Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Scotland – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 8 May 2007.
Greg Hands
Conservative, Hammersmith and Fulham
2:30,
8 May 2007
I, too, support the Glasgow bid for the Commonwealth games. Looking forward another four years, the Conservatives have been urging a joint England-Scotland bid to host the World cup. There are many merits in a joint bid—the excellent stadiums and the fantastic fans in Scotland—yet the main obstacle continues to be the Chancellor of the exchequer. I would have thought that in the current climate the Secretary of State and the Chancellor would be looking at means to strengthen the Union. The SNP is opposed to a joint bid for the World cup—
The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
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.
The Chancellor - also known as "Chancellor of the Exchequer" is responsible as a Minister for the treasury, and for the country's economy. For Example, the Chancellor set taxes and tax rates. The Chancellor is the only MP allowed to drink Alcohol in the House of Commons; s/he is permitted an alcoholic drink while delivering the budget.
The Conservatives are a centre-right political party in the UK, founded in the 1830s. They are also known as the Tory party.
With a lower-case ‘c’, ‘conservative’ is an adjective which implies a dislike of change, and a preference for traditional values.
