Secretary of State for Transport | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Secretary of State for Transport | Vacant |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Transport | Vacant |
| Department | Department for Transport |
| Reports to | The Prime Minister |
| Member of | Cabinet |
| Appointed by | The Sovereign, on the advice of the Prime Minister |
| Seat | Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 4DR |
| Shadowed by | Shadow Secretary of State for Transport |
The Secretary of State for Transport is the minister in charge of the Department for Transport, responsible for roads, railways, buses, aviation and shipping. The office holder is a member of the Cabinet and is appointed by The Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister.
History
The Transport Secretary decides which roads and railways are built, sets rules for drivers, airlines and ships, and funds the country's transport network. The big decisions of the post, such as new rail lines or airport runways, often take decades to complete.
Role
The Secretary of State for Transport leads the Department for Transport. 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 Secretary of State for Transport 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 Secretary of State for Transport, chosen by the Leader of the Opposition. The shadow minister questions the Secretary of State for Transport 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.