Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom) Explained
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. Shadow Cabinet members, commonly known as shadow ministers, are usually appointed by the leader of the Opposition (currently Rishi Sunak). 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.[1] 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.[2]
Current Shadow Cabinet
| His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition Shadow Cabinet |
Shadow Minister
| Office(s) | Shadows |
|---|
| Shadow Cabinet ministers[3] |
|---|
| Rishi Sunak
| Leader of the Opposition | Prime Minister |
| | Deputy Leader of the OppositionShadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster | Deputy Prime Minister of the United KingdomChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster |
| Jeremy Hunt
| Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer | Chancellor of the Exchequer |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs | Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs |
| | Shadow Home Secretary | Home Secretary |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Defence | Secretary of State for Defence |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Justice | Secretary of State for Justice |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology | Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care | Secretary of State for Health and Social Care |
| Kemi BadenochMP forNorth West Essex | Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government | Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs |
| | Shadow Leader of the House of Commons | Leader of the House of Commons |
| | Shadow Leader of the House of Lords | Leader of the House of Lords |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade | Secretary of State for Business and Trade |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero | Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | Secretary of State for Work and Pensions |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Education | Secretary of State for Education |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Transport | Secretary of State for Transport |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport | Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport |
| | Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales | Attorney General for England and Wales |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | Secretary of State for Northern Ireland |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland | Secretary of State for Scotland |
| The Lord Davies of Gower | Shadow Secretary of State for Wales | Secretary of State for Wales |
| Stuart Andrew
| Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons | Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury |
| Laura Trott
| Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury | Chief Secretary to the Treasury |
| | Shadow Paymaster General | Paymaster General |
| | Shadow Minister of State for Security | Minister of State for Security |
| | Shadow Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs | Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs |
| | Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities | Minister for Women and Equalities | |
See also
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Shadow cabinet . Institute for Government . 20 May 2021 . 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..
- Web site: 2019-12-25 . Announcing the new Lib Dem Shadow Cabinet . 2024-07-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191225111637/https://www.libdems.org.uk/shadcab19 . 25 December 2019 .
- Web site: UK politics live: Anxiety over NHS legitimate but I'm optimistic about future, says Wes Streeting. BBC News. 8 July 2024. 8 July 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240708191910/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/czk0r339evgt. live.
