Home Secretary

This article is about the ministerial office in the United Kingdom. For other uses, see Home Secretary (disambiguation).

The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office.^[3] The position is a Great Office of State, making the home secretary one of the most senior and influential ministers in the government. The incumbent is a statutory member of the British Cabinet and National Security Council.

United Kingdom Secretary of State for the Home Department
Royal Arms as used by the Home Office
Incumbent Yvette Cooper since 5 July 2024
Home Office
Style	Home Secretary (informal) The Right Honourable (within the UK and Commonwealth)
Type	Minister of the Crown
Status	Secretary of State Great Office of State
Member of	Cabinet Privy Council National Security Council
Reports to	The Prime Minister
Seat	Westminster
Nominator	The Prime Minister
Appointer	The Monarch (on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation	27 March 1782
First holder	Earl of Shelburne
Salary	£159,038 per annum (2022)[1] (including £86,584 MP salary)[2]
Website	Home Secretary

The position, which may be known as interior minister in other nations, was created in 1782,^[4] though its responsibilities have changed many times.^[5] Past office holders have included the prime ministers Lord North, Robert Peel, the Duke of Wellington, Lord Palmerston, Winston Churchill, James Callaghan and Theresa May. The longest-serving home secretary is Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, who held the post continuously for 9 years, 221 days.^[6] The shortest-serving home secretary is Grant Shapps, who served in the position for the final six days of the premiership of Liz Truss. In 2007, Jacqui Smith became the first female home secretary.^[7] The incumbent home secretary is Yvette Cooper.

The office holder works alongside the other Home Office ministers and the permanent under-secretary of state of the Home Office. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow home secretary, and the performance of the home secretary is also scrutinized by the Home Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons^[8] and the Justice and Home Affairs Committee in the House of Lords.^[9]

Historically, the role has been regarded as a political dead end for aspiring politicians, due to the numerous potential issues and controversies it tends to involve.^[10][11][12]

Responsibilities

Main article: Powers of the home secretary

Corresponding to what is generally known as an interior minister in many other countries, the home secretary's remit includes:

• Oversight of Home Officer ministers

• Law enforcement in England and Wales and UK wide elements of policing, that are not devolved.^[a]
• Matters of national security and counter-terrorism
• Matters of immigration and border security
• Oversight of the Security Service (MI5).^[3]

Formerly, the home secretary was the minister responsible for prisons and probation in England and Wales; however in 2007 those responsibilities were transferred to the Ministry of Justice under the lord chancellor.

History

The title Secretary of State in the government of England dates back to the early 17th century.^[13] The position of Secretary of State for the Home Department was created in the British governmental reorganisation of 1782, in which the responsibilities of the Northern and Southern Departments were reformed into the Foreign Office and Home Office.^[13]

In 2007, the new Ministry of Justice took on the criminal justice functions of the Home Office and its agencies.^[14]

List of home secretaries

Secretary of State for the Home Department[3] Including constituencies for elected MPs.			Term of office		Party	Ministry	Monarch (Reign)
		William Petty 2nd Earl of Shelburne[15]	27 March 1782	10 July 1782	Whig	Rockingham II	George III (1760–1820) [note 1]
		Thomas Townsend[15] MP for Whitchurch	10 July 1782	2 April 1783	Whig	Shelburne (Whig–Tory)
		Frederick North Lord North[15] MP for Banbury	2 April 1783	19 December 1783	Tory	Fox–North
		George Nugent-Temple-Grenville 3rd Earl Temple[16]	19 December 1783	23 December 1783	Tory	Pitt I
		Thomas Townsend 1st Baron Sydney[15]	23 December 1783	5 June 1789	Whig
		William Grenville 1st Baron Grenville[15] MP for Buckinghamshire[note 2] (1759–1834)	5 June 1789	8 June 1791	Tory
		Henry Dundas[15] MP for Edinburgh	8 June 1791	11 July 1794	Tory
		William Cavendish-Bentinck 3rd Duke of Portland[15]	11 July 1794	30 July 1801	Tory
						Addington
		Thomas Pelham 4th Baron Pelham of Stanmer[15]	30 July 1801	17 August 1803	Whig
		Charles Philip Yorke[15] MP for Cambridgeshire	17 August 1803	12 May 1804	Tory
		Robert Jenkinson 2nd Baron Hawkesbury[15]	12 May 1804	5 February 1806	Tory	Pitt II
		George Spencer 2nd Earl Spencer[15]	5 February 1806	25 March 1807	Whig	All the Talents (Whig–Tory)
		Robert Jenkinson 2nd Earl of Liverpool[15]	25 March 1807	1 November 1809	Tory	Portland II
		Richard Ryder[15] MP for Tiverton	1 November 1809	8 June 1812	Tory	Perceval
		Henry Addington 1st Viscount Sidmouth[15]	11 June 1812	17 January 1822	Tory	Liverpool
							George IV (1820–1830)
		Robert Peel[15] MP for Oxford University	17 January 1822	10 April 1827	Tory
		William Sturges Bourne[15] MP for Ashburton	30 April 1827	16 July 1827	Tory	Canning (Canningite–Whig)
​		Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne[15]	16 July 1827	22 January 1828	Whig
						Goderich
		Robert Peel[15] MP for 3 constituencies respectively (1788–1850)	26 January 1828	22 November 1830	Tory	Wellington–Peel
							William IV (1830–1837)
		William Lamb 2nd Viscount Melbourne[15]	22 November 1830	16 July 1834	Whig	Grey
		John Ponsonby 1st Baron Duncannon[15]	19 July 1834	15 November 1834	Whig	Melbourne I
		Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington[15]	15 November 1834	15 December 1834	Tory	Wellington Caretaker
		Henry Goulburn[15] MP for Cambridge University	15 December 1834	18 April 1835	Conservative	Peel I
		Lord John Russell[16] MP for Stroud	18 April 1835	30 August 1839	Whig	Melbourne II
							Victoria (1837–1901)
		Constantine Phipps 1st Marquess of Normanby[16]	30 August 1839	30 August 1841	Whig
		James Graham[16] MP for Dorchester	6 September 1841	30 June 1846	Conservative	Peel II
		George Grey[16] MP for Devonport → North Northumberland[note 3] (1799–1882)	8 July 1846	23 February 1852	Whig	Russell I
		Spencer Horatio Walpole[16] MP for Midhurst	27 February 1852	19 December 1852	Conservative	Who? Who?
		Henry John Temple 3rd Viscount Palmerston[16] MP for Tiverton	28 December 1852	6 February 1855	Whig	Aberdeen (Peelite–Whig)
		George Grey[16] MP for Morpeth	8 February 1855	26 February 1858	Whig	Palmerston I
		Spencer Horatio Walpole[16] MP for Cambridge University	26 February 1858	3 March 1859	Conservative	Derby–Disraeli II
		Thomas Henry Sutton Sotheron-Estcourt[16] MP for North Wiltshire	3 March 1859	18 June 1859	Conservative
		George Cornewall Lewis[16] MP for Radnor	18 June 1859	25 July 1861	Liberal	Palmerston II
​		George Grey[16] MP for Morpeth	25 July 1861	28 June 1866	Liberal
						Russell II
		Spencer Horatio Walpole[16] MP for Cambridge University	6 July 1866	17 May 1867	Conservative	Derby–Disraeli III
		Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy[16] MP for Oxford University	17 May 1867	3 December 1868	Conservative
		Henry Bruce[16] MP for Merthyr Tydfil → Renfrewshire[note 4] (1815–1895)	9 December 1868	9 August 1873	Liberal	Gladstone I
		Robert Lowe[16] MP for London University	9 August 1873	20 February 1874	Liberal
		R. A. Cross[16] MP for South West Lancashire	21 February 1874	23 April 1880	Conservative	Disraeli II
		William Harcourt[16] MP for Derby	28 April 1880	23 June 1885	Liberal	Gladstone II
		R. A. Cross[16] MP for Newton	24 June 1885	1 February 1886	Conservative	Salisbury I
		Hugh Childers[16] MP for Edinburgh South	6 February 1886	25 July 1886	Liberal	Gladstone III
		Henry Matthews[16] MP for Birmingham East	3 August 1886	15 August 1892	Conservative	Salisbury II
		H. H. Asquith[16] MP for East Fife	18 August 1892	25 June 1895	Liberal	Gladstone IV
						Rosebery
		Matthew White Ridley[16] MP for Blackpool	29 June 1895	12 November 1900	Conservative	Salisbury (III & IV) (Con.–Lib.U.)
		Charles Ritchie[16] MP for Croydon	12 November 1900	11 August 1902	Conservative
							Edward VII (1901–1910)
						Balfour
		Aretas Akers-Douglas[16] MP for St Augustine's	11 August 1902	5 December 1905	Conservative
		Herbert Gladstone[16] MP for Leeds West	11 December 1905	19 February 1910	Liberal	Campbell-Bannerman
​						Asquith (I–III)
		Winston Churchill[16] MP for Dundee	19 February 1910	24 October 1911	Liberal
							George V (1910–1936)
		Reginald McKenna[16] MP for North Monmouthshire	24 October 1911	27 May 1915	Liberal
		John Simon[16] MP for Walthamstow	27 May 1915	12 January 1916	Liberal	Asquith Coalition (Lib.–Con.–et al.)
		Herbert Samuel[16] MP for Cleveland	12 January 1916	7 December 1916	Liberal
		George Cave 1st Viscount Cave[16] MP for Kingston[note 5] (1856–1928)	11 December 1916	14 January 1919	Conservative	Lloyd George (I & II)
		Edward Shortt[16] MP for Newcastle upon Tyne West	14 January 1919	23 October 1922	Liberal
		William Bridgeman[16] MP for Oswestry	25 October 1922	22 January 1924	Conservative	Law
						Baldwin I
		Arthur Henderson[16] MP for Burnley[note 6] (1863–1935)	23 January 1924	4 November 1924	Labour	MacDonald I
		William Joynson-Hicks[16] MP for Twickenham	7 November 1924	5 June 1929	Conservative	Baldwin II
		John Robert Clynes[16] MP for Manchester Platting	8 June 1929	26 August 1931	Labour	MacDonald II
		Herbert Samuel[16] MP for Darwen	26 August 1931	1 October 1932	Liberal	National I (N.Lab.–Con.–et al.)
​						National II
		John Gilmour[16] MP for Glasgow Pollok	1 October 1932	7 June 1935	Unionist
​		John Simon[16] MP for Spen Valley	7 June 1935	28 May 1937	Liberal National	National III (Con.–N.Lab.–et al.)
							Edward VIII (1936)
​							George VI (1936–1952)
		Samuel Hoare[16] MP for Chelsea	28 May 1937	3 September 1939	Conservative	National IV
​		John Anderson[16] MP for Combined Scottish Universities	4 September 1939	4 October 1940	Independent (National)	Chamberlain War
​						Churchill War (All parties)
		Herbert Morrison[16] MP for Hackney South	4 October 1940	23 May 1945	Labour
		Donald Somervell[16] MP for Crewe	25 May 1945	26 July 1945	Conservative	Churchill Caretaker (Con.–Lib.N.)
		James Chuter Ede[16] MP for South Shields	3 August 1945	26 October 1951	Labour	Attlee (I & II)
		David Maxwell Fyfe[16] MP for Liverpool West Derby	27 October 1951	19 October 1954	Conservative	Churchill III
							Elizabeth II (1952–2022)
​		Gwilym Lloyd George[16] MP for Newcastle upon Tyne North	19 October 1954	14 January 1957	National Liberal & Conservative
						Eden
		Rab Butler[16] MP for Saffron Walden	14 January 1957	13 July 1962	Conservative	Macmillan (I & II)
​		Henry Brooke[16] MP for Hampstead	14 July 1962	16 October 1964	Conservative
						Douglas-Home
		Frank Soskice[16] MP for Newport	18 October 1964	23 December 1965	Labour	Wilson (I & II)
		Roy Jenkins[16] MP for Birmingham Stechford	23 December 1965	30 November 1967	Labour
		James Callaghan[16] MP for Cardiff South East	30 November 1967	19 June 1970	Labour
		Reginald Maudling[16] MP for Barnet	20 June 1970	18 July 1972	Conservative	Heath
		Robert Carr[16] MP for Carshalton	18 July 1972	4 March 1974	Conservative
		Roy Jenkins[16] MP for Birmingham Stechford	5 March 1974	10 September 1976	Labour	Wilson (III & IV)
​						Callaghan
		Merlyn Rees[16] MP for Leeds South	10 September 1976	4 May 1979	Labour
		William Whitelaw[16] MP for Penrith and The Border	4 May 1979	11 June 1983	Conservative	Thatcher I
		Leon Brittan[16] MP for Richmond (Yorks)	11 June 1983	2 September 1985	Conservative	Thatcher II
		Douglas Hurd[16] MP for Witney	2 September 1985	26 October 1989	Conservative
						Thatcher III
		David Waddington[16] MP for Ribble Valley	26 October 1989	28 November 1990	Conservative
		Kenneth Baker[16] MP for Mole Valley	28 November 1990	10 April 1992	Conservative	Major I
		Kenneth Clarke[16] MP for Rushcliffe	10 April 1992	27 May 1993	Conservative	Major II
		Michael Howard[16] MP for Folkestone and Hythe	27 May 1993	2 May 1997	Conservative
		Jack Straw[16] MP for Blackburn	2 May 1997	8 June 2001	Labour	Blair I
		David Blunkett[16] MP for Sheffield Brightside	8 June 2001	15 December 2004	Labour	Blair II
		Charles Clarke[16] MP for Norwich South	15 December 2004	5 May 2006	Labour
						Blair III
		John Reid[17] MP for Airdrie and Shotts	5 May 2006	27 June 2007	Labour
		Jacqui Smith[18] MP for Redditch	28 June 2007	5 June 2009	Labour	Brown
		Alan Johnson[19] MP for Hull West and Hessle	5 June 2009	11 May 2010	Labour
		Theresa May[20] MP for Maidenhead Tenure	12 May 2010	13 July 2016	Conservative	Cameron–Clegg (Con.–L.D.)
						Cameron II
		Amber Rudd[21] MP for Hastings and Rye	13 July 2016	29 April 2018	Conservative	May I
​						May II
		Sajid Javid[22] MP for Bromsgrove	30 April 2018	24 July 2019	Conservative
		Priti Patel[23] MP for Witham	24 July 2019	6 September 2022	Conservative	Johnson I
						Johnson II
		Suella Braverman[24] MP for Fareham	6 September 2022	19 October 2022	Conservative	Truss
							Charles III (2022–present)
		Grant Shapps[25] MP for Welwyn Hatfield	19 October 2022	25 October 2022	Conservative
		Suella Braverman[26] MP for Fareham	25 October 2022	13 November 2023	Conservative	Sunak
		James Cleverly[26] MP for Braintree	13 November 2023	5 July 2024	Conservative
		Yvette Cooper[27] MP for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley	5 July 2024	Incumbent	Labour	Starmer

Timeline

See also

• British government departments
• Cabinet (government)
• Great Offices of State
• Interior minister
• List of British governments
• List of current interior ministers
• List of permanent under secretaries of state of the Home Office
• Ministry of Justice
• Shadow Home Secretary
• Home Office under Theresa May
• Under Secretary of State for the Home Department

Notes

1. The Prince of Wales served as prince regent from 5 February 1811.
2. Elevated to the Peerage of Great Britain in 1790.
3. Elected to a new constituency in the 1847 general election.
4. Lost seat in the 1868 general election and elected to a new constituency in the Renfrewshire by-election.
5. Ennobled on the day of the 1918 election, which he did not contest.
6. Elected on 28 February 1924 in the Burnley by-election.