Chancellor of the Exchequer his duty to distribute as fairly as he can." The chancellor has considerable control over other departments as it is the Treasury which sets Departmental Expenditure Limits. The amount of power this gives to an individual chancellor depends on his personal forcefulness, his status within his party and his relationship with the prime minister. Gordon Brown, who became chancellor when Labour came into Government in 1997, had a large personal power base in the party. Perhaps as a result, Tony Blair chose to keep him in the same position throughout his ten years as prime minister; making Brown an unusually
Exchequer of Ireland Lord High Treasurer was able to hear any case in the Exchequer of Pleas, and was also tasked with maintaining and increasing The Crown's revenue in Ireland. The Collection of Revenue Act 1795 transferred his powers to the Lord High Treasurer of the United Kingdom; with the unification of Ireland and Great Britain, an additional Treasurer was no longer needed. The next most important figure was the Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland, who acted as a check on the Treasurer and sat during court hearings. In court, he was assisted by the three Barons of the Exchequer of Ireland;