The Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet, or His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition Shadow Cabinet, 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
, the members of the shadow cabinet are:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan=2 scope="col" | Shadow Minister<br />
! Office(s)
! colspan="2" | Shadows
|-
! colspan=5 | Shadow Cabinet ministers
|-
| 139x139px
|Kemi Badenoch
MP for
North West Essex
| Leader of the Opposition
| Prime Minister
|Keir Starmer
|-
|138x138px
|Mel Stride
MP for
Central Devon
|Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
|Chancellor of the Exchequer
|Rachel Reeves
|-
|138x138px
|Priti Patel
MP for
Witham
|Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
|Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
|Yvette Cooper
|-
|139x139px
|Chris Philp
MP for
Croydon South
|Shadow Home Secretary
|Home Secretary
|Shabana Mahmood
|-
|139x139px
|James Cartlidge
MP for
South Suffolk
|Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
|Secretary of State for Defence
|John Healey
|-
|139x139px
|Nick Timothy
MP for
West Suffolk
|Shadow Lord Chancellor<br>Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
|Lord Chancellor<br>Secretary of State for Justice
|David Lammy
|-
|138x138px
|Julia Lopez
MP for
Hornchurch and Upminster
|Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
|Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
|Liz Kendall
|-
|138x138px
|Stuart Andrew
MP for
Daventry
|Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
|Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
|James Murray
|-
|138x138px
|James Cleverly
MP for
Braintree
|Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
|Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
|Steve Reed
|-
|139x139px
|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
|Emma Reynolds
|-
|139x139px
|Jesse Norman
MP for
Hereford and South Herefordshire
|Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
|Leader of the House of Commons
|Alan Campbell
|-
|139x139px
|The Lord True
|Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
|Leader of the House of Lords
|Angela Smith
|-
|139x139px
|Andrew Griffith
MP for
Arundel and South Downs
|Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
|Secretary of State for Business and Trade
|Peter Kyle
|-
|139x139px
|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
|Ed Miliband
|-
|139x139px
|Helen Whately
MP for
Faversham and Mid Kent
|Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
|Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
|Pat McFadden
|-
|139x139px
|Laura Trott
MP for Sevenoaks
|Shadow Secretary of State for Education
|Secretary of State for Education
|Bridget Phillipson
|-
| rowspan="2" |139x139px
| rowspan="2" |Richard Holden
MP for
Basildon and Billericay
|Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
|Secretary of State for Transport
|Heidi Alexander
|-
|Shadow Paymaster General
|Paymaster General
|Nick Thomas-Symonds
|-
|138x138px
|Nigel Huddleston
MP for
Droitwich and Evesham
|Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
|Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
|Lisa Nandy
|-
|rowspan=2|139x139px
|rowspan=2|Alex Burghart
MP for
Brentwood and Ongar
|Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
|Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
|Hilary Benn
|-
|Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
|Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
|Darren Jones
|-
|139x139px
|Andrew Bowie
MP for
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
|Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
|Secretary of State for Scotland
|Douglas Alexander
|-
|139x139px
|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
|Jo Stevens
|-
| 139x139px
| scope="row" | Rebecca Harris
MP for
Castle Point
| Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons
| Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
|Jonathan Reynolds
|-
| 139x139px
| Richard Fuller
MP for
North East Bedfordshire
| Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
| Chief Secretary to the Treasury
|James Murray
|}
See also
- His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition (United Kingdom)
- Official Opposition frontbench
- List of British shadow cabinets
- List of shadow holders of the Great Offices of State
- Cabinet of the United Kingdom
References
External links
- His Majesty's Official Opposition – official UK Parliament webpage