Minister of State for the Armed Forces

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces is a mid-level ministerial position at the Ministry of Defence in the Government of the United Kingdom. It has been held by Luke Pollard since 2024.[1]

United Kingdom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces
Royal Arms as used by His Majesty's Government
Incumbent
Luke Pollard
since 9 July 2024
Ministry of Defence
Member ofDefence Council
Admiralty Board
Army Board
Air Force Board
Reports toSecretary of State for Defence
NominatorSecretary of State for Defence
AppointerPrime Minister
Subject to formal approval by the King-in-Council
Term lengthNo fixed term
Inaugural holderPeter Blaker
Formation1981
Websitewww.mod.uk

The office sometimes acts as the deputy to the Secretary of State for Defence, when it is of Minister of State rank.[2] In July 2024, the appointment of Luke Pollard reverted the minister’s title to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State.

The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow minister for the armed forces.

Roles

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The responsibilities of the minister of state for the armed forces are:

  • Operations and operational legal policy
  • Force generation (including exercises)
  • Military recruitment and retention policy (regulars and reserves)
  • Cyber
  • Permanent Joint Operating bases
  • International defence engagement strategy
  • Lead for defence engagement in Africa and Latin America
  • Human security
  • Operational public inquiries, inquests
  • Youth and cadets
  • Commemorations, ceremonial duties, medallic recognition and protocol policy and casework

List of ministers and under-secretaries

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Colour key (for political parties):
  Conservative   Labour   Liberal Democrats

Minister Term of office Political party Prime Minister Defence Secretary

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Army

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  Barney Hayhoe 6 May 1979 5 January 1981 Conservative Thatcher Pym
  Philip Goodhart 5 January 1981 19 May 1981

Minister of State for the Armed Forces

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  Peter Blaker 29 May 1981 13 June 1983 Conservative Thatcher Nott
Heseltine
  John Stanley 13 June 1983 13 June 1987
Younger
  Ian Stewart 13 June 1987 25 July 1988
  Archie Hamilton 25 July 1988 27 May 1993
King
Conservative Major Rifkind
  Jeremy Hanley 27 May 1993 14 June 1994
  Nicholas Soames 14 June 1994 2 May 1997
Portillo
  John Reid 2 May 1997 27 July 1998 Labour Blair Robertson
  Doug Henderson 27 July 1998 29 July 1999
  John Spellar 29 July 1999 7 June 2001 Hoon
  Adam Ingram 7 June 2001 29 June 2007
Reid
Browne
  Bob Ainsworth 29 June 2007 5 May 2009 Labour Brown
Hutton
  Bill Rammell 5 May 2009 11 May 2010 Ainsworth
  Nick Harvey 13 May 2010 4 September 2012 Liberal Democrats Cameron
(Coalition)
Fox
Hammond
  Andrew Robathan 4 September 2012 7 October 2013 Conservative
  Mark Francois 7 October 2013 11 May 2015
Fallon
  Penny Mordaunt 11 May 2015 15 July 2016 Cameron
(II)
  Mike Penning 15 July 2016 12 June 2017 May
  Mark Lancaster 12 July 2017 16 December 2019
Williamson
Mordaunt
Johnson Wallace
  Anne-Marie Trevelyan 16 December 2019 13 February 2020

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces Feb 2020 to July 2022

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Minister of State for the Armed Forces July to Sept 2022

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Minister of State for the Armed Forces and Veterans Sept to Oct 2022

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  James Heappey 13 February 2020 25 October 2022 Conservative Johnson
Truss
Wallace

Minister of State for the Armed Forces

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  James Heappey 25 October 2022 26 March 2024 Conservative Sunak Wallace
  Leo Docherty 26 March 2024 5 July 2024 Conservative Sunak Shapps

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces

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  Luke Pollard 9 July 2024 Present Labour Starmer Healey

Shadow Minister for the Armed Forces

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Member of Parliament
Kevan Jones (2015 to 2016)
Kate Hollern (2016)
Wayne David (2016 to 2020)
Stephen Morgan (2020 to 2021)
Stephen Kinnock (2021 to 2022)
Luke Pollard (2022 to 2024)

References

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  1. ^ "Luke Pollard on X". www.x.com. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  2. ^ "Ministry of Defence". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
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