Secretary of State for Economic Affairs

Wilson's advisers Patrick Blackett and Thomas Balogh advised him to create a new ministry, to be called the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), in order to drive through his economic plan. Wilson wanted to divide the functions of the Treasury in two, in part to reduce its power. The DEA was to undertake long-term planning of the economy and industry, while the Treasury would determine short-term revenue raising and financial management. The DEA was therefore tasked with the preparation of a National Plan for the economy, which was published in September 1965.


Critics of Wilson's approach, including Douglas Jay, suspected the main reason for the Department was to appease George Brown, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. The (true) story told at the time, that Brown finally accepted the job while riding in a taxi with Wilson, tended to lend credence to this analysis.


Under Brown, the Department had a reasonable degree of influence. However, Brown was moved to the Foreign Office in August 1966, and the two succeeding secretaries of state were not of his rank. The Treasury was able to claw back its power, and the Department had become moribund long before it was wound up in 1969.


The DEA was the model for the fictional Department of Administrative Affairs in the television series Yes Minister.^[1]