The secretary of state for Wales (), 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.
Creation
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.
History
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. Those calling for a Secretary of State for the Union include Robert Hazell, in a department into which Rodney Brazier has suggested adding a Minister of State for England with responsibility for English local government.
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]". 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.
Ministers and secretaries of state
Colour key<br/>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan=10 |
Ministers of Welsh Affairs (1951–1964)
|- style="height:1em"
! colspan=3 | Secretary of State
! colspan=2 | Term of office
! Political party
!Cabinet
! colspan=2 | Prime Minister
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 60px
| width=200 | David Maxwell Fyfe<br/><br/>
| 28 October 1951
| 18 October 1954
| Conservative
| rowspan="2" | Churchill III
| rowspan=2 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=2 | Winston Churchill
|- style="height:1em"
! rowspan=2 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=2 | 60px
| rowspan=2 | Gwilym Lloyd George<br/><br/>
| rowspan=2 | 18 October 1954
| rowspan=2 | 13 January 1957
| rowspan=2 | Liberal & Conservative
|-
| Eden
| style="background-color:" |
| Anthony Eden
|- style="height:1em"
! rowspan=2 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=2 | 81x81px
| rowspan=2 | Henry Brooke<br/><br/>
| rowspan=2 | 13 January 1957
| rowspan=2 | 9 October 1961
| rowspan=2 | Conservative
| Macmillan I
| rowspan=4 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=4 |Harold Macmillan
|-
| rowspan="3" | Macmillan II
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 60px
| Charles Hill<br/><br/>
| 9 October 1961
| 13 July 1962
| National Liberal & Conservative
|- style="height:1em"
! rowspan=2 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=2 | 80x80px
| rowspan=2 |Keith Joseph<br/><br/>
| rowspan=2 |13 July 1962
| rowspan=2 |16 October 1964
| rowspan=2 |Conservative
|-
| Douglas-Home
| style="background-color:" |
| Alec Douglas-Home
|-
! colspan=10 |
Secretaries of State for Wales (1964–present)
|- style="height:1em"
! colspan=3 | Secretary of State
! colspan=2 |Term of office
! Political party
!Cabinet
! colspan=2 |Prime Minister
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 60px
| Jim Griffiths<br/>
| 18 October 1964
| 5 April 1966
| Labour
| Wilson I
| rowspan=3 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=3 |Harold Wilson
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 60px
| Cledwyn Hughes<br/>
| 5 April 1966
| 5 April 1968
| Labour
| rowspan="2" | Wilson II
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 60px
| George Thomas<br/>
| 5 April 1968
| 20 June 1970
| Labour
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 79x79px
| Peter Thomas<br/>
| 20 June 1970
| 5 March 1974
| Conservative
| Heath
| style="background-color:" |
| Edward Heath
|- style="height:1em"
! rowspan=2 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=2 |60px
| rowspan=2 |John Morris<br/>
| rowspan=2 |5 March 1974
| rowspan=2 |4 May 1979
| rowspan=2 |Labour
| Wilson III
| style="background-color:" |
| Harold Wilson
|-
| Callaghan
| style="background-color:" |
| James Callaghan
|- style="height:1em"
! rowspan=2 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=2 | 60px
| rowspan=2 | Nicholas Edwards<br/>
| rowspan=2 | 4 May 1979
| rowspan=2 | 13 June 1987
| rowspan=3 | Conservative
| Thatcher I
| rowspan=4 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=4 |Margaret Thatcher
|-
| Thatcher II
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 79x79px
| Peter Walker<br/>
| 13 June 1987
| 4 May 1990
| rowspan="2" | Thatcher III
|- style="height:1em"
! rowspan=3 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=3 | 60px
| rowspan=3 | David Hunt<br/>
| rowspan=3 | 4 May 1990
| rowspan=3 | 27 May 1993
| rowspan=3 | Conservative
|-
| Major I
| rowspan=5 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=5 |John Major
|-
| rowspan="4" | Major II
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 78x78px
| John Redwood<br/>
| 27 May 1993
| 26 June 1995
| Conservative
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 60px
| David Hunt<br/><br/>
| 26 June 1995
| 5 July 1995
| Conservative
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 80x80px
| William Hague<br/>
| 5 July 1995
| 2 May 1997
| Conservative
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 60px
| Ron Davies<br/>
| 2 May 1997
| 27 October 1998
| Labour
| rowspan="3" | Blair I
| rowspan=6 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=6 |Tony Blair
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 60px
| Alun Michael<br/>
| 27 October 1998
| 28 July 1999
| Labour
|- style="height:1em"
! rowspan=2 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=2 | 80x80px
| rowspan=2 | Paul Murphy<br/>
| rowspan=2 | 28 July 1999
| rowspan=2 | 24 October 2002
| rowspan=2 | Labour
|-
| rowspan="2" | Blair II
|- style="height:1em"
! rowspan=3 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=3 |80x80px
| rowspan=3 |Peter Hain<br/><br/>
| rowspan=3 |24 October 2002
| rowspan=3 |24 January 2008
| rowspan=3 |Labour
|-
| Blair III
|-
| rowspan="3" | Brown
| rowspan=3 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=3 |Gordon Brown
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 79x79px
| Paul Murphy<br/>
| 24 January 2008
| 5 June 2009
| Labour
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 79x79px
| Peter Hain<br/>
| 5 June 2009
| 11 May 2010
| Labour
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 75x75px
| Cheryl Gillan<br/>
| 11 May 2010
| 4 September 2012
| Conservative
| rowspan="3" | Coalition
| rowspan=5 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=5 | David Cameron
|- style="height:1em"
! style="background-color:" |
| 90x90px
| David Jones<br/>
| 4 September 2012
| 14 July 2014
| Conservative
|- style="height:1em"
! rowspan=2 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=2 | 80x80px
| rowspan=2 | Stephen Crabb<br/>
| rowspan=2 | 15 July 2014
| rowspan=2 | 19 March 2016
| rowspan=2 | Conservative
|-
| rowspan="2" | Cameron II
|- style="height:1em"
! rowspan=4 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=4 |75x75px
| rowspan=4 |Alun Cairns<br/>
| rowspan=4 |19 March 2016
| rowspan=4 |6 November 2019
| rowspan=4 |Conservative
|-
| May I
| rowspan=2 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=2 | Theresa May
|-
| May II
|-
| rowspan="2" | Johnson I
| rowspan=4 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=4 |Boris Johnson
|- style="height:1em"
| rowspan=2 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=2 | 79x79px
| rowspan=2 | Simon Hart<br/>
| rowspan=2 | 16 December 2019
| rowspan=2 | 6 July 2022
| rowspan=2 | Conservative
|-
| rowspan="2" | Johnson II
|- style="height:1em"
| rowspan=2 style="background-color:" |
| rowspan=2 | 79x79px
| rowspan=2 | Robert Buckland<br/>
| rowspan=2 | 7 July 2022
| rowspan=2 | 25 October 2022
| rowspan=2 | Conservative
|-
| Truss
| style="background-color:" |
| Liz Truss
|- style="height:1em"
| style="background-color:" |
| 80x80px
| David TC Davies<br/>
| 25 October 2022
| 5 July 2024
| Conservative
| Sunak
| style="background-color:" |
| Rishi Sunak
|- style="height:1em"
| style="background-color:" |
| 79x79px
| Jo Stevens<br/>
| 5 July 2024
| Incumbent
| Labour
| Starmer
| style="background-color:" |
| Keir Starmer
|}
Timeline
Note
See also
- First Minister for Wales
- Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
- Secretary of State for Scotland
References
External links
- 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