Ministry of Power (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Power was a United Kingdom government ministry dealing with issues concerning energy.

This article is about the British Ministry. For its Indian counterparts, see Ministry of Power (India).

Ministry of Power
Department overview
Formed11 June 1942
Preceding agencies
Dissolved6 October 1969
Superseding agency
JurisdictionUnited Kingdom

The Ministry of Power (then named Ministry of Fuel and Power) was created on 11 June 1942 from functions separated from the Board of Trade. It took charge of coal production, allocation of fuel supplies, control of energy prices and petrol rationing. These had previously been dealt with by the Secretary for Mines and in the case of petroleum since 1940 by the Secretary for Petroleum. The Petroleum Board, responsible for the coordination of the war-time petroleum 'pool' for oil supplies (except oil for the Royal Navy), continued in this role until the Board was dissolved in 1948. It also took over responsibility for electricity from the Ministry of War Transport and its predecessor the Ministry of Transport.

The Ministry of Fuel and Power was renamed the Ministry of Power in January 1957. The Ministry of Power later became part of the Ministry of Technology on 6 October 1969, which merged into the Department of Trade and Industry on 20 October 1970. In 1974, its responsibilities were split out to form the Department of Energy, and then merged back into DTI in 1992; a separate Department of Energy and Climate Change was created in 2008 and then merged back in 2016 to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Those who worked at the Ministry include:

Ministers

Ministers of Fuel and Power
Name Took office Left office Political party Notes
Gwilym Lloyd-George 3 June 1942 26 July 1945 Liberal
Emanuel Shinwell 3 August 1945 7 October 1947 Labour
Hugh Gaitskell 7 October 1947 28 February 1950 Labour Office no longer in Cabinet
Philip Noel-Baker 28 February 1950 31 October 1951 Labour
Geoffrey Lloyd 31 October 1951 20 December 1955 Conservative
Aubrey Jones 20 December 1955 13 January 1957 Conservative

Ministers of Power
Name Took office Left office Political party Notes
The Lord Mills 13 January 1957 14 October 1959 Conservative
Richard Wood 14 October 1959 20 October 1963 Conservative Office not in Cabinet
Frederick Erroll 20 October 1963 Conservative Office back in Cabinet
Fred Lee 18 October 1964 6 April 1966 Labour
Richard Marsh 6 April 1966 6 April 1968 Labour
Ray Gunter 6 April 1968 1 July 1968 Labour
Roy Mason 1 July 1968 6 October 1969 Labour Office abolished: Amalgamated with Ministry of Technology

Parliamentary Secretaries
Name Took office Left office Party Notes
Geoffrey Lloyd 3 June 1942 23 May 1945 Conservative Jointly
Tom Smith 3 June 1942 23 May 1945 Labour Jointly
Sir Austin Hudson, Bt 26 May 1945 26 July 1945 Conservative
William Foster 4 August 1945 10 May 1946 Labour
Hugh Gaitskell 10 May 1946 7 October 1947 Labour
Alfred Robens 7 October 1947 26 April 1951 Labour
Harold Neal 26 April 1951 31 October 1951 Labour
Lancelot Joynson-Hicks 5 November 1951 20 December 1955 Conservative
David Lockhart-Mure Renton 20 December 1955 Conservative
David Renton 18 January 1957 17 January 1958 Conservative To Ministry of Power
Sir Ian Horobin 17 January 1958 22 October 1959 Conservative
John George 22 October 1959 25 June 1962 Conservative
John Peyton 25 June 1962 18 October 1964 Conservative
John Morris 21 October 1964 10 January 1966 Labour
Lord Lindgren 10 January 1966 6 April 1966 Labour
Jeremy Bray 6 April 1966 7 January 1967 Labour
Reginald Freeson 7 January 1967 6 October 1969 Labour Office abolished

See also
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