Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the ancient title held by the British cabinet minister whose responsibilities are akin to the posts of Minister for Finance or Secretary of the Treasury in other jurisdictions. The third oldest major state office in English and United Kingdom history, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (often simply called The Chancellor) is the cabinet minister responsible for all financial matters. Historically the Exchequer included monetary policy as well as fiscal policy, but this ended when the Bank of England was granted independence from government in 1997. The office should not be confused with that of the Lord High Chancellor or the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The position of Chancellor of the Exchequer is considered one of the four great offices of state. Due to the House of Lords being excluded from the Finance bills, the Chancellor is effectively limited to being a member of the House of Commons.

See also

• List of Lord High Treasurers
• UK topics