Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Vacant |
| Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Vacant |
| Department | Cabinet Office |
| Reports to | The Prime Minister |
| Member of | Cabinet |
| Appointed by | The Sovereign, on the advice of the Prime Minister |
| Seat | 70 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2AS |
| Shadowed by | Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster |
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a senior minister in the Cabinet Office who leads on the work of government as a whole, such as the civil service, constitutional affairs and coordinating policy between departments. The office holder is a member of the Cabinet and is appointed by The Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister.
History
The office is one of the oldest in government. It began as the minister who ran the Duchy of Lancaster, the Sovereign's private estate, and because that work is light the post has long been given to a trusted senior minister with no department of their own, who can be sent wherever the Prime Minister needs a problem solved. Holders often chair Cabinet committees and lead on the government's most difficult cross-cutting projects.
Role
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster leads the Cabinet Office. They decide the department's policy within the government's programme, defend its budget, answer questions about it in the House of Commons, and bring forward the bills it needs through Parliament. Like every Cabinet minister, they are bound by collective responsibility: once the Cabinet has decided something, all its members must support it in public or resign.
On the UKOGB website the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is the head of the department. They can edit its page, choose who works there and post its announcements, and they get the Cabinet and HM Government roles in the Discord server.
Opposition counterpart
The Shadow Cabinet includes a Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, chosen by the Leader of the Opposition. The shadow minister questions the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Commons, responds to the department's announcements and sets out what the Opposition would do instead.
See also
This page was last edited on 3 November 2026.