department. The role includes as part of its duties the administration of the estates and rents of theDuchy of Lancaster.[5]
Formally, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the prime minister,[6][7] and is answerable toParliament for the governance of the Duchy.[8] In modern times, however, the involvement of the chancellor in the running of the day-to-day affairs of the Duchy is slight, and the office is held by a senior politician whose main role is usually quite different. In practical terms, it is asinecure, allowing the prime minister to appoint an additionalminister without portfolio to theCabinet of the United Kingdom. The correspondingshadow minister is theshadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The role is typically held by a close ally of the Prime Minister entrusted to support the delivery of their current priorities. In 2021, the role was endowed with responsibility for advising the prime minister onBrexit policy.[9] In theStarmer ministry, the role was given responsibility for supporting delivery of the government's strategic priorities, Cabinet Office policy, cleaning up politics, and national security and resilience.[10]
 | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Originally, the chancellor was the chief officer in the daily management of theDuchy of Lancaster and theCounty Palatine of Lancaster (acounty palatine merged into the Crown in 1399), but that estate is now run by a deputy, leaving the chancellor as a member of theCabinet with little obligation in regard to the chancellorship. The position has often been given to a seniorCabinet minister with responsibilities in a particular area of policy for which there is no department with an appropriate portfolio.
In 1491, the office ofVice-Chancellor of the County Palatine of Lancaster was created. The position is now held by a judge of theChancery Division of theHigh Court of Justice, who sits in the north west of England, and is no longer appointed to that position as legal officer of the Duchy.
Under the Promissory Oaths Act 1868, the chancellor is required to take theoath of allegiance and theOfficial Oath.[11] The holder of thesinecure is aminister without portfolio;Sir Oswald Mosley, for example, focused on unemployment after being appointed to the position in 1929 during thesecond MacDonald ministry.[12]
Following theDardanelles campaign,Winston Churchill was in 1915 appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, a humiliating loss of the trappings of power.[13]
The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is entitled to a salary under theMinisterial and Other Salaries Act 1975, but section 3 of the act provides that the salary "shall be reduced by the amount of the salary payable to him otherwise than out of moneys so provided in respect of his office".[14] The office of the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is part of theCabinet Office.[15]
From 1997 until 2009, the holder of the title also served as theMinister for the Cabinet Office. This applied in the case ofAlan Milburn, who was given the title by Prime MinisterTony Blair in 2004 and at the same time rejoined theCabinet. However, in the reshuffle of 5 June 2009, the chancellorship went to the Leader of the House of Lords,the Baroness Royall. InDavid Cameron's first cabinet, the chancellorship remained with theleader of the House of Lords until 2014.
WhenDavid Lidington was appointed chancellor on 8 January 2018, the position ofMinister for the Cabinet Office was once again held concurrently. This continued until Michael Gove was appointed chancellor in July 2019. Michael Gove was given responsibility over the Cabinet Office, but did not initially hold the ministerial position ofMinister for the Cabinet Office (which is not on a statutory footing). He was later granted that title in the2020 Cabinet reshuffle and the two positions remained together until February 2022.
In addition to administering the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster, the chancellor is also a member of the cabinet and advises the prime minister on the development and implementation of government policy.[10] As of 2025, the Chancellor is presently responsible for:
This article contains quotations from thissource, which is available under theOpen Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright..svg)
.svg)
.svg)
