Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Incumbent
David Lammy
since 5 September 2025
Government of the United Kingdom
Cabinet Office
Style
TypeMinister of the Crown
Member of
  • Cabinet
  • Privy Council
  • National Security Council
  • Council of the Nations and Regions
  • Mayoral Council for England
Reports toThe Prime Minister
ResidenceNone, may use grace and favour residences
SeatWestminster
Formation1942
First holderClement Attlee
Websitegov.uk/government/ministers/deputy-prime-minister--3

The deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom is an honorific title[1] given to a minister of the Crown and a member of the British Cabinet, normally to signify a very senior minister, the deputy leader of the governing party, or a key political ally of the prime minister.

It does not entail any specific legal or constitutional responsibilities, though the holder will normally be assigned some duties by the prime minister and in recent times this has typically always included deputising for The Prime Minister in the House of Commons, domestically and abroad. Appointment to the position is usually paired with appointment to a departmental secretary of state position. The title is not always in use and prime ministers have been known to appoint deputies with title first secretary of state or informal deputies without any honorific title.[2]

The incumbent Deputy Prime Minister is David Lammy who has served under Sir Keir Starmer since 5 September 2025.[3] Lammy succeeded Starmer’s first deputy, Angela Rayner, in a cabinet reshuffle following her resignation due to her involvement in the Stamp Duty scandal.[4]

  1. ^ "The deputy prime minister and first secretary of state". Institute for Government. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  2. ^ Brazier 2020, p. 80.
  3. ^ "Deputy Prime Minister". gov.uk. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Politics latest: Lammy appointed deputy PM and justice secretary following Rayner's resignation". Sky News.