Minister without portfolio (United Kingdom)

Cabinet position in the United Kingdom From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the United Kingdom, a minister without portfolio is often a cabinet position, or often attends cabinet. The role is sometimes used to enable the chairman of the governing party, contemporarily either the chairman of the Conservative Party or the chair of the Labour Party, to attend cabinet meetings. (If so, they hold the title of "Party chairman".) The sinecure positions of Lord Privy Seal, Paymaster General, and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which have few responsibilities and have a higher rank in the order of precedence than minister without portfolio can also be used to similar effect. Anna Turley was appointed as minister without portfolio, replacing Ellie Reeves, in the 2025 British cabinet reshuffle.[3]

StyleThe Right Honourable
Reports toThe Prime Minister
NominatorThe Prime Minister
AppointerThe British Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister
Quick facts United Kingdom, Style ...
United Kingdom
Minister without Portfolio
Royal arms as used by His Majesty's Government
Flag of the United Kingdom
Incumbent
Vacant
since 21 July 2026
Cabinet Office
StyleThe Right Honourable
Reports toThe Prime Minister
NominatorThe Prime Minister
AppointerThe British Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister
Term lengthNo fixed term
Salary£159,038 per annum (2022)[1]
(including £86,584 MP salary)[2]
WebsiteGOV.UK
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The corresponding shadow minister is the Shadow Minister without Portfolio.

List of office holders

More information Concurrent office(s), Tenure ...
Minister Concurrent office(s) Tenure Political party Prime Minister
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland January 1805 –
February 1806		 Whig William Pitt the Younger
William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam October 1806 –
March 1807		 William Grenville
(Ministry of All the Talents)
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland 4 October 1809 –
30 October 1809		 Tory Spencer Perceval
Dudley Ryder, 1st Earl of Harrowby November 1809 –
June 1812		 Tory (Pittite)
John Pratt, 2nd Earl Camden (created 1st Marquess Camden, August 1812) 8 April 1812 –
December 1812		 Tory
Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool
Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave January 1819 –
May 1820
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne April 1827 –
July 1827		 Whig George Canning
William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland July 1827 –
September 1827		 Tory (Canningite)
George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle 22 November 1830 –
5 June 1834		 Whig Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington 3 September 1841 –
July 1846		 Conservative Robert Peel
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne 28 December 1852 –
21 February 1858		 Whig George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
(until February 1855)
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Lord John Russell February 1853 –
June 1854		 George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
Spencer Horatio Walpole May 1867 –
February 1868		 Conservative Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby
Michael Hicks Beach 7 March 1887 –
20 February 1888		 Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne 25 May 1915 –
December 1916		 Liberal Unionist H. H. Asquith
(Coalition)
Arthur Henderson Member of the War Cabinet 10 December 1916 –
12 August 1917		 Labour David Lloyd George
(Coalition)
Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner 10 December 1916 –
18 April 1918		 Conservative
Jan Smuts 22 June 1917 –
10 January 1919		 South African Party
Edward Carson 17 July 1917 –
21 January 1918		 Ulster Unionist Party (Irish Unionist)
George Barnes Member of the War Cabinet (until October 1919) 13 August 1917 –
27 January 1920		 Labour
Austen Chamberlain Member of the War Cabinet 18 April 1918 –
10 January 1919		 Conservative
Eric Campbell Geddes 10 January 1919 –
31 October 1919
Laming Worthington-Evans Member of the War Cabinet (until October 1919) 10 January 1919 –
13 February 1921
Christopher Addison 1 April 1921 –
14 July 1921		 Liberal
Anthony Eden Minister for League of Nations affairs 7 June 1935 –
22 December 1935		 Conservative Stanley Baldwin
(Coalition)
Eustace Percy 7 June 1935 –
31 March 1936
Leslie Burgin Minister of Supply-designate 21 April 1939 –
14 July 1939		 National Liberal Party Neville Chamberlain
(Coalition)
Maurice Hankey Member of the War Cabinet September 1939 –
10 May 1940		 no party Neville Chamberlain
(Coalition)
Arthur Greenwood 11 May 1940 –
22 February 1942		 Labour Winston Churchill
(Coalition)
William Jowitt 30 December 1942 –
8 October 1944
A. V. Alexander 4 October 1946 –
20 December 1946		 Labour Co-operative Clement Attlee
Arthur Greenwood 17 April 1947 –
29 September 1947		 Labour
Geoffrey FitzClarence, 5th Earl of Munster 18 October 1954 –
1957		 Conservative Winston Churchill
Anthony Eden
Stormont Mancroft, 2nd Baron Mancroft 11 June 1957 –
1958		 Harold Macmillan
Henry Scrymgeour-Wedderburn, 11th Earl of Dundee 23 October 1958 –
1961		 Unionist
Percy Mills, 1st Baron Mills Deputy Leader of the House of Lords 9 October 1961 –
13 July 1962		 Conservative
Bill Deedes 13 July 1962 –
16 October 1964
Alec Douglas-Home
Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington Leader of the House of Lords 20 October 1963 –
16 October 1964
Eric Fletcher 19 October 1964 –
6 April 1966		 Labour Harold Wilson
Arthur Champion, Baron Champion Deputy Leader of the House of Lords 21 October 1964 –
7 January 1967
Douglas Houghton 6 April 1966 –
7 January 1967
Edward Shackleton, Baron Shackleton Deputy Leader of the House of Lords 7 January 1967 –
16 January 1968
Patrick Gordon Walker 7 January 1967–
21 August 1967
George Thomson 17 October 1968 –
6 October 1969
Peter Shore 6 October 1969 –
19 June 1970
Niall Macpherson, 1st Baron Drumalbyn 15 October 1970 –
1974		 Unionist Edward Heath
Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare 8 January – March 1974 Conservative
David Young, Baron Young of Graffham advising on unemployment 11 September 1984 –
3 September 1985		 Margaret Thatcher
Jeremy Hanley Chairman of the Conservative Party 20 July 1994 –
5 July 1995		 John Major
Brian Mawhinney 5 July 1995 –
2 May 1997
Peter Mandelson[4] called the "Dome Secretary"[5] 5 May 1997 –
26 July 1998		 Labour Tony Blair
Charles Clarke[6] Labour Party Chair 8 June 2001 –
24 October 2002		 Labour Tony Blair
John Reid[7] 24 October 2002 –
4 April 2003
Ian McCartney[8] 4 April 2003 –
5 May 2006
Hazel Blears[9] 5 May 2006 –
28 June 2007
no appointment 28 June 2007 –
12 May 2010		 Gordon Brown
Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi[10][11] Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party 12 May 2010 –
6 September 2012		 Conservative David Cameron
(Coalition)
Grant Shapps[12] 6 September 2012 –
8 May 2015
Kenneth Clarke[13] Trade envoy 6 September 2012 –
14 July 2014
John Hayes[14] Senior Parliamentary Adviser to the Prime Minister (Cabinet Office) 28 March 2013 –
15 July 2014
Robert Halfon[15] Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party 8 May 2015 –
17 July 2016		 David Cameron
no appointment 17 July 2016 –
8 January 2018		 Theresa May
Brandon Lewis[16] Chairman of the Conservative Party 8 January 2018 –
24 July 2019
James Cleverly[17] 24 July 2019 –
13 February 2020		 Boris Johnson
Amanda Milling[18] 13 February 2020 –
15 September 2021
Oliver Dowden[19] 15 September 2021 –
24 June 2022
no appointment 24 June 2022 –
7 July 2022
Andrew Stephenson Chairman of the Conservative Party 7 July 2022 –
6 September 2022
Sir Jake Berry 6 September 2022 –
25 October 2022		 Liz Truss
Nadhim Zahawi 25 October 2022 –
29 January 2023		 Rishi Sunak
Greg Hands 7 February 2023 –
13 November 2023
Richard Holden 13 November 2023 –
5 July 2024
Ellie Reeves Chair of the Labour Party 6 July 2024 –
6 September 2025		 Labour Keir Starmer
Anna Turley 6 September 2025 –
21 July 2026
no appointment 21 July 2026 –
Present		 Labour Andy Burnham


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See also

References

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