Ministerial role

Secretary of State for Transport

Organisations: Department for Transport
Current role holder: The Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP

Responsibilities

The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for all Department for Transport business, including: 

  • overarching responsibility for the departmental portfolio and oversight of the ministerial team 
  • delivering the transport priorities of the government: making transport cheaper, greener, and more reliable 
  • ensuring the transport network is safe and accessible 
  • corporate functions such as oversight of departmental finance and public appointments

Current role holder

The Rt Hon Louise Haigh MP

Louise Haigh was appointed Secretary of State for Transport on 5 July 2024, the youngest female Cabinet Minister to ever be appointed.  

She was elected as the MP for Sheffield Heeley in May 2015.  

Since being elected as an MP, Louise has held a number of shadow ministerial roles, including Shadow Secretary of State for Transport from 2021 to 2024.  

Louise served as a Special Constable in the Met Police between 2009 and 2011 and worked for Aviva as a public policy manager from 2012 to 2015. 

Louise studied politics at Nottingham University and law at Birkbeck, University of London.

More about this person

Previous holders of this role

  1. The Rt Hon Mark Harper

    2022 to 2024

  2. The Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan

    2022 to 2022

  3. The Rt Hon Grant Shapps

    2019 to 2022

  4. The Rt Hon Chris Grayling

    2016 to 2019

  5. The Rt Hon Sir Patrick McLoughlin

    2012 to 2016

  6. The Rt Hon Justine Greening

    2011 to 2012

  7. The Rt Hon Philip Hammond

    2010 to 2011