The secretary of state for business, innovation, science and trade, also referred to as the business secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
The incumbent business secretary is Jonathan Reynolds who was appointed by Andy Burnham on 20 July 2026. The secretary of state is shadowed by the shadow secretary of state for business and trade, currently Andrew Griffith since 2024.
Responsibilities Corresponding to what is generally known as a commerce minister in many other countries, the business secretary's remit includes:
Relations with domestic and international business Policy relating to deregulation Policy relating to international trade and trade agreements Import and export policy
History During the government of Sir Alec Douglas-Home, the then president of the Board of Trade, Edward Heath, was given in addition the job of secretary of state for industry, trade and regional development. This title was not continued under Harold Wilson, but when Heath became Prime Minister in 1970 he decided to merge functions of the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Technology to create the Department of Trade and Industry. The head of this department became known as the secretary of state for trade and industry and also retained the title of President of the Board of Trade.
When Harold Wilson re-entered office in March 1974, the office was split into the Department of Trade, the Department of Industry and the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection, resulting in the creation of three new positions: Secretary of State for Industry, Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection, and Secretary of State for Trade. The title President of the Board of Trade became the secondary title of the Secretary of State for Trade. By 1979 the Department of Prices and Consumer Protection was abolished by the incoming Conservative government and its responsibilities were reintegrated into the Department of Trade. Furthermore, 1983 the offices of trade and industry were remerged and the title of Secretary of State for Trade and Industry was recreated. When Michael Heseltine held this office, he preferred to be known by the older title of President of the Board of Trade, and this practice was also followed by Ian Lang and Margaret Beckett. Heseltine's decision to reuse the old title caused some controversy, and it was discovered that the Board of Trade had not in fact met since the mid-nineteenth century.
Under Gordon Brown's premiership there were two re-namings of the role and three re-alignments of responsibility. In his first cabinet of 2007, he called the post Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. With this change, the Better Regulation Executive was added to the department but the Office of Science and Innovation was lost. In 2008, the title remained the same but responsibility for energy was lost. In 2009, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was merged into the existing department and the post became Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
In July 2016, Prime Minister Theresa May decided to merge the Department for Energy and Climate Change into this department with the responsibilities for post-19 education and skills being returned to the Department for Education resulting in the position being renamed to Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. At the same time in July 2016, the post of President of the Board of Trade was transferred to the newly created post of Secretary of State for International Trade.
The current role of Secretary of State for Business and Trade was established on 7 February 2023 after a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saw the dissolution of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and its responsibilities transferred to three new departments: Department for Business and Trade, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The new Department for Business and Trade absorbed the business policy responsibilities of BEIS, and the functions of the former Department for International Trade.
In May 2023 the position was incorporated as a corporation sole.
In July 2026 the department was merged with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to become the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
List of secretaries of state
Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development (1963–1964) Secretary of State Took office Left office Political party Prime Minister Edward Heath 20 October 1963 16 October 1964Conservative Alec Douglas-Home
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1970–1974) Secretary of State Took office Left office Political party Prime Minister John Davies 15 October 1970 5 November 1972Conservative Edward Heath Peter Walker 5 November 1972 4 March 1974Conservative
Secretaries of State for Industry/Prices and Consumer Protection/Trade (1974–1983)
Secretary of State for Industry
Secretary of State for Prices and Consumer Protection
Secretary of State for Trade Political party Prime Minister Name Took office Left office Name Took office Left office Name Took office Left office Tony Benn 5 March 1974 10 June 1975 Shirley Williams 5 March 1974 10 September 1976Peter Shore 5 March 1974 8 April 1976 Labour Harold WilsonEric Varley 10 June 1975 4 May 1979Edmund Dell 8 April 1976 11 November 1978 James Callaghan Roy Hattersley 10 September 1976 4 May 1979John Smith 11 November 1978 4 May 1979Keith Joseph 4 May 1979 14 September 1981 John Nott 5 May 1979 5 January 1981 Conservative Margaret ThatcherJohn Biffen 5 January 1981 6 April 1982Patrick Jenkin 14 September 1981 12 June 1983Arthur Cockfield, Baron Cockfield 6 April 1982 12 June 1983Departments merged in 1983 and responsibilities transferred to the Department for Trade and Industry.
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1983–2007) Secretary of State Took office Left office Political partyCabinet Prime minister Cecil Parkinson 12 June 1983 11 October 1983ConservativeThatcher II Margaret Thatcher Norman Tebbit 16 October 1983 2 September 1985Conservative Leon Brittan 2 September 1985 22 January 1986Conservative Paul Channon 24 January 1986 13 June 1987Conservative David Young, Baron Young of Graffham 13 June 1987 24 July 1989ConservativeThatcher III Nicholas Ridley 24 July 1989 13 July 1990Conservative Peter Lilley 14 July 1990 10 April 1992ConservativeMajor I John Major Michael Heseltine 10 April 1992 5 July 1995ConservativeMajor II Ian Lang 5 July 1995 2 May 1997Conservative Margaret Beckett 2 May 1997 27 July 1998LabourBlair I Tony Blair Peter Mandelson 27 July 1998 23 December 1998Labour Stephen Byers 23 December 1998 8 June 2001Labour Patricia Hewitt 8 June 2001 6 May 2005LabourBlair II Alan Johnson 6 May 2005 5 May 2006LabourBlair III Alistair Darling 5 May 2006 28 June 2007LabourDepartment abolished 2007. Responsibilities transferred to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.
Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (2007–2009) Secretary of State Took office Left office Political partyCabinet Prime Minister John Hutton 28 June 2007 3 October 2008LabourBrown Gordon Brown Peter Mandelson, Baron Mandelson 3 October 2008 5 June 2009LabourDepartment abolished 2009. Responsibilities transferred to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (2009–2016) Secretary of State Took office Left office Political partyCabinet Prime Minister Peter Mandelson, Baron Mandelson 5 June 2009 11 May 2010LabourBrown Gordon Brown Vince Cable 12 May 2010 8 May 2015Liberal DemocratsCameron-Clegg David Cameron Sajid Javid 11 May 2015 14 July 2016ConservativeCameron IIDepartment abolished 2016. Responsibilities transferred to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, merging with the Department of Energy and Climate Change
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy/International Trade (2016–2023)
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial StrategySecretary of State for International TradePolitical partyCabinetPrime Minister Secretary of State Took office Left officeSecretary of StateTook officeLeft office Greg Clark 14 July 2016 24 July 2019Liam Fox13 July 201624 July 2019ConservativeMay I Theresa MayMay II Andrea Leadsom 24 July 2019 13 February 2020Liz Truss24 July 201915 September 2021ConservativeJohnson I Boris JohnsonJohnson II Alok Sharma 13 February 2020 8 January 2021Conservative Kwasi Kwarteng 8 January 2021 6 September 2022Anne-Marie Trevelyan15 September 20216 September 2022Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg 6 September 2022 25 October 2022Kemi Badenoch6 September 20227 February 2023ConservativeTruss Liz Truss Grant Shapps 25 October 2022 7 February 2023ConservativeSunak Rishi SunakDepartment abolished February 2023. Responsibilities distributed to the newly created Departments for Business and Trade, Energy Security and Net Zero, and Science, Innovation and Technology.
Secretary of State for Business and Trade (2023–2026)
Secretary of State Took office Left office Political partyCabinet Prime Minister Kemi Badenoch 7 February 2023 5 July 2024ConservativeSunak Rishi Sunak Jonathan Reynolds 5 July 2024 5 September 2025LabourStarmer Keir StarmerPeter Kyle5 September 202520 July 2026Labour
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (2026–present) Secretary of State Took office Left office Political partyCabinet Prime Minister Jonathan Reynolds 20 July 2026 IncumbentLabourBurnham Andy Burnham
Timeline
References