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Lords Commissioners of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords acting as whips in the House of Commons to whom this title is usually applied.
It is commonly thought that the Lords Commissioners of HM Treasury serve as commissioners for exercising the office of Lord High Treasurer; however, this is not true. The confusion arises because both offices used to be held by the same individual at the same time.
Strictly they are commissioners for exercising the office of Treasurer of the Exchequer of Great Britain and Lord High Treasurer of Ireland (similar to the status of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty exercising the office of Lord High Admiral until 1964, when Elizabeth II resumed the office). These offices (excluding Lord High Treasurer of Ireland, which went into commission in 1817) have continually been in commission since the resignation in 1714 of Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, who was appointed to the office by Queen Anne on her deathbed.
Until the 19th century, this commission made most of the economic decisions of Great Britain (England, before the Act of Union 1707). However, starting during the 19th century, these positions became sinecure positions, with the First Lord serving almost invariably as Prime Minister, the Second Lord invariably as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the junior lords serving as whips in Parliament.
As an office in commission, technically all Lords Commissioners of the Treasury are of equal rank, with their ordinal numbers connoting seniority rather than authority over their fellow Lords Commissioners. However, from at least the reign of Queen Anne, de facto power has rested with the top-numbered Lords.
Of all the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, typically the only one who actually works in HM Treasury is the Second Lord, as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Since the formation of the office of Prime Minister (including in the case of Sir Robert Walpole as the inaugural holder), it has been typical for the incumbent to assume also the position of First Lord of the Treasury.
None of the other lords of the Treasury works for the Treasury in a substantive sense. Rather they are government whips, given nominal positions in the Treasury to enable them to be suitably remunerated for facilitating the function of His Majesty's Government. The Commission of the Treasury is suitably flexible for the government's whip operation because it has no fixed number of office-holders. However, the Chief Whip is not personally a lord of the Treasury, instead having the similar, but discrete, position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury, which is also a sinecure used to procure paid membership among the members of the Government.
The lords of the Treasury nominally head HM Treasury. They do so by virtue of office and as a matter of law, acting in the office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The Chancellor does so in reality, consulting the Prime Minister, and delegating parliamentary-level work to the other ministers in the Treasury, none of whom is a Lord of the Treasury, who negotiate and formulate the rest of Treasury business. These junior ministerial positions are, in descending order of rank:
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Lords Commissioners of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords acting as whips in the House of Commons to whom this title is usually applied.
It is commonly thought that the Lords Commissioners of HM Treasury serve as commissioners for exercising the office of Lord High Treasurer; however, this is not true. The confusion arises because both offices used to be held by the same individual at the same time.
Strictly they are commissioners for exercising the office of Treasurer of the Exchequer of Great Britain and Lord High Treasurer of Ireland (similar to the status of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty exercising the office of Lord High Admiral until 1964, when Elizabeth II resumed the office). These offices (excluding Lord High Treasurer of Ireland, which went into commission in 1817) have continually been in commission since the resignation in 1714 of Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, who was appointed to the office by Queen Anne on her deathbed.
Until the 19th century, this commission made most of the economic decisions of Great Britain (England, before the Act of Union 1707). However, starting during the 19th century, these positions became sinecure positions, with the First Lord serving almost invariably as Prime Minister, the Second Lord invariably as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the junior lords serving as whips in Parliament.
As an office in commission, technically all Lords Commissioners of the Treasury are of equal rank, with their ordinal numbers connoting seniority rather than authority over their fellow Lords Commissioners. However, from at least the reign of Queen Anne, de facto power has rested with the top-numbered Lords.
Of all the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, typically the only one who actually works in HM Treasury is the Second Lord, as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Since the formation of the office of Prime Minister (including in the case of Sir Robert Walpole as the inaugural holder), it has been typical for the incumbent to assume also the position of First Lord of the Treasury.
None of the other lords of the Treasury works for the Treasury in a substantive sense. Rather they are government whips, given nominal positions in the Treasury to enable them to be suitably remunerated for facilitating the function of His Majesty's Government. The Commission of the Treasury is suitably flexible for the government's whip operation because it has no fixed number of office-holders. However, the Chief Whip is not personally a lord of the Treasury, instead having the similar, but discrete, position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury, which is also a sinecure used to procure paid membership among the members of the Government.
The lords of the Treasury nominally head HM Treasury. They do so by virtue of office and as a matter of law, acting in the office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The Chancellor does so in reality, consulting the Prime Minister, and delegating parliamentary-level work to the other ministers in the Treasury, none of whom is a Lord of the Treasury, who negotiate and formulate the rest of Treasury business. These junior ministerial positions are, in descending order of rank: