Secretary of State for Scotland
Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba
Scots: Secretar o State fir Scotland
Scottish Secretary
(informal)
The Right Honourable
(within the UK and Commonwealth)
Type
Status
Member of
Reports to
Nominator
The Prime Minister
Appointer
The Monarch
(on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Formation
Deputy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland
Salary
£159,038 per annum (2022)[1]
(including £86,584 MP salary)[2]
Website
This article is part of a series within the
Politics of the United Kingdom on the
The Rt Hon Lord Carloway KC PC
United Kingdom Parliament elections
The secretary of state for Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; Scots: Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The Secretary of State for Scotland is serves as the custodian of the Scottish devolution settlement as outlined in the Scotland Act 1998, and represent Scottish interests within the UK Government as well as advocate for UK Government policies in Scotland. The Secretary of State for Scotland is additionally responsible for partnership between the UK Government and the Scottish Government, as well as relations between the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Scottish Parliament.[3]
Much of the secretary of state for Scotland's responsibility transferred to the office of the first minister of Scotland upon the establishment of a new Scottish Executive, since renamed the Scottish Government, and a new devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999 following the Scotland Act 1998. [4]
The office holder works alongside the other Scotland Office ministers. The secretary of state for Scotland is supported by their deputy, the parliamentary under-secretary of state for Scotland. The incumbent is Ian Murray, following his appointment by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in July 2024. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for Scotland.
The post was first created after the Acts of Union 1707 created the Kingdom of Great Britain from the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. It was abolished in 1746, following the Jacobite rising of 1745. Scottish affairs thereafter were managed by the Lord Advocate until 1827, when responsibility passed to the Home Office. In 1885 the post of Secretary for Scotland was re-created, with the incumbent usually a member of the Cabinet. In 1926 this post was upgraded to a full Secretary of State appointment.
After the 1999 Scottish devolution, the powers of the Scottish Office were divided, with most transferred to the Scottish Government or to other British government departments, leaving only a limited role for the Scotland Office. From June 2003 to October 2008, the holder of the office of Secretary of State for Scotland also held another Cabinet post concurrently, leading to claims that the Scottish role was seen as a part-time ministry.
The current secretary of state for Scotland is Alister Jack, who was appointed by Boris Johnson, replacing David Mundell. He was later reappointed by Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak.
With the advent of legislative devolution for Scotland in 1999, the role of Secretary of State for Scotland was diminished. Most of the functions vested in the office since administrative devolution in the 19th century were transferred to the newly established Scottish Ministers upon the opening of the Scottish Parliament, or to other UK government ministers. Most of the functions and powers of the Secretary of State for Scotland transferred to the First Minister of Scotland as the head of the Scottish Government. Donald Dewar served as the first First Minister of Scotland between 1999–2000,[5] having previously served as the Secretary of State for Scotland between 1997–1999.[6]
However, the Secretary of State does represent Scotland in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom on matters that are not devolved to the Scottish Parliament, and also holds Scotland Questions on the first Wednesday of every month between 11:30 am and 12 noon, when any Member of Parliament can ask a question on any matter relating to Scotland. However, devolved issues are not usually raised by MPs, as these are decided solely by Scottish Government policy, and influenced, discussed and voted on by Members of the Scottish ParliamentinEdinburgh. Moreover, the Secretary of State for Scotland cannot introduce any bill or legislation in the UK Parliament relating to a devolved matter under the convention that the UK Government will not introduce legislation on devolved areas without the agreement of the Scottish Parliament.[7] The Secretary of State is also the group leader of the Scottish MPs from the government party.
The office mainly acts as a go-between for the UK and Scottish Governments and Parliaments.[8] However, due to the Secretary's position as a minister in the British government, the convention of Cabinet collective responsibility applies, and as such the post is usually viewed as being a partisan one to promote the UK government's decision-making in Scotland, as adherence to the convention precludes doing anything else.
With the rise of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in both the Scottish Parliament and the British Parliament and the resultant interest in Scottish Independence, the Secretary of State's role has also subsequently increased in prominence. The Scotland Office itself has received a cumulative increase in budget of 20% from 2013 to 2017, with a 14.4% increase in 2015/16 alone.[9]
The UK government's website lists the secretary of state for Scotland's responsibilities as being:
This seeming lack of responsibility has in recent years seen calls from opposition MPs for the scrapping of the role and the Scotland Office.[11][9] Robert Hazell has suggested merging the offices of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales into one Secretary of State for the Union,[12] in a department into which Rodney Brazier has suggested adding a Minister of State for England with responsibility for English local government.[13]
More broadly, the UK Government advocates that all UK Government cabinet ministers with responsibility for a territorial Secretary of State position are responsible for:[14]
The post of secretary of state for Scotland existed after the Union of the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England in 1707 till the Jacobite rising of 1745. After the rising, responsibility for Scotland lay primarily with the office of the Home Secretary, usually exercised by the Lord Advocate.
Secretary of State
Term of office
(since 1705)
1 May
1707
3 February
1709
James Douglas
2nd Duke of Queensberry
3 February
1709
6 July
1711
9 September
1713
24 September
1714
James Graham
1st Duke of Montrose
24 September
1714
August
1715
13 December
1716
August
1725
John Hay
4th Marquess of Tweeddale
25 February
1742
3 January
1746
Office thereafter vacant.
The Secretary for Scotland was chief minister in charge of the Scottish Office in the United Kingdom government. The Scotland Office was created in 1885 with the post of Secretary for Scotland.[15] From 1892 the Secretary for Scotland sat in cabinet. The post was upgraded to full Secretary of State rank as the Secretary of State for Scotland in 1926.[16]
From 1885 to 1999, Secretaries for Scotland and Secretaries of State for Scotland also ex officio held the post of Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland.[17] From 1999, the position of Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland has been held by the First Minister of Scotland.[18]
Secretary of State
Term of office
Party
Ministry
Charles Gordon-Lennox
6th Duke of Richmond
[nb 1]
17 August
1885
28 January
1886
George Trevelyan
MP for Hawick Burghs
8 February
1886
March
1886
John Ramsay
13th Earl of Dalhousie
5 April
1886
20 July
1886
Arthur Balfour
MP for Manchester East
5 August
1886
11 March
1887
Schomberg Kerr
9th Marquess of Lothian
11 March
1887
11 August
1892
George Trevelyan
MP for Glasgow Bridgeton
18 August
1892
21 June
1895
Alexander Bruce
6th Lord Balfour of Burleigh
29 June
1895
9 October
1903
Salisbury
(III &IV)
(Con.–Lib.U.)
Andrew Murray
MP for Buteshire
9 October
1903
2 February
1905
John Hope
1st Marquess of Linlithgow
2 February
1905
4 December
1905
John Sinclair
1st Baron Pentland[nb 2]
10 December
1905
13 February
1912
Thomas McKinnon Wood
MP for Glasgow St Rollox
13 February
1912
9 July
1916
Asquith Coalition
(Lib.–Con.–Lab.)
Harold Tennant
MP for Berwickshire
9 July
1916
5 December
1916
Robert Munro
MP for Roxburgh and Selkirk [nb 3]
10 December
1916
19 October
1922
Lloyd George
(I &II)
(Lib.–Con.–Lab.)
Ronald Munro Ferguson
1st Viscount Novar
24 October
1922
22 January
1924
William Adamson
MP for West Fife
22 January
1924
3 November
1924
John Gilmour
MP for Glasgow Pollok
6 November
1924
26 July
1926[inconsistent]
Secretary of State
Term of office
Party
Ministry
John Gilmour[19]
MP for Glasgow Pollok
26 July
1926
[inconsistent]
4 June
1929
William Adamson
MP for West Fife
7 June
1929
24 August
1931
Archibald Sinclair[20]
MP for Caithness and Sutherland
25 August
1931
28 September
1932
National I
(N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N.–Lib.)
National II
(N.Lab.–Con.–Lib.N.–Lib.)
Godfrey Collins[21]
MP for Greenock
28 September
1932
29 October
1936
National III
(Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.)
Walter Elliot[22]
MP for Glasgow Kelvingrove
29 October
1936
6 May
1938
National IV
(Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.)
John Colville[23]
MP for Midlothian and Peebles Northern
6 May
1938
10 May
1940
Chamberlain War
(Con.–N.Lab.–Lib.N.)
Ernest Brown[24]
MP for Leith
14 May
1940
8 February
1941
Churchill War
(All parties)
Thomas Johnston[25]
MP for West Stirlingshire
8 February
1941
23 May
1945
Harry Primrose
6th Earl of Rosebery
25 May
1945
26 July
1945
Churchill Caretaker
(Con.–N.Lib.)
Joseph Westwood[26]
MP for Stirling and Falkirk
3 August
1945
7 October
1947
Arthur Woodburn[27]
MP for Clackmannan and Eastern Stirlingshire
7 October
1947
28 February
1950
Hector McNeil[28]
MP for Greenock
28 February
1950
26 October
1951
James Stuart
MP for Moray and Nairn
30 October
1951
13 January
1957
John Maclay[29]
MP for West Renfrewshire
13 January
1957
Michael Noble[30]
MP for Argyllshire
16 October
1964
Willie Ross[31]
MP for Kilmarnock
18 October
1964
19 June
1970
Gordon Campbell
MP for Moray and Nairn
20 June
1970
4 March
1974
Willie Ross
MP for Kilmarnock
5 March
1974
8 April
1976
Bruce Millan[32]
MP for Glasgow Craigton
8 April
1976
4 May
1979
George Younger[33]
MP for Ayr
5 May
1979
11 January
1986
Malcolm Rifkind[34]
MP for Edinburgh Pentlands
11 January
1986
28 November
1990
Ian Lang[35]
MP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale
28 November
1990
5 July
1995
Michael Forsyth[36]
MP for Stirling
5 July
1995
2 May
1997
Donald Dewar[37]
MP for Glasgow Anniesland
2 May
1997
John Reid[38]
MP for Hamilton North and Bellshill
25 January
2001
Helen Liddell[39]
MP for Airdrie and Shotts
25 January
2001
13 June
2003
Alistair Darling[40][a]
MP for Edinburgh South West[b]
13 June
2003
Douglas Alexander[41][a]
MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South
28 June
2007
Des Browne[42][c]
MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun
28 June
2007
3 October
2008
Jim Murphy[43]
MP for East Renfrewshire
3 October
2008
11 May
2010
Danny Alexander[44]
MP for Inverness, Nairn,
Badenoch and Strathspey
12 May
2010
29 May
2010
Michael Moore[45]
MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk
29 May
2010
7 October
2013
Alistair Carmichael[46]
MP for Orkney and Shetland
7 October
2013
8 May
2015
David Mundell[47]
MP for Dumfriesshire,
Clydesdale and Tweeddale
11 May
2015
24 July
2019
Alister Jack[48]
MP for Dumfries and Galloway
24 July
2019
5 July
2024
Ian Murray
MP for Edinburgh South
5 July
2024
Incumbent
Cabinet ministers
Also attending Cabinet
Predecessor: Scottish Office
