The frontbench of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow Cabinet and other shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. From 2010 to 2015, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition was the Labour Party, and the Leader of the Opposition was Ed Miliband. [1]
Key
Member of the House of Commons | |
Member of the House of Lords | |
Shadow Cabinet full members in bold | |
Shadow Cabinet attendees in bold italics |
HM Treasury | |||
---|---|---|---|
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer | Alan Johnson | 2010–2011 | |
Ed Balls | 2011–2015 | ||
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury | Angela Eagle | 2010–2011 | |
Rachel Reeves | 2011–2013 | ||
Chris Leslie | 2013–2015 | ||
Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury | David Hanson | 2010–2011 | |
Cathy Jamieson | 2011–2013 | ||
Catherine McKinnell | 2013–2015 | ||
Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury | Chris Leslie | 2010–2013 | |
Shabana Mahmood | 2013–2015 |
Foreign Office | |||
---|---|---|---|
Shadow Foreign Secretary | Yvette Cooper | 2010–2011 | |
Douglas Alexander | 2011–201 | ||
Shadow Minister for Europe | Wayne David | 2010–2011 | |
Emma Reynolds | 2011–2013 | ||
Gareth Thomas | 2013–2014 | ||
Pat McFadden | 2014–2015 | ||
Department for International Development | |||
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development | Harriet Harman | 2010–2011 | |
Ivan Lewis | 2011–2013 | ||
Jim Murphy | 2013–2014 | ||
Mary Creagh | 2014–2015 | ||
Ministry of Defence | |||
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence | Jim Murphy | 2010–2013 | |
Vernon Coaker | 2013–2015 | ||
Home Office | |||
---|---|---|---|
Shadow Home Secretary | Ed Balls | 2010–2011 | |
Yvette Cooper | 2011–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Policing | Jack Dromey | 2013–2015 | |
Shadow Minister for Prisons | Jenny Chapman | 2011–2015 | |
Shadow Minister for Crime Prevention | Gloria De Piero | 2011–2013 | |
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs | Steve Reed | 2013–2015 | |
Shadow Minister for Immigration | Gerry Sutcliffe | 2010–2011 | |
David Hanson | 2011–2015 | ||
Shadow Spokesman in the House of Lords | Baron Hunt of Kings Heath | 2012–2015 | |
Ministry of Justice and Attorney General's Office | |||
Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Shadow Lord Chancellor | Sadiq Khan | 2010–2015 | |
Shadow Minister for Justice | Andy Slaughter | 2010–2015 | |
Shadow Attorney General | Patricia Scotland | 2010–2011 | |
Emily Thornberry | 2011–2014 | ||
Willy Lord Bach | 2014–2015 | ||
Shadow Solicitor General | Catherine McKinnell | 2010–2011 | |
Karl Turner | 2014–2015 | ||
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Justice Secretary | Alex Cunningham | 2010–2015 |
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills | |||
---|---|---|---|
Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills | John Denham | 2010–2011 | |
Chuka Umunna | 2011–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills | Gordon Banks | 2010 – 2011 | |
Nia Griffith | 2010 – 2011 | ||
Chuka Umunna | 2011 |
Department for Education | |||
---|---|---|---|
Shadow Secretary of State for Education | Andy Burnham | 2010–2011 | |
Stephen Twigg | 2011–2013 | ||
Tristram Hunt | 2013–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Further Education | Iain Wright | 2010 – 2011 | |
Karen Buck | 2011 – 2013 | ||
Tristram Hunt | 2013 | ||
Rushanara Ali | 2013 – 2014 | ||
Shadow Minister for Children and Families | Sharon Hodgson | 2010 – 2013 | |
Shadow Minister for Children and Young Families | Lisa Nandy | 2012 – 2013 | |
Shadow Minister for Children and Families | Steve McCabe | 2013–2015 | |
Shadow Minister for Childcare and Early Years | Lucy Powell | 2013 – 2014 | |
Shadow Minister for Children and Families | Alison McGovern | 2014 – 2015 | |
Shadow Minister for Further Education, Skills and Regional Growth | Gordon Marsden | 2010 – 2013 |
Department of Energy and Climate Change | |||
---|---|---|---|
Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change | Meg Hillier | 2010–2011 | |
Caroline Flint | 2011–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Energy | Huw Irranca-Davies | 2010 – 2011 | |
Tom Greatrex | 2011 – 2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change | Luciana Berger | 2010 – 2013 | |
Jonathan Reynolds | 2013 – 2015 |
Department for Communities and Local Government | |||
---|---|---|---|
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government | Caroline Flint | 2010–2011 | |
Hilary Benn | 2011–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government | Barbara Keeley | 2010–2011 | |
Roberta Blackman-Woods | 2011–2015 | ||
Lyn Brown [2] | 2013–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Housing | Jack Dromey | 2010–2013 | |
Shadow Minister for Communities and Local Government | Andy Sawford | 2013–2015 | |
Deputy Shadow Minister for London | Heidi Alexander | 2013–2015 | |
Shadow Spokesman in the House of Lords | Bill McKenzie | 2010–2013 |
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | |||
---|---|---|---|
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | Mary Creagh | 2010–2013 | |
Maria Eagle | 2013–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Food | Willie Bain | 2010 – 2011 | |
Shadow Minister for Food and Farming | Huw Irranca-Davies | 2011 – 2015 | |
Shadow Minister for the Natural Environment and Fisheries | Jamie Reed | 2010 – 2011 | |
Fiona O'Donnell | 2011 – 2012 | ||
Barry Gardiner | 2013 – 2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for the Environment | Tom Harris | 2012 – 2013 | |
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs team | Heidi Alexander | 2010 – 2012 |
Department of Health | |||
---|---|---|---|
Shadow Secretary of State for Health | John Healey | 2010–2011 | |
Andy Burnham | 2011–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Health | Derek Twigg | 2010–2011 | |
Jamie Reed | 2011–2015 | ||
Andrew Gwynne | 2011–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Social Care | Emily Thornberry | 2010–2011 | |
Shadow Minister for Public Health | Diane Abbott | 2010–2013 | |
Luciana Berger | 2013–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Disabled People | Margaret Curran | 2010–2011 | |
Anne McGuire | 2011–2013 | ||
Kate Green | 2013 – 2015 | ||
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Secretary of State for Health | Debbie Abrahams | 2010–2015 | |
Shadow Spokesman in the House of Lords | Glenys Thornton | 2010–2012 | |
Department for Work and Pensions | |||
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | Douglas Alexander | 2010–2011 | |
Liam Byrne | 2011–2013 | ||
Rachel Reeves | 2013–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Pensions | Rachel Reeves | 2010–2011 | |
Gregg McClymont | 2011–2015 | ||
Shadow Spokesman in the House of Lords | Maeve Sherlock | 2013–2015 | |
Shadow Spokesman in the House of Lords | Bill McKenzie | 2010–2013 |
Department for Transport | |||
---|---|---|---|
Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport | Ivan Lewis | 2010–2011 | |
Harriet Harman | 2011–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Civil Society | Roberta Blackman-Woods | 2010–2011 | |
Gareth Thomas | 2011–2013 | ||
Lisa Nandy | 2013–2015 | ||
Shadow Culture Minister | Gloria De Piero | 2010–2011 |
Department for Transport | |||
---|---|---|---|
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport | Maria Eagle | 2010–2013 | |
Mary Creagh | 2013–2014 | ||
Michael Dugher | 2014–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Transport | Andrew Gwynne | 2010 – 2011 | |
Shadow Minister for Transport | Gordon Marsden | 2013 – 2015 | |
Shadow Minister for Aviation, Shipping and Road Safety | Jim Fitzpatrick | 2010 – 2013 | |
Shadow Minister for Roads and Road Safety | Richard Burden | 2013 – 2015 |
Government Equalities Office | |||
---|---|---|---|
Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities | Yvette Cooper | 2010–2013 | |
Gloria De Piero | 2013–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities | Fiona Mactaggart | 2010 – 2011 | |
Kate Green | 2011 – 2013 | ||
Sharon Hodgson | 2013 – 2015 | ||
Shadow Spokesman in the House of Lords | Glenys Thornton | 2011 – 2015 |
Office of the Secretary of State for Wales | |||
---|---|---|---|
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales | Peter Hain | 2010–2012 | |
Owen Smith | 2012–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Wales | Owen Smith | 2010–2012 | |
Nia Griffith | 2011–2015 | ||
Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland | |||
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland | Ann McKechin | 2010 – 2011 | |
Margaret Curran | 2011 – 2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Scotland | Tom Greatrex | 2010 – 2011 | |
Willie Bain | 2011 – 2013 | ||
Gordon Banks | 2013 – 2015 | ||
Northern Ireland Office | |||
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | Shaun Woodward | 2010–2011 | |
Vernon Coaker | 2011–2013 | ||
Ivan Lewis | 2013–2015 | ||
Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland | Stephen Pound | 2010–2015 |
His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The head of state is King Charles III who is represented by the Governor. Elections in Gibraltar are held every four years, with a unicameral parliament of 18 members of which 17 members are elected by popular vote and one, the Speaker, appointed by Parliament.
The shadow cabinet or shadow ministry is a feature of the Westminster system of government. It consists of a senior group of opposition spokespeople who, under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition, form an alternative cabinet to that of the government, and whose members shadow or mirror the positions of each individual member of the Cabinet. Their areas of responsibility, in parallel with the ruling party's ministries, may be referred to as a shadow portfolio. Members of a shadow cabinet have no executive power. It is the shadow cabinet's responsibility to scrutinise the policies and actions of the government, as well as to offer alternative policies. The shadow cabinet makes up the majority of the Official Opposition frontbench, as part of frontbenchers to the parliament. Smaller opposition parties in Britain and Ireland have Frontbench Teams.
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state. In some countries, the title of "Official Opposition" is conferred upon the largest political party sitting in opposition in the legislature, with said party's leader being accorded the title "Leader of the Opposition".
In Australian parliamentary practice, the Opposition or the Official Opposition consists of the second largest party or coalition of parties in the Australian House of Representatives, with its leader being given the title Leader of the Opposition. The Opposition serves the same function as the official opposition in other Commonwealth of Nations monarchies that follow the Westminster conventions and practices. It is seen as the alternative government and the existing administration's main opponent in the Australian Parliament and at a general election. By convention, the Opposition Leader in the federal Parliament comes from the House of Representatives, as does the deputy, although the Government and Opposition may also both have leaders in the Senate. The Opposition is sometimes styled as His Majesty's Loyal Opposition to show that, although the group may be against the sitting government, it remains loyal to the Crown, and thus to Australia.
In parliamentary systems of government, the loyal opposition is the opposition parties in the legislature. The word loyal indicates that the non-governing parties may oppose the actions of the sitting cabinet while remaining loyal to the formal source(s) of the government's power, such as the monarch or constitution. This loyalty allows for a peaceful transition of power and ongoing strengthening of democratic institutions. The idea of inquisitorial opposition that held the executive to account emerged in Great Britain.
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, known as Shadow Ministers, are usually appointed by the Leader of the Opposition. The role of a Shadow Minister is 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 either serving members of the House of Commons or the House of Lords, with most chosen from the former. Since May 2010, Labour has been the Official Opposition, and its leadership therefore forms the current Shadow Cabinet.
Edward Samuel Miliband is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition between 2010 and 2015. Alongside his brother, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, he served in the Cabinet from 2007 to 2010 under Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Lilian Rachel Greenwood is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottingham South since 2010, and the Shadow Minister for Arts, Heritage and Civil Society since 2023.
Emma Elizabeth Reynolds is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton North East from 2010 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she attended the shadow cabinets of Miliband and Harman from 2013 to 2015.
Elizabeth Louise Kendall is a British Labour politician who has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since 2023. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester West since 2010.
The Commons members of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) elected 19 members of the Shadow Cabinet from among their number in 2010. This follows the Labour Party's defeat at the 2010 general election, after which the party formed the Official Opposition in the United Kingdom.
Ed Miliband became Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition upon being elected to the former post on 25 September 2010. The election was triggered by Gordon Brown's resignation following the party's fall from power at the 2010 general election, which yielded a Conservative–Liberal Democrat Coalition. Miliband appointed his first Shadow Cabinet in October 2010, following the Labour Party Shadow Cabinet elections. These elections were the last such elections before they were abolished in 2011.
Jonathan Michael Graham Ashworth is a British politician who has served as Shadow Paymaster General since September 2023. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester South since 2011.
John Smith was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Official Opposition from 18 July 1992 until his death on 12 May 1994. Smith became leader upon succeeding Neil Kinnock, who had resigned following the 1992 general election—for the fourth successive time, the Conservatives had won and Labour lost.
Tony Blair was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from his election as Leader on 21 July 1994 until he became Prime Minister on 2 May 1997. Blair became leader upon the death of John Smith. Under Blair, the Labour Party was rebranded as New Labour to distance itself from previous Labour politics and the traditional idea of socialism. Despite opposition from Labour's left-wing, he abolished Clause IV, the party's formal commitment to the nationalisation of the economy, weakened trade union influence in the party, and committed to the free market and the European Union.
Harriet Harman's second Shadow Cabinet was formed by Harriet Harman in 2015 during her second period as Acting Leader of the Labour Party. She assumed this role after Ed Miliband resigned as party leader and announced she would continue until a new leader was elected on 12 September 2015. Miliband's resignation followed the party's defeat at the 2015 general election.
His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition, commonly known as the Official Opposition in the United Kingdom, is the main political opposition to His Majesty's Government. This is usually the political party with the second-largest number of seats in the House of Commons, as the largest party will usually form the government. Since May 2010, the Official Opposition has been the Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer since 2020.
Keir Starmer became Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom after being elected as Leader of the Labour Party on 4 April 2020. He appointed his Shadow Cabinet on 5 and 6 April. Starmer has reshuffled his Shadow Cabinet five times: in June 2020, May 2021, June 2021, November 2021 and September 2023.
On 29 November 2021, Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, carried out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet. The slimmed down shadow cabinet, was seen to be Starmer creating a top team in his own image.
The frontbench of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow Cabinet and other shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. From 2005 to 2010, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition was the Conservative Party, and the Leader of the Opposition was David Cameron.