| Rt Hon Peter David Shore | March 1974 | April 1976 |
| Rt Hon Edmund Emanuel Dell | April 1976 | November 1978 |
| Rt Hon John Smith | 11 November 1978 | 4 May 1979 |
| John William Frederic Nott | 4 May 1979 | 5 January 1981 |
| Rt Hon William John Biffen | 5 January 1981 | 5 April 1982 |