Frontbench Team of Ed Davey

Frontbench Team of Ed Davey
2020–present
Date formed	27 August 2020
People and organisations
Monarch	Elizabeth II Charles III
Leader	Ed Davey
Deputy Leader	Daisy Cooper
Member party	Liberal Democrats
Status in legislature	Third party 72 / 650 (11%) (As of July 2024) Opposition 11 / 650 (2%) (2020 - 2024)
History
Legislature terms	58th UK Parliament 59th UK Parliament
Incoming formation	2019 General Election
Predecessor	Frontbench Team of Jo Swinson

Ed Davey was appointed as Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats following the resignation of Jo Swinson. Davey announced his first frontbench team as Acting Leader in January 2020. ^[1]

Davey was elected permanent Leader on 27 August 2020 and assembled a new frontbench team in the following days. After the 2024 general election, Davey's frontbench team became the second largest opposition party to the governing Labour Party, behind the Sunak shadow cabinet.

On 18 September 2024, following the party conference, Davey announced a new 33-member frontbench team, with new members taking frontbench roles. This left 39 backbench MPs, more than twice the number of Liberal Democrat MPs prior to the election. This was also subsequent to former frontbench members Layla Moran, Alistair Carmichael, and Jamie Stone standing down from the frontbench after being elected to chair parliamentary select committees. ^[2]

The frontbench was reshuffled in September 2025 following the Liberal Democrat Conference in Bournemouth. ^[3]

Frontbench Teams since 1997
Ashdown Team (1997–1999)
Kennedy Team (1999–2006)
Campbell Team (2006–2007)
First Cable Team (2007)
Clegg Team (2007–2010)
General Election Cabinet (2015)
Farron Team (2015–2017)
Second Cable Team (2017–2019)
Swinson Team (2019)
Davey Team (2020–present)

Current frontbench team

Since September 2025

Frontbench Team of Ed Davey ^[4]

Portfolio	Current holder		Term
Leader of the Liberal Democrats		The Rt Hon Sir Ed Davey FRSA MP	2020–present
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats		Daisy Cooper MP	2020–present
Treasury			2024–present
Chief Whip		Wendy Chamberlain MP	2020–present
Home Affairs		Max Wilkinson MP	2025–present
Foreign Affairs		Calum Miller MP	2024–present
Health and Social Care		Helen Morgan MP	2024–present
Education, Children and Families		Munira Wilson MP	2021–present
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs		Tim Farron MP	2020–present
Cabinet Office		Lisa Smart MP	2025–present
Business		Sarah Olney MP	2025–present
Work and Pensions		Steve Darling MP	2024–present
Investment & Trade		Joshua Reynolds MP	2025–present
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury		Charlie Maynard MP	2025-present
Justice		Jess Brown-Fuller MP	2025–present
Shadow Attorney General		Ben Maguire MP	2024–present
Women and Equalities		Marie Goldman MP	2025-present
Defence		James MacCleary MP	2025–present
International Development		Monica Harding MP	2024–present
Europe		Al Pinkerton MP	2025–present
Primary Care and Cancer		Helen Maguire BEM MP	2025–present
Care and Carers		Alison Bennett MP	2024–present
Mental Health		Danny Chambers MP	2024–present
Science, Innovation, and Technology		Victoria Collins MP	2024–present
Universities and Skills		Ian Sollom MP	2024–present
Culture, Media and Sport		Anna Sabine MP	2025–present
Schools		Caroline Voaden MP	2025-present
Energy Security and Net Zero		Pippa Heylings MP	2024–present
Transport		Olly Glover MP	2025–present
Housing and Planning		Gideon Amos OBE MP	2024–present
Local Government		Zöe Franklin MP	2025–present
Rural Affairs		Sarah Dyke MP	2025-present
Northern Ireland		Paul Kohler MP	2025–present
Scotland		Susan Murray MP	2025–present
Wales		David Chadwick MP	2024–present
London		Luke Taylor MP	2024–present
Deputy Chief Whip		Tom Morrison MP	2024–present
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons		Bobby Dean MP	2025–present

Other roles and spokespeople

Portfolio	Name
In the House of Lords [5]
Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords	The Rt Hon Lord Purvis of Tweed
Lords Chief Whip	The Rt Hon Lord Stoneham of Droxford
Lords Spokesperson for Business	The Rt Hon Lord Fox
Lords Spokesperson for Cabinet Office	The Rt Hon Lord Wallace of Saltaire PC
Lords Spokesperson for Culture, Media and Sport	The Rt Hon Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
Lords Spokesperson for Defence	The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Newnham
Lords Spokesperson for Education	The Rt Hon Lord Storey CBE
Lords Spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero	The Rt Hon Earl Russell
Lords Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	The Rt Hon Baroness Grender MBE
Lords Spokesperson for Foreign, Commonwealth and Developmental Affairs	The Rt Hon Lord Purvis
Lords Spokesperson for International Development
Lords Spokesperson for International Trade
Lords Spokesperson for Health	The Rt Hon Lord Scriven
Lords Spokesperson for Victims and Abuse	The Rt Hon Baroness Brinton
Lords Spokesperson for Policing	The Rt Hon Baroness Doocey OBE
Lords Spokesperson for Immigration	The Rt Hon Lord German OBE
Lords Spokesperson for Housing, Communities and Local Government	The Rt Hon Baroness Pinnock
	The Rt Hon Baroness Thornhill
Lords Spokesperson for Justice	The Rt Hon Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames KC
Lords Spokesperson for Northern Ireland	The Rt Hon Baroness Suttie
Lords Spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology	The Rt Hon Lord Clement-Jones CBE FRSA
Lords Spokesperson for Scotland	The Rt Hon Lord Bruce of Bennachie PC
Lords Spokesperson for Transport	The Rt Hon Baroness Pidgeon MBE
Lords Spokesperson for Treasury	The Rt Hon Baroness Kramer PC
Lords Spokesperson for Voluntary	The Rt Hon Baroness Barker
Lords Spokesperson for Wales	The Rt Hon Baroness Humphreys
Lords Spokesperson for Work and Pensions	The Rt Hon Lord Palmer of Childs Hill OBE FCA
Lords Spokesperson for Attorney General's Office	The Rt Hon Lord Thomas of Gresford OBE KC
Welsh Liberal Democrats
Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats	Jane Dodds MS
Deputy Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats	David Chadwick MP
Scottish Liberal Democrats
Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats	Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP
Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats	Wendy Chamberlain MP

Frontbench team history

January 2020 – August 2020

^[6]

Portfolio	Holder
Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Economy and Social Justice		The Rt Hon Sir Ed Davey FRSA MP
Home Affairs, Women and Equalities		Christine Jardine MP
Foreign Affairs and Brexit, Chief Whip		The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP
Climate Emergency, Energy and the Environment		Wera Hobhouse MP
Housing, Local Government, Food and Rural Affairs, North of England		Tim Farron MP
Education		Layla Moran MP
Health, Wellbeing & Social Care, Transport		Munira Wilson MP
Defence		Jamie Stone MP
Business and Trade		Sarah Olney MP
Justice, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport		Daisy Cooper MP
Political & Constitutional Reform, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, International Development		Wendy Chamberlain MP

Changes from Swinson's final Team

• Chuka Umunna (Foreign Affairs and International Trade) lost his seat and was replaced by Alistair Carmichael in the former and Wendy Chamberlain in the later
• Sam Gyimah (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) lost his seat and was replaced by Wera Hobhouse (Climate Emergency, Energy and the Environment) and Sarah Olney (Business and Trade)
• Angela Smith (International Development) lost her seat and was replaced by replaced by Wendy Chamberlain
• Phillip Lee (Justice) lost his seat and was replaced by Daisy Cooper
• Tom Brake (Brexit and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster) lost his seat and was replaced in the former by Alistair Carmichael, the later remained vacant
• Luciana Berger (Health and Social Care) lost her seat and was replaced by Munira Wilson
• Sir Vince Cable (Cabinet Office) retired from the commons and was not replaced, although Wendy Chamberlain took on a similar role called Political & Constitutional Reform spokesperson
• Jane Dodds (Wales and Food and Rural Affairs) lost her seat and was succeeded in the former by Wendy Chamberlain and by Tim Farron in the latter.
• In addition to Justice, Daisy Cooper also took over as Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson from Layla Moran who continued as Education spokesperson
• In addition to International Development and Wales, Wendy Chamberlain also took over Northern Ireland from Alistair Carmichael

September 2020 – July 2022

Following Davey's election as party leader, he reshuffled his frontbench team. ^{[7] [8]}

Portfolio	Holder
Leader of the Liberal Democrats		The Rt Hon Sir Ed Davey FRSA MP
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Education (until October 2021), Health, Wellbeing & Social Care (from October 2021)		Daisy Cooper MP
Treasury		Christine Jardine MP
Home Affairs, Northern Ireland		The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP
Foreign Affairs, International Development		Layla Moran MP
Housing, Local Government, Food and Rural Affairs, North of England		Tim Farron MP
Health, Wellbeing & Social Care (until October 2021), Education (from October 2021)		Munira Wilson MP
Business and Trade, Transport		Sarah Olney MP
Justice, Women and Equalities		Wera Hobhouse MP
Defence, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport		Jamie Stone MP
Scotland, Wales, Work and Pensions, Chief Whip		Wendy Chamberlain MP

Changes

• Christine Jardine took over as Treasury spokesperson from Davey
• Alistair Carmichael took over Jardine's role as Home Affairs spokesperson and also took back Northern Ireland from Chamberlain.
• Layla Moran took over Foreign Affairs from Carmichael and International Development from Chamberlain
• Daisy Cooper took over Education from Moran, she also became Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats
• Sarah Olney took over transport from Munira Wilson while remaining business spokesperson
• Wera Hobhouse took over Justice from Cooper and Women and Equalities from Jardine
• Jamie Stone took over Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from Cooper while remaining Defence spokesperson
• Wendy Chamberlain took over as Chief Whip from Carmichael, while remaining Scotland and Wales spokesperson and becoming Work and Pensions spokesperson.

Later changes

• In October 2021, Munira Wilson (Health and Social Care) and Daisy Cooper (Education) swapped portfolios ^{[9] [10]}

July 2022 – October 2024

Following several by-election victories, Davey reshuffled his frontbench team to include the party's new MPs. ^[11]

Portfolio	Holder
Leader of the Liberal Democrats		The Rt Hon Sir Ed Davey FRSA MP
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Health and Social Care		Daisy Cooper MP
Treasury, Business and Industrial Strategy		Sarah Olney MP
Home Affairs, Justice, Northern Ireland		The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP
Foreign Affairs, International Development		Layla Moran MP
Work and Pensions, Chief Whip		Wendy Chamberlain MP
Education		Munira Wilson MP
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs		Tim Farron MP
Cabinet Office, Woman and Equalities, Scotland		Christine Jardine MP
Housing, Communities and Local Government		Helen Morgan MP
Culture, Media and Sport, Defence (until October 2022)		Jamie Stone MP
Energy and Climate Change, Transport, Leader of the House of Commons		Wera Hobhouse MP
International Trade and Wales		Sarah Green MP
Defence (from October 2022)		Richard Foord MP

Changes

• Sarah Olney took over Treasury from Christine Jardine, while remaining Business spokesperson
• Alistair Carmichael took over Justice from Wera Hobhouse, while remaining Home Affairs and Northern Ireland spokesperson
• Helen Morgan took over Housing, Communities and Local Government from Tim Farron while the latter remained Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson
• Christine Jardine took over Women and Equalities from Hobhouse and Scotland from Chamberlain while also becoming Cabinet Office spokesperson
• Sarah Green took over Wales from Chamberlain and International Trade from Olney
• Wera Hobhouse took over Transport from Olney and became Energy and Climate Change and Leader of the House of Commons spokesperson
• Richard Foord took over Defence from Jamie Stone while the later remained Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson.

October 2024 – September 2025

Following significant gains at the 2024 general election, Davey reshuffled his frontbench team to "champion the people’s priorities". It included the departures of Layla Moran (Foreign Affairs), Alistair Carmichael (Home Affairs) and Jamie Stone (Culture, Media and Sport) who became Select Committee Chairs. ^[12]

Portfolio	Holder
Leader of the Liberal Democrats		The Rt Hon Sir Ed Davey FRSA MP
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Treasury		Daisy Cooper MP
Home Affairs		Lisa Smart MP
Foreign Affairs		Calum Miller MP
Chief Whip		Wendy Chamberlain MP
Health and Social Care		Helen Morgan MP
Education, Children and Families		Munira Wilson MP
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs		Tim Farron MP
Cabinet Office		Sarah Olney MP
Woman and Equalities, Scotland		Christine Jardine MP
Justice		Josh Babarinde OBE MP
Business		Sarah Gibson MP
Energy Security and Net Zero		Pippa Heylings MP
Housing, Communities and Local Government		Vikki Slade MP
Transport		Paul Kohler MP
Science, Innovation and Technology		Victoria Collins MP
Culture, Media and Sport		Max Wilkinson MP
Defence		Helen Maguire BEM MP
Work and Pensions		Steve Darling MP
Wales		David Chadwick MP
Northern Ireland		Al Pinkerton MP
London		Luke Taylor MP
Hospitals and Primary Care		Jess Brown-Fuller MP
Care and Carers		Alison Bennett MP
Mental Health		Danny Chambers MP
Universities and Skills		Ian Sollom MP
Trade		Clive Jones MP
International Trade		Monica Harding MP
Europe		James MacCleary MP
Housing and Planning		Gideon Amos OBE MP
Leader of the House of Commons		Marie Goldman MP
Attorney General		Ben Maguire MP
Deputy Chief Whip		Tom Morrison MP

Changes

• Daisy Cooper took over Treasury from Sarah Olney
• Helen Morgan took over Health and Social Care from Cooper
• Sarah Olney took over Cabinet Office from Christine Jardine while the later remained Women and Equalities and Scotland spokesperson
• Calum Miller took over Foreign Affairs from Layla Moran, who now chairs the Health and Social Care Select Committee
• Lisa Smart took over Home Affairs from Alistair Carmichael, who now chairs the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee
• Josh Babarinde took over Justice from Carmichael
• Sarah Gibson took over Business from Olney
• Pippa Heylings took over Energy Security and Net Zero from Wera Hobhouse
• Vikki Slade took over Housing, Communities and Local Government from Morgan
• Paul Kohler took over Transport from Hobhouse
• Victoria Collins became Science, Innovation and Technology Spokesperson
• Max Wilkinson took over Culture, Media and Sport from Jamie Stone who now chairs the Petitions Committee
• Helen Maguire took over Defence from Richard Foord
• Steve Darling took over Work and Pensions from Wendy Chamberlain while the later remained Chief Whip
• David Chadwick took over Wales from Sarah Green
• Al Pinkerton took over Northern Ireland from Carmichael
• Luke Taylor became London Spokesperson
• Jess Brown-Fuller became Hospitals and Primary Care Spokesperson
• Alison Bennett became Mental Health Spokesperson
• Ian Sollom became Universities and Skills Spokesperson
• Clive Jones took over Trade from Green
• Monica Harding took over International Development from Moran
• James MacCleary became Europe Spokesperson
• Gideon Amos became Housing and Planning Spokesperson
• Marie Goldman became Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
• Ben Maguire became Shadow Attorney General
• Tom Morrison became Deputy Chief Whip

September 2025 – present

Changes ^[13]

• Lisa Smart took over Cabinet Office from Sarah Olney
• Max Wilkinson took over Home Affairs from Smart
• Sarah Olney took over Business from Sarah Gibson
• Jess Brown-Fuller took over Justice from Josh Babarinde who became President of the Liberal Democrats
• Gideon Amos took over Housing and Communities from Vikki Slade
• Marie Goldman took over Women and Equalities from Christine Jardine
• Olly Glover took over Transport from Paul Kohler
• Anna Sabine took over Culture, Media and Sport from Max Wilkinson
• James MacCleary took over Defence from Helen Maguire
• Susan Murray took over Scotland from Jardine
• Paul Kohler took over Northern Ireland from Al Pinkerton
• Helen Maguire took over Primary Care and Cancer from Jess Brown-Fuller
• Caroline Voaden became Schools Spokesperson
• Will Forster became Immigration Spokesperson
• Joshua Reynolds took over Trade from Clive Jones
• Al Pinkerton took over Europe from James MacCleary
• Zöe Franklin took over Local Government from Vikki Slade
• Sarah Dyke became Rural Affairs spokesperson alongside Tim Farron
• Charlie Maynard became Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
• Bobby Dean took over Shadow Leader of the House of Commons from Marie Goldman

See also

• Cabinet of the United Kingdom
• Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom)

References

1. Davey, Ed (6 January 2020). "Meet our new Commons team". Liberal Democrats. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
2. Morton, Becky (18 September 2024). "Lib Dems unveil new top team after election success". BBC News .
3. "Ed Davey announced new spokesperson team". Mark Pack. 30 September 2025.
4. "People". libdems.org.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
5. "Spokespersons in the House of Lords". UK Parliament. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
6. Davey, Ed (6 January 2020). "Meet our new Commons team". Libdems. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
7. Lindsay, Caron (31 August 2020). "Ed Davey announces key appointments on Twitter". Liberal Democrat Voice. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
8. Pack, Mark (1 September 2020). "Daisy Cooper is the new Liberal Democrat education spokesperson". Mark Pack. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
9. "Parliamentary career for Munira Wilson - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
10. "Parliamentary career for Daisy Cooper - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
11. Pack, Mark (11 July 2022). "Lib Dem Parliamentary team reshuffled". Mark Pack. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
12. "Ed Davey unveils new Lib Dem frontbench team to champion "the people's priorities"". www.libdems.org.uk. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
13. Pack, Mark (30 September 2025). "Ed Davey announces new spokesperson team". Mark Pack. Retrieved 14 January 2026.

External links

• Liberal Democrats: Spokespeople