United Kingdom Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
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![]() Arms of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
![]() Flag of the Duchy of Lancaster | |
since 5 July 2024 | |
Style | The Right Honourable (within the UK and Commonwealth) |
Member of | |
Reports to | |
Nominator | Prime Minister of the United Kingdom |
Appointer | The Monarch (on the advice of the Prime Minister) |
Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
Inaugural holder | Sir Henry de Haydock |
Formation | 1361 |
Deputy | |
Salary | £159,038 per annum (2022)[1] (including £86,584 MP salary)[2] |
Website | www.duchyoflancaster.co.uk |
This article is part of a series on |
Politics of the United Kingdom |
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The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office[3] in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minister for the Cabinet Office.[4] The role includes as part of its duties the administration of the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster.[5]
Formally, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is appointed by the Sovereign on the advice of the prime minister,[6][7] and is answerable to Parliament for the governance of the Duchy.[8] In modern times, however, the involvement of the chancellor in the running of the day-to-day affairs of the Duchy is slight, and the office is held by a senior politician whose main role is usually quite different. In practical terms, it is a sinecure, allowing the prime minister to appoint an additional minister without portfolio to the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In September 2021, the role was endowed with responsibility for advising the prime minister on policy development and implementation, particularly around Brexit.[9] Those duties were later transferred to the role of Paymaster-General in the Starmer ministry.[citation needed]
The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.