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Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom)

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(Redirected from UK Shadow Cabinet) Opposition cabinet of the United Kingdom For the larger opposition frontbench, which includes junior Shadow Ministers, see Official Opposition frontbench.

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The Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet, or His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition Shadow Cabinet, but usually simply the Shadow Cabinet, is the committee of senior members of the Official Opposition who scrutinise the work of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Each Shadow Cabinet member is typically given a position which corresponds to that of a government minister in Cabinet.

Composition

Shadow Cabinet members, commonly known as shadow ministers, are usually appointed by the leader of the Opposition (currently Kemi Badenoch). The roles of shadow ministers are to develop alternative policies, hold the government to account for its actions and responses, and act as spokespeople for the opposition party in their own specific policy areas. By convention, shadow ministers are drawn either from serving members of the House of Commons or the House of Lords, with most chosen from the former. Since July 2024, the Conservative Party has been the Official Opposition, and its leadership therefore forms the current Shadow Cabinet.

Not all opposition frontbenchers are members of the Shadow Cabinet, which is composed of the most senior opposition members (usually they number around twenty).

The leader of the Opposition, the Opposition chief whip and Opposition deputy chief whip are the only members of the Official Opposition in the House of Commons to be paid for their opposition roles in addition to their salaries as members of Parliament. The leader of the Opposition and the Opposition chief whip in the House of Lords also receive a salary.

Other parties may also form frontbench teams of spokespeople which may be referred to as shadow cabinets by the party (e.g. the Liberal Democrats in 2019), but these are not part of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet.

Current Shadow Cabinet

As of November 2024, the members of the shadow cabinet are:

His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Minister
Constituency
Office(s) Shadows
Shadow Cabinet ministers
Kemi Badenoch

MP for North West Essex

Leader of the Opposition Prime Minister
Mel Stride

MP for Central Devon

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Chancellor of the Exchequer
Priti Patel

MP for Witham

Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Chris Philp

MP for Croydon South

Shadow Home Secretary Home Secretary
James Cartlidge

MP for South Suffolk

Shadow Secretary of State for Defence Secretary of State for Defence
Robert Jenrick

MP for Newark

Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Secretary of State for Justice
Alan Mak

MP for Havant

Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
Edward Argar

MP for Melton and Syston

Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Kevin Hollinrake

MP for Thirsk and Malton

Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Victoria Atkins

MP for Louth and Horncastle

Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Jesse Norman

MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire

Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Leader of the House of Commons
The Lord True Shadow Leader of the House of Lords Leader of the House of Lords
Andrew Griffith

MP for Arundel and South Downs

Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Claire Coutinho

MP for East Surrey

Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

Shadow Minister for Equalities

Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

Minister for Women and Equalities

Helen Whately

MP for Faversham and Mid Kent

Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Laura Trott

MP for Sevenoaks

Shadow Secretary of State for Education Secretary of State for Education
Gareth Bacon

MP for Orpington

Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Secretary of State for Transport
Stuart Andrew

MP for Daventry

Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Alex Burghart

MP for Brentwood and Ongar

Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Andrew Bowie

MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland Secretary of State for Scotland
Mims Davies

MP for East Grinstead and Uckfield

Shadow Secretary of State for Wales

Shadow Minister for Women

Secretary of State for Wales

Minister for Women and Equalities

Rebecca Harris

MP for Castle Point

Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
Richard Fuller

MP for North East Bedfordshire

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Richard Holden

MP for Basildon and Billericay

Shadow Paymaster General Paymaster General

See also

References

  1. "Shadow cabinet". Institute for Government. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2022. The shadow cabinet is made up of senior members of the main opposition party in Westminster, who act as spokespeople for the opposition in specific policy areas. Their job is to scrutinise those they 'shadow' in government, and develop policies for their party.
  2. "Announcing the new Lib Dem Shadow Cabinet". Liberal Democrats. 25 December 2019. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  3. Mitchell, Archie; Cooke, Millie; Maddox, David; Kate, Devlin (5 November 2024). "Who makes up Kemi Badenoch's newly-appointed shadow cabinet?". The Independent. Retrieved 5 November 2024.

External links

United Kingdom Shadow Cabinets of the United Kingdom
Official Opposition
Liberal Democrats
Scottish National Party
1964 to Present
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