Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at on 31 January 1940.
Mr R.A. Butler
, Saffron Walden
The reasons for our entry into the war and the purposes for which we are fighting have been frequently stated by the Prime Minister and by other members of His Majesty's Government. I would refer my hon. Friend, in particular, to the Prime Minister's speech at the Mansion House on the 9th January and to a speech by my Noble Friend, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, at Leeds on 20th January, which show that Dr. Goebbels' declaration is a fantastic and malicious invention which could only be put forward for home consumption.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
