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
John Smith (Chancellor of the Exchequer) election. He was then appointed to the lucrative post of Teller of the Exchequer. He refused to stand for Parliament at the 1713 general election, offended by suggestions that the ministry had him under control. His post of Teller of the Exchequer was renewed in 1714 and he held it for the rest of his life. Smith was returned as Member of Parliament for East Looe at the general elections in 1715 and 1722. Smith died on 2 October 1723 and was buried in the old church at South Tidworth. He and his second wife had four sons and three