First Secretary of State

First Secretary of State is a title within the British government, principally regarded as purely honorific, currently held by the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott. The title, which implies senority over all other Secretaries of State, has no specific powers or authority attached to it beyond that of any other Secretary of State. It originated as an alternative to the use of the title Deputy Prime Minister, which was opposed by some for constitutional reasons. The principle of one of these objections was that the title implied some degree of expectation that there would be a right of succession to the Prime Minister's position in the event of the death or resignation of the incumbent. No such expectation could exist in the UK, since the Prime Minister is appointed by the Sovereign, whose discretion could not constitutionally be fettered.

First Secretaries of State

Name	Party	Period
Rab Butler	Conservative	13 July 1962 — 18 October 1963
George Brown	Labour	16 October 1964 — 11 August, 1966
Michael Stewart	Labour	11 August 1966 — 6 April 1968
Barbara Castle	Labour	6 April 1968 — 19 June 1970
Michael Heseltine	Conservative	20 July, 1995 — 2 May, 1997
John Prescott	Labour	8 June, 2001 — present