Editing Chancellor of the Exchequer (section)

{{Short description|Lead minister of His Majesty's Treasury}}
{{About||the historic position in Ireland|Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland|the 1983 simulation game|Chancellor of the Exchequer (video game)}}
{{Distinguish|Lord Chancellor|Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster|Chancellor of the High Court|Chief Baron of the Exchequer}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox official post
| post = {{small|[[United Kingdom]]}}<br> Chancellor of the Exchequer<br> Second Lord of the Treasury
| insignia = Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (2022, lesser arms).svg
| insigniasize = 
| insigniacaption = [[Royal Arms]] of [[His Majesty's Government]]
| insigniaalt = 
| flag = 
| flagsize = 
| flagalt = 
| flagborder = 
| flagcaption = 
| image = File:Rachel Reeves Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped 2).jpg
| imagesize = 
| alt = 
| imagecaption = 
| incumbent = [[Rachel Reeves]]
| incumbentsince = 5 July 2024
| department = [[His Majesty's Treasury]]
| style = '''The Chancellor'''<br />{{small|(informal)}}<br />[[The Right Honourable]]<br />{{small|(within the UK and Commonwealth)}}
| type = [[Minister of the Crown]]
| status = [[Great Office of State]]
| member_of = {{ubl|[[Cabinet of the United Kingdom|Cabinet]]|[[Privy Council of the United Kingdom|Privy Council]]|[[National Security Council (UK)|National Security Council]]}}
| reports_to = [[First Lord of the Treasury]]<br>{{small|([[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]])}}
| seat = [[Westminster]]
| residence = [[11 Downing Street]]
| nominator = The Prime Minister
| appointer = [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|The Monarch]]
| appointer_qualified = {{small|(on the advice of the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]])}}
| termlength = [[At His Majesty's pleasure]]
| salary = £163,891 per annum {{small|(2024)}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Salaries of Members of His Majesty's Government – Financial Year 2022–23 |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1124173/2022-12-07-Ministerial-Salaries-22-23-table.pdf |date=15 December 2022}}</ref><br />(including £91,346 [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]] salary)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pay and expenses for MPs |url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/members/pay-mps/ |access-date=15 July 2024 |website=parliament.uk}}</ref>
| formation = c. 1221
| first = [[Eustace of Fauconberg]]<br />(in the [[Kingdom of England]] only)
| deputy = [[Chief Secretary to the Treasury]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/chancellor-of-the-exchequer|Official website}}
}}

The '''chancellor of the exchequer''', often abbreviated to '''chancellor''',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/07/13/who-is-philip-hammond-britains-new-chancellor-and-what-are-like/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/07/13/who-is-philip-hammond-britains-new-chancellor-and-what-are-like/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Who is Philip Hammond, Britain's new Chancellor, and what are likely to be his first steps?|first=Ben|last=Martin|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=13 July 2016|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}{{cbignore}}</ref> is a senior [[minister of the Crown]] within the [[Government of the United Kingdom]], and the head of [[HM Treasury|His Majesty's Treasury]]. As one of the four [[Great Offices of State]], the chancellor is a high-ranking member of the [[British Cabinet]].

Responsible for all economic and financial matters, the role is equivalent to that of a [[finance minister]] in other countries. The chancellor is now always '''second lord of the Treasury''' as one of at least six [[Lords Commissioners of the Treasury|lords commissioners of the Treasury]], responsible for executing the office of the [[Treasurer of the Exchequer]]{{snd}} the others are the prime minister and Commons government whips. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, it was common for the prime minister also to serve as Chancellor of the Exchequer if he sat in the Commons; the last Chancellor who was simultaneously prime minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer was [[Stanley Baldwin]] in 1923. Formerly, in cases when the chancellorship was vacant, the [[Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench|lord chief justice of the King's Bench]] would act as chancellor ''pro tempore''.<ref>[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015031909974&seq=196 Joseph Haydn, Horace Ockerby (ed.): ''The Book of Dignities'', 3rd edition, Part III (Political and Official), p. 164. W.H. Allen & Co., London 1894, reprinted by Firecrest Publishing Ltd, Pancakes, 1969.]</ref> The last lord chief justice to serve in this way was [[Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman|Lord Denman]] in 1834.

The chancellor is the third-oldest major state office in [[History of England|English]] and [[History of the United Kingdom|British]] history, and in recent times has come to be the most powerful office in British politics after the prime minister. It originally carried responsibility for the [[Exchequer]], the medieval English institution for the collection and auditing of royal revenues. The earliest surviving [[Pipe Rolls|records]] which are the results of the exchequer's audit date from 1129 to 1130 under King [[Henry I of England|Henry I]] and show continuity from previous years.<ref name="Chrimes62">Chrimes, ''Administrative History'', pp. 62–63.</ref> The chancellor has oversight of [[fiscal policy]], therefore of [[taxation in the United Kingdom|taxation]] and [[public spending]] across [[Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom|government departments]]. It previously controlled [[monetary policy]] as well until 1997, when the [[Bank of England]] was granted independent control of its interest rates.

Since 1718, all chancellors of the exchequer, except at times the [[lord chief justice]] as interim holders, have been [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|members of the House of Commons]], with [[James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope|Lord Stanhope]] being the last chancellor from the [[House of Lords]].

The office holder works alongside the other [[HM Treasury#Ministers|Treasury ministers]] and the [[Permanent Secretary to the Treasury|permanent secretary to the Treasury]]. The corresponding [[shadow minister]] is the [[shadow chancellor of the Exchequer]], and the chancellor is also scrutinised by the [[Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson]] and the [[Treasury Select Committee]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.itv.com/news/update/2012-03-27/george-osborne-gives-evidence-on-budget-to-the-treasury-select-committee/ |title=George Osborne gives evidence on Budget to the Treasury Select Committee |work=ITV.COM |access-date=25 April 2022 |quote=Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne gives evidence to the Treasury Select Committee.}}</ref>

The current chancellor is [[Rachel Reeves]].