Chancellor of the Exchequer

From Conservapedia

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the chief finance minister of the United Kingdom.

The position is currently held by Alistair Darling.

The role largely involves determining the levels and methods of national taxation, and the distribution of tax receipts amongst Government Departments. Until 1997, the Chancellor of the Exchequer also set the Bank of England's official interest rate. This responsibility was relinquished to the Bank itself by the Labour government of Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown. The Chancellor retains responsibility for setting the inflation target in the government's monetary policy.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is widely acknowledged as the second most powerful position in the UK government (after the Prime Minister). The current Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the last Conservative Prime Minister, John Major, both served as Chancellor of the Exchequer before taking on the role of premier.