First Lord of the Treasury

The First Lord of the Treasury is the head of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury exercising the ancient office of Lord High Treasurer in the United Kingdom. Constitutional convention holds that the office of First Lord is held by the Prime Minister. The office is not the United Kingdom's finance minister; this role is instead held by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is the second lord of the Treasury.

First Lord of the Treasury
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Incumbent
Rishi Sunak
since 28 November 2022[1]
Residence10 Downing Street
SeatWestminster
AppointerThe King
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
Formation
  • 1126
    (as Lord High Treasurer)
  • 1612
    (as First Lord of the Commission of the Treasury)
  • 1714
    (commission permanent since resignation of the 1st Duke of Shrewsbury)
First holder
DeputySecond Lord of the Treasury
WebsiteGov.uk
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Lords of the Treasury

As of the beginning of the 17th century, the running of the Treasury was frequently entrusted to a commission, rather than to a single individual. Since 1714, it has permanently been in commission. The commissioners have always since that date been referred to as Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, and adopted ordinal numbers to describe their seniority. Eventually in the middle of the same century, the first lord of the Treasury came to be seen as the natural head of the overall ministry running the country, and, as of the time of Robert Walpole (Whig), began to be known, unofficially, as the prime minister.

The term prime minister was initially, but decreasingly, used as a term of derogation; it was first used officially in a royal warrant only in 1905. William Pitt the Younger said the prime minister "ought to be the person at the head of the finances"—though Pitt also served as chancellor of the exchequer for the entirety of his time as prime minister, so his linkage of the finance portfolio to the premiership was wider than merely proposing the occupation of the first lordship by the prime minister.[2]

Prior to 1841 the first lord of the Treasury also held the office of chancellor of the exchequer unless he was a peer and thus barred from that office; in this case, the second lord of the Treasury usually served as chancellor. As of 1841, the chancellor has always been second lord of the Treasury when he was not also prime minister. By convention, the other Lords Commissioners of the Treasury are also Government Whips in the House of Commons.

Official residence
Main article: 10 Downing Street

10 Downing Street is the official residence of the first lord of the Treasury, not the office of prime minister.[3] Chequers, a country house in Buckinghamshire, is the official country residence of the prime minister, used as a weekend and holiday home, although the residence has also been used by other senior members of government.

List of first lords (1714–1922)
For earlier lord treasurers and first lords, see List of lord high treasurers of England and Great Britain.

Much of this list overlaps with the list of prime ministers of the United Kingdom, but there are some notable differences, principally concerning Lord Salisbury, who was prime minister but not first lord in 1885–86, 1887–92 and 1895–1902. Those first lords who were simultaneously prime minister are indicated in bold; those who were considered prime minister only during part of their term are indicated in bold italic.

Name Entered office Left office Party
The Earl of Halifax 13 October 1714 19 May 1715 Whig
The Earl of Carlisle 23 May 1715 10 October 1715 Whig
Robert Walpole 10 October 1715 12 April 1717 Whig
The Earl Stanhope 12 April 1717 21 March 1718 Whig
The Earl of Sunderland 21 March 1718 4 April 1721 Whig
Sir Robert Walpole 4 April 1721 11 February 1742 Whig
The Earl of Wilmington 16 February 1742 2 July 1743 Whig
Henry Pelham 27 August 1743 10 February 1746 Whig
The Earl of Bath 10 February 1746 12 February 1746 Whig
Henry Pelham 12 February 1746 6 March 1754 Whig
The Duke of Newcastle 16 March 1754 16 November 1756 Whig
The Duke of Devonshire 16 November 1756 8 June 1757 Whig
The Earl Waldegrave 8 June 1757 12 June 1757 Whig
The Duke of Devonshire 12 June 1757 25 June 1757 Whig
The Duke of Newcastle 2 July 1757 26 May 1762 Whig
The Earl of Bute 26 May 1762 16 April 1763 Tory
George Grenville 16 April 1763 13 July 1765 Whig
The Marquess of Rockingham 13 July 1765 30 July 1766 Whig
The Duke of Grafton[lower-alpha 1] 30 July 1766 28 January 1770 Whig
Lord North 28 January 1770 22 March 1782 Tory
The Marquess of Rockingham 27 March 1782 1 July 1782 Whig
The Earl of Shelburne 4 July 1782 2 April 1783 Whig
The Duke of Portland 2 April 1783 19 December 1783 Whig
William Pitt the Younger 19 December 1783 14 March 1801 Tory
Henry Addington 17 March 1801 10 May 1804 Tory
William Pitt the Younger 10 May 1804 23 January 1806 Tory
The Lord Grenville 11 February 1806 31 March 1807 Whig
The Duke of Portland 31 March 1807 4 October 1809 Whig
Spencer Perceval 4 October 1809 11 May 1812 Tory
The Earl of Liverpool 9 June 1812 10 April 1827 Tory
George Canning 10 April 1827 8 August 1827 Tory
The Viscount Goderich 31 August 1827 22 January 1828 Tory
The Duke of Wellington 22 January 1828 22 November 1830 Tory
The Earl Grey 22 November 1830 16 July 1834 Whig
The Viscount Melbourne 16 July 1834 14 November 1834 Whig
The Duke of Wellington 14 November 1834 10 December 1834 Tory
Sir Robert Peel 10 December 1834 8 April 1835 Tory
The Viscount Melbourne 18 April 1835 30 August 1841 Whig
Sir Robert Peel 30 August 1841 29 June 1846 Conservative
Lord John Russell 30 June 1846 23 February 1852 Whig
The Earl of Derby 23 February 1852 19 December 1852 Conservative
The Earl of Aberdeen 19 December 1852 6 February 1855 Peelite
The Viscount Palmerston 6 February 1855 20 February 1858 Liberal
The Earl of Derby 20 February 1858 12 June 1859 Conservative
The Viscount Palmerston 12 June 1859 18 October 1865 Liberal
The Earl Russell 29 October 1865 28 June 1866 Liberal
The Earl of Derby 28 June 1866 27 February 1868 Conservative
Benjamin Disraeli 27 February 1868 3 December 1868 Conservative
William Ewart Gladstone 3 December 1868 20 February 1874 Liberal
Benjamin Disraeli[lower-alpha 2] 20 February 1874 23 April 1880 Conservative
William Ewart Gladstone 23 April 1880 23 June 1885 Liberal
The Earl of Iddesleigh 29 June 1885 1 February 1886 Conservative
William Ewart Gladstone 1 February 1886 25 July 1886 Liberal
The Marquess of Salisbury[lower-alpha 3] 3 August 1886 14 January 1887 Conservative
William Henry Smith 14 January 1887 6 October 1891 Conservative
Arthur Balfour 6 October 1891 15 August 1892 Conservative
William Ewart Gladstone 15 August 1892 5 March 1894 Liberal
The Earl of Rosebery 5 March 1894 25 June 1895 Liberal
Arthur Balfour[lower-alpha 4] 25 June 1895 5 December 1905 Conservative
Henry Campbell-Bannerman 5 December 1905 3 April 1908 Liberal
H. H. Asquith 8 April 1908 5 December 1916 Liberal
David Lloyd George 6 December 1916 19 October 1922 Liberal

Thereafter the posts of first lord and prime minister have continually been held by the same person (see List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom § 20th century).

See also
The front door of 10 Downing Street, showing the letter-box inscribed with "First Lord of the Treasury"

Notes
  1. Grafton became Prime Minister on 14 October 1768.
  2. Disraeli became Earl of Beaconsfield in 1876.
  3. Salisbury continued to serve as Prime Minister until 11 August 1892.
  4. Balfour became Prime Minister on 11 July 1902.

References
  1. "Crown Office". thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  2. Blick & Jones 2010.
  3. First Lord of the Treasury, gov.uk, retrieved 22 March 2018

Sources
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