Stephen Barclay Becomes Commissioner of the Treasury

Stephen Paul Barclay, born on 3 May 1972 in Lytham, is a British Conservative politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for North East Cambridgeshire since 2010. He held several ministerial roles under Prime Ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson, and Rishi Sunak, including Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from 2023 to 2024. After the Conservative Party’s defeat in the 2024 general election, he briefly served as Shadow Environment Secretary before becoming Chair of the Finance Committee in December 2024.

Barclay was raised in a family where his father worked in IT for 55 years, spending time with the Banking and Insurance Union, while his mother was a civil service administrator. The youngest of three brothers, he attended King Edward VII School in Lytham before completing a gap year commission in the British Army at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He later studied history at Peterhouse, Cambridge, graduating in 1994. That same year, he joined the Conservative Party and was placed on its A-List of parliamentary candidates. He then studied law at the College of Law in Chester, qualifying as a solicitor in 1998. He completed his training with a major London law firm before working at Axa Insurance, the Financial Services Authority, and Barclays Bank.

In 2007, Barclay became involved in Conservative Party fundraising, taking over the Carlton Club political dinner, which raised money for target seats. Elected to Parliament in 2010, he took on junior ministerial roles, including Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from 2016 to 2017 and Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 2017 to 2018. In 2018, he was promoted to Minister of State for Health.

Following Dominic Raab’s resignation, he was appointed Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union in November 2018. He remained in the position under Boris Johnson until the UK formally left the EU on 31 January 2020. Shortly after, he was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury in the February 2020 reshuffle. His influence in government expanded when he became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office in 2021. In February 2022, he was also named Downing Street Chief of Staff following Dan Rosenfield’s resignation. Later that year, he was appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care after Sajid Javid stepped down. However, when Liz Truss became Prime Minister in September 2022, he was removed from the role. After Truss’s resignation, Rishi Sunak reappointed him as Health Secretary in October 2022.

In November 2023, Barclay was reassigned to Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, a move widely seen as a demotion. His appointment raised concerns over a conflict of interest due to his wife’s executive role at Anglian Water, a company linked to widespread environmental issues. He was also responsible for the final decision on a multi-million-pound Development Consent Order (DCO) for Anglian Water’s relocation of a wastewater treatment plant to the Cambridge green belt. Despite this controversy, he introduced measures in 2024 blocking executive bonuses for water company leaders whose firms were responsible for pollution in British rivers, lakes, and seas.

Following the Conservative Party’s loss in the 2024 general election, Barclay briefly served as Shadow Environment Secretary under Rishi Sunak. However, when Kemi Badenoch succeeded Sunak as party leader, he was not included in her Shadow Cabinet. In December 2024, he was appointed Chair of the Finance Committee.

A keen rugby fan, Barclay is married to Karen, and they have a son and a daughter.

16/02/2023. London, United Kingdom. Health Secretary Steve Barclay meets with Bill Gates at the Department of Health and Social Care.

13/11/2023. London, United Kingdom. The Rt Hon Steve Barclay MP has been appointed the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs after meeting with the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak in No10 Downing Street.