Chancellor of the Exchequer to parliament. This includes alcohol, which is otherwise banned under parliamentary rules. Previous chancellors have opted for whisky (Kenneth Clarke), gin and tonic (Geoffrey Howe), brandy and water (Benjamin Disraeli and John Major), spritzer (Nigel Lawson) and sherry and beaten egg (William Gladstone). The recent chancellors, George Osborne, Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown, opted for water. In fact Darling drank what was named "Standard Water" in reference to, and support of, the London "Evening Standard" newspaper's campaign to have plain tap water available in restaurants at no charge to customers. The chancellor has a robe of office, similar to that
Exchequer of Pleas Elizabeth I the Treasurer's other duties began to increase, and he played less of a role in the Exchequer's affairs. By the 17th century, the Lord High Treasurer had been replaced by a dedicated Treasurer of the Exchequer (although earlier writs show that the Lord High Treasurer had been independently given this title), who was ceremoniously presented with a white staff by the monarch. The Treasurer, while active in the revenue side of the Exchequer, played little or no active role in the Exchequer of Pleas. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, independently head of the Court of Chancery, was also