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.
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. 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.
The Liberal Democrats are a political party in the United Kingdom. While in opposition, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats appoints a frontbench team of Members of Parliament (MPs), Peers, Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and Members of the Senedd (MSs), to speak for the party on different issues. Their areas of responsibility broadly corresponded to those of Government ministers. The frontbench team is divided into departmental sub-units, the principal ones being the economy, foreign policy, and home affairs. Sometimes the frontbench team consists of more than just the principal positions.
Barbara Mary Keeley is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Worsley and Eccles South, previously Worsley, from 2005 to 2024.
The frontbench of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow Cabinet and other official shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. The Opposition front bench provide Parliamentary opposition to the British Government frontbench and has been the Conservative Party since 5 July 2024. The current Leader of the Opposition is Rishi Sunak, following his party’s defeat in the 2024 general election, although he has already indicated that he will resign and make way for a new leader at the earliest opportunity. Sunak appointed his shadow cabinet on 8 July and junior shadow ministers on 18 July.
Jennifer Chapman, Baroness Chapman of Darlington is a British politician and life peer who has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Latin America and Caribbean since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Darlington from 2010 to 2019.
The minister of state for security is a senior ministerial position in the government of the United Kingdom, falling under the Home Office. The post was created by then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown on 3 June 2009 by splitting the now-defunct post of the minister for security, counter-terrorism, crime and policing between this post and the new post of Minister for Crime and Policing.
The list that follows is the Frontbench Team led by Nick Clegg from 2007 to 2010, before the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives formed a coalition government following the 2010 general election, and Clegg became Deputy Prime Minister.
The Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office is a position on the Official Opposition frontbench attending the British Shadow Cabinet, appointed by the Leader of the Opposition. The post involves holding the Cabinet Office and the Minister for the Cabinet Office to account.
The shadow minister for women and equalities is a position in the United Kingdom's Official Opposition, and sits in the Shadow Cabinet. The shadow minister is responsible for holding the minister for women and equalities, responsible for the Government Equalities Office, to account and is responsible for Opposition policy on women's and equality issues.
The office of Shadow Minister for Employment is a position on the United Kingdom's Official Opposition frontbench, and has occasionally been a position in the Shadow Cabinet.
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 July 2024, the Official Opposition has been the Conservative Party, led by former British prime minister Rishi Sunak.
Eleanor Claire Reeves is a British politician and barrister who has served as Chair of the Labour Party and Minister without Portfolio since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the Member of Parliament for Lewisham West and East Dulwich, formerly Lewisham West and Penge, since 2017. She previously served as Shadow Solicitor General from April 2020 to December 2021 and Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation from 2021 to 2023.
Alexander James Jordan Norris is a British Labour and Co-op politician who has served as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government since July 2024. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Nottingham North from 2017 until the seat's abolition in 2024. Since 2024, Norris has been Member of Parliament (MP) for the newly created Nottingham North and Kimberley constituency.
The Shadow Secretary of State for Housing was a position in the United Kingdom's Shadow Cabinet that was created on 7 October 2016 by the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn during a cabinet reshuffle. This position succeeds the position of Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning, and shadowed the Minister of State for Housing at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities in Her Majesty's Government. The office was succeeded by the Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
The Frontbench Team of Ian Blackford was the team of Scottish National Party Spokespersons in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022.
In the aftermath of relatively poor results in the 2021 local elections, Keir Starmer carried out a May 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle.
The shadow secretary of state for child poverty was a position in the United Kingdom's Shadow Cabinet that was created on 9 May 2021 by the leader of the opposition, Keir Starmer during a cabinet reshuffle. The position was abolished in the November 2021 reshuffle.
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 His 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 2020 to 2024, His Majesty's Loyal Opposition was the Labour Party, and the Leader of the Opposition was Keir Starmer.
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