Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox Political post Template:Politics of Wales
The secretary of state for Wales (Template:Langx), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
The officeholder works alongside the other Wales Office ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for Wales. The position is currently held by Jo Stevens having been appointed by Keir Starmer in July 2024.
CreationEdit
In the first half of the 20th century, a number of politicians had supported the creation of the post of Secretary of State for Wales as a step towards home rule for Wales. A post of Minister of Welsh Affairs was created in 1951 under the home secretary and was upgraded to minister of state level in 1954.
The Labour Party proposed the creation of a Welsh Office run by a Secretary of State for Wales in their manifesto for the 1959 general election. When they came to power in 1964 this was soon put into effect.
The post of Secretary of State for Wales came into existence on 17 October 1964; the first incumbent was Jim Griffiths, MP for Llanelli. The position entailed responsibility for Wales, and expenditure on certain public services was delegated from Westminster. In April 1965 administration of Welsh affairs, which had previously been divided between a number of government departments, was united in a newly created Welsh Office with the secretary of state for Wales at its head, and the Welsh secretary became responsible for education and training, health, trade and industry, environment, transport and agriculture within Wales.
HistoryEdit
During the 1980s and 1990s, as the number of Conservative MPs for Welsh constituencies dwindled almost to zero, the office fell into disrepute. Nicholas Edwards, MP for Pembrokeshire, held the post for eight years. On his departure, the government ceased to look within Wales for the secretary of state, and the post was increasingly used as a way of getting junior high-fliers into the Cabinet. John Redwood in particular caused embarrassment when he publicly demonstrated his inability to sing "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau", the Welsh national anthem, at a conference.
The introduction of the National Assembly for Wales and the Welsh Government, after the devolution referendum of 1997, was the beginning of a new era. On 1 July 1999 the majority of the functions of the Welsh Office transferred to the new assembly. The Welsh Office was disbanded, but the post of Secretary of State for Wales was retained, as the head of the newly created Wales Office.
Since 1999 there have been calls for the office of Welsh secretary to be scrapped or merged with the posts of Secretary of State for Scotland and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, to reflect the lesser powers of the role since devolution.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Those calling for a Secretary of State for the Union include Robert Hazell,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> in a department into which Rodney Brazier has suggested adding a Minister of State for England with responsibility for English local government.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In June 2024, Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, called for the position's abolishment describing it as "outdated", that it "entrench[es]" a power imbalance, and its powers should be devolved. The party's representatives accused the shadow Labour holder, Jo Stevens, of having a "contemptuous attitude towards devolution" based on Stevens' comments relating to High Speed 2 and justice and policing. The Conservative incumbent David TC Davies expressed his surprise, stating that the "so-called 'party of Wales' is now wanting to silence Wales' voice [in the cabinet]".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In Plaid Cymru's motion on 26 June, calling for the post's abolishment, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, Andrew RT Davies, supported the motion after being confused it was a Tory amendment being voted on.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Ministers and secretaries of stateEdit
Colour key
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TimelineEdit
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id:conservative value:rgb(0,0.53,0.86) legend: Conservative_and_Unionist_Party id:natliberal value:rgb(0,0.83,0.90) legend: National_Liberal_Party id:labour value:rgb(0.86,0.08,0.18) legend: Labour_Party id:libdem value:rgb(0.98,0.651,0.102) legend: Liberal_Democrats id:independent value:rgb(0.6,0.6,0.6) legend: Independent_or_no_party id:liteline value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:line value:rgb(0.8,0.8,0.8)
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bar:Fyfe bar:Lloyd_George bar:Brooke bar:Hill bar:Joseph bar:Griffiths bar:Hughes bar:GThomas bar:PThomas bar:Morris bar:Edwards bar:Walker bar:Hunt bar:Redwood bar:Hague bar:Davis bar:Michael bar:Murphy bar:Hain bar:Gillan bar:Jones bar:Crabb bar:Cairns bar:Hart bar:Buckland bar:Davies bar:Stevens
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bar:Fyfe from: 28/10/1951 till: 18/10/1954 color:Conservative text:"David Maxwell Fyfe" bar:Lloyd_George from: 18/10/1954 till: 13/01/1957 color:NatLiberal text:"Gwilym Lloyd George" bar:Brooke from: 13/01/1957 till: 09/10/1961 color:Conservative text:"Henry Brooke" bar:Hill from: 09/10/1961 till: 13/07/1962 color:NatLiberal text:"Charles Hill" bar:Joseph from: 13/07/1962 till: 16/10/1964 color:Conservative text:"Keith Joseph" bar:Griffiths from: 18/10/1964 till: 05/04/1966 color:Labour text:"Jim Griffiths" bar:Hughes from: 05/04/1966 till: 05/04/1968 color:Labour text:"Cledwyn Hughes" bar:GThomas from: 05/04/1968 till: 20/06/1970 color:Labour text:"George Thomas" bar:PThomas from: 20/06/1970 till: 05/03/1974 color:Conservative text:"Peter Thomas" bar:Morris from: 05/03/1974 till: 04/05/1979 color:Labour text:"John Morris" bar:Edwards from: 04/05/1979 till: 13/06/1987 color:Conservative text:"Nicholas Edwards" bar:Walker from: 13/06/1987 till: 04/05/1990 color:Conservative text:"Peter Walker" bar:Hunt from: 04/05/1990 till: 27/05/1993 color:Conservative from: 26/06/1995 till: 05/07/1995 color:Conservative text:"David Hunt" bar:Redwood from: 27/05/1993 till: 26/06/1995 color:Conservative text:"John Redwood" bar:Hague from: 05/07/1995 till: 02/05/1997 color:Conservative text:"William Hague" bar:Davis from: 02/05/1997 till: 27/10/1998 color:Labour text:"Ron Davies" bar:Michael from: 27/10/1998 till: 28/07/1999 color:Labour text:"Alun Michael" bar:Murphy from: 28/07/1999 till: 24/10/2002 color:Labour from: 24/01/2008 till: 05/06/2009 color:Labour text:"Paul Murphy" bar:Hain from: 24/10/2002 till: 24/01/2008 color:Labour from: 05/06/2009 till: 11/05/2010 color:Labour text:"Peter Hain" bar:Gillan from: 11/10/2010 till: 04/09/2012 color:Conservative text:"Cheryl Gillan" bar:Jones from: 04/09/2012 till: 14/07/2014 color:Conservative text:"David Jones" bar:Crabb from: 15/07/2014 till: 19/03/2016 color:Conservative text:"Stephen Crabb" bar:Cairns from: 19/03/2016 till: 06/11/2019 color:Conservative text:"Alun Cairns" bar:Hart from: 16/12/2019 till: 06/07/2022 color:Conservative text:"Simon Hart" bar:Buckland from: 07/07/2022 till: 25/10/2022 color:Conservative text:"Robert Buckland" bar:Davies from: 25/10/2022 till: 05/07/2024 color:Conservative text:"David TC Davies" bar:Stevens from: 05/07/2024 till: $today color:Labour text:"Jo Stevens"
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NoteEdit
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
- Labour Party in Wales – covers the history of the post
- Hain promoted in Brown's cabinet, BBC News Online, 28 June 2007
- Hain takes work and pensions job, BBC News Online, 28 June 2007
Template:Secretaries of State for Wales Template:Wales Office Template:Cabinet positions in the United KingdomTemplate:Welsh devolution