In the United Kingdom, there are at least six Lords of the Treasury who serve concurrently. Traditionally, this board (serving as a commission for the Lord High Treasurer) consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the Treasury, and four or more junior lords (to whom this title is usually applied). However, when a Lord High Treasurer was appointed, there was no commission.

Until the 19th century, this commission made most of the economic decisions of Great Britain (England, before the Act of Union 1707). However, starting during the 1800s, these positions became sinecure positions, with the First Lord serving almost invariably as Prime Minister, the Second Lord invariably as Chancellor of the Exchequer (the exchequer being the modern treasury of the United Kingdom), and the junior lords serving as assistant whips in Parliament.

Currently, there are six lords of the treasury:

• First Lord of the Treasury - The Rt. Hon. Tony Blair MP
• Second Lord of the Treasury - The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown MP
• Chief Secretary to the Treasury - The Rt. Hon. Paul Boateng MP
• Paymaster General - The Rt. Hon. Dawn Primarolo MP
• Financial Secretary to the Treasury - Stephen Timms MP
• Economic Secretary to the Treasury - John Healey MP

See also

• Cabinet of the United Kingdom
• HM Treasury
• List of British ministries
• List of Lord Treasurers - also provides a list of former lords of the treasury
• Treasury

References

• 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (adapted, not copied verbatim)