Downing Street Chief of Staff
| Downing Street Chief of Staff | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Home Office | |
| Style | Downing Street Chief of Staff |
| Type | Political Advisor |
| Status | Secretary of State |
| Member of | Cabinet |
| Reports to | Prime Minister |
| Seat | Downing Street |
| Nominator | Prime Minister |
| Appointer | The Prime Minister |
| Term length | At The Prime Ministers' Pleasure |
| Formation | 21 November 2023 |
| First holder | William Somerset |
| Salary | £10,000 per cycle (March 2024) |
The Downing Street Chief of Staff, sometimes referred to as just The Chief of Staff, is one of the most high-ranking political appointes in HM Government, acting as a senior aide to the Prime Minister of Great Britain. The Holder of the position maintains a high level of executive authority within government and is the highest-ranking non-minister of state within the Cabinet of Great Britain.
The role of Chief of Staff was first set up as a principal and full executive role during the First Douglas Ministry to serve as a Deputy Prime Minister in all but name, owing to the lack of grandiose successors to the Prime Minister within his Government at the time. The role has only been officially held twice but various figures have been considered de-facto Chiefs of Staff and as such are listed here. Several Prime Ministers' also had a series of "Special Advisors", most notably the Viscount Sidmouth, with one advisor usually considered the Chief of Staff.
The first Downing Street Chief of Staff was William Somerset. The most recent person to hold the position was Thomas Carew, The Viscount Sidmouth.
List of Downing Street Chiefs of Staff
| Portrait | Chief of Staff | Term of Office | Party | Government | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Duration | |||||
|
William Scott-Chester | 31 January 2023 | 5 April 2023 | 65 days | Liberal Progressive | Exeter Premiership | |
|
Miann Somerset Earl of Lothian |
21 November 2023 | 3 January 2024 | 44 days | Independent | Douglas Premiership | |
| |
|
William Somerset [1] (De Facto) 2nd Viscount Douglas |
5 March 2024 | 5 May 2024 | 62 days | Heron Independent |
Knightstone Premiership |
| | |||||||
|
Thomas Carew Viscount Sidmouth |
8 October 2024 | 13 November 2024 | 37 days | Unionist | Calder Premiership Huntingdon Caretaker | |
|
Matthew Somerset Duke of Somerset |
10 December 2024 | Present | 11 days | Unionist | 2nd Sidmouth Premiership | |
Footnotes
- ↑ William Somerset was never officially announced as Downing Street Chief of Staff but was internally considered as such. One of four Special Advisors during the Knightstone Premiership, Lord Douglas was the most senior of them during the First Knightstone Ministry and was a noted advisor of considerable influence. His informal retirement from politics during the timeframe of the Second Knightstone Ministry ends his tenure as de-facto Chief of Staff but he remained a Special Advisor to the Prime Minister throughout the entirety of The Baron Knightstone's time in 10 Downing Street.