Frontbench Team of Ian Blackford

Last updated

Frontbench Team of Ian Blackford
2017–2022
Blackford Frontbench 2019.jpg
Ian Blackford and his Frontbench team in 2019
Date formed14 June 2017
Date dissolved6 December 2022
People and organisations
Leader Ian Blackford
Leader's history 2017–2022
Deputy Leader Kirsty Blackman (2017–2020)
Kirsten Oswald (2020–2022)
Member party
  •   Scottish National Party
Status in legislature Third party
44 / 650(7%)
(As of 2022)
History
Elections 2017 general election
2019 general election
Legislature terms 57th UK Parliament
58th UK Parliament
Predecessor Robertson Frontbench
Successor Flynn Frontbench

The Frontbench Team of Ian Blackford was the team of Scottish National Party Spokespersons in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022.

Contents

Ian Blackford, who was elected Leader of the Scottish National Party's parliamentary group in the House of Commons on 14 June 2017 following Angus Robertson's defeat in the general election, announced his frontbench team on 20 June. [1] [2] [3] [4] Blackford announced his revised frontbench team on 7 January 2020 following the 2019 general election. [5] [6] On 1 February 2021, a reshuffle of the SNP frontbench team at Westminster was announced. [7]

Blackford Westminster Group Frontbench Leadership

Frontbench

NamePortfolio
The Rt Hon Ian Blackford MP Leader of the Scottish National Party Parliamentary Group
Kirsten Oswald MPDeputy Leader of the Scottish National Party Parliamentary Group

SNP Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities

Alison Thewliss MPSNP Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Alyn Smith MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Stuart McDonald MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department
Anne McLaughlin MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Immigration
Philippa Whitford MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
SNP Shadow Minister for Europe
John Nicolson MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Mhairi Black MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
Richard Thomson MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
SNP Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
Patricia Gibson MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Drew Hendry MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade
Stephen Flynn MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Kirsty Blackman MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Stewart McDonald MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Angela Crawley MPSNP Shadow Attorney General
Gavin Newlands MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Carol Monaghan MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for Education
SNP Shadow Minister for Military Personnel and Veterans
Chris Law MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
Deidre Brock MPSNP Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Rt Hon Stewart Hosie MPSNP Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
SNP Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
Owen Thompson MPSNP Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Alan Brown MPSNP Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change

Other Portfolio

NamePortfolio
Scotland in the World
Martin Docherty-Hughes MPAssistant Spokesperson for Defence and International Affairs
Hannah Bardell MPAssistant Spokesperson for International Development and International Affairs
Allan Dorans MPAssistant Spokesperson for International Affairs
Angus MacNeil MPAssistant Spokesperson for International Trade
Finance and Economy
Peter Grant MPAssistant Spokesperson for the Treasury
Stephen Flynn MPAssistant Spokesperson for the Treasury
Ronnie Cowan MPSpokesperson for Infrastructure and Manufacturing
Douglas Chapman MPSpokesperson for Small Business and Innovation
Patricia Gibson MPSpokesperson for Consumer Affairs
Martin Docherty-Hughes MPSpokesperson for Future Industries and Blockchain
Richard Thomson MPShadow Financial Secretary
Inclusion and Wellbeing
Kirsten Oswald MPSpokesperson for Work, Pensions and Inclusion
Amy Callaghan MPSpokesperson for Pensions and Inter-Generational Affairs
Chris Stephens MPSpokesperson for Fair Work and Employment
Brendan O'Hara MPSpokesperson for an Inclusive Society
Marion Fellows MPSpokesperson for Disabilities
Lisa Cameron MPSpokesperson for Mental Health
Martyn Day MPSpokesperson for Public Health and Primary Care
Constitution and Human Rights
Tommy Sheppard MPSpokesperson for Constitutional Affairs
John McNally MPSpokesperson for the Environment
Dave Doogan MPSpokesperson for Agriculture and Rural Affairs
Steven Bonnar MPAssistant Spokesperson for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Leadership
Martin Docherty-Hughes MP Parliamentary Private Secretary to Ian Blackford

Whips Office

NamePortfolio
Owen Thompson MPSNP Westminster Chief Whip
Marion Fellows MPSNP Whip

Former members

Neale Hanvey, Shadow Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment

See also

Notes

    Related Research Articles

    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.

    In many parliaments and other similar assemblies, seating is typically arranged in banks or rows, with each political party or caucus grouped together. The spokespeople for each group will often sit at the front of their group, and are then known as being on the frontbench and are described as frontbenchers. Those sitting behind them are known as backbenchers. Independent and minority parties sit to the side or on benches between the two sides, and are referred to as crossbenchers. Frontbenchers may be part of a Frontbench Team with other members of their political party.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathy Jamieson</span> Scottish politician

    Catherine Mary Jamieson is a Scottish business director, currently a director at Kilmarnock Football Club and former politician. She served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2008. She previously served in the Scottish Executive as Minister for Justice from 2003 to 2007 and Minister for Education and Young People from 2001 to 2003. Jamieson was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley from 1999 to 2011 and was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Kilmarnock and Loudoun from 2010 to 2015.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart Hosie</span> Scottish National Party politician

    Stewart Hosie is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee East from 2005 to 2024. He served as the SNP Treasury Spokesperson from 2022 to 2023, and previously from 2015 to 2017. He served as the SNP Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office since 2021. He served as Deputy Leader of the SNP to Nicola Sturgeon from November 2014 to October 2016. He was also the SNP Deputy Westminster Leader and the SNP Treasury Spokesperson from May 2015, until he was succeeded in both positions by Kirsty Blackman in June 2017.

    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 front bench, and is currently the Labour Party led by Keir Starmer since April 2020.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">James Kelly (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish Labour Co-op politician

    James Anthony Kelly is a Scottish politician who has served as General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region between 2016 and 2021, having previously been MSP for Rutherglen from 2007 to 2016.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Opposition Shadow Cabinets of the Scottish Parliament</span>

    Unlike in the Parliament at Westminster where there is an Official Opposition to the government of the day, all parties in the Scottish Parliament that are not in government are all technically on the same footing as 'opposition parties'. With the Scottish National Party (SNP) currently in government, the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour each have a Shadow Cabinet composed of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and prospective parliamentary candidates.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Murray (Scottish politician)</span> British Labour politician (born 1976)

    Ian Murray is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh South since 2010. He has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland since 2020, and previously from 2015 to 2016.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Blackford</span> Scottish politician (born 1961)

    Ian Blackford is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 2015 to 2024.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Brown (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish National Party politician

    Alan Brown is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kilmarnock and Loudoun since 2015. Brown was previously the SNP Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson in the House of Commons.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Thewliss</span> Scottish politician

    Alison Emily Thewliss is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. She has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Central since the May 2015 general election.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Joanna Cherry</span> Scottish SNP politician and lawyer

    Joanna Catherine Cherry is a Scottish politician and lawyer who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Edinburgh South West since 2015. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she was the party's Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Secretary of State for Justice in the House of Commons from 2015 to 2021.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Gethins</span> Scottish SNP politician

    Stephen Patrick Gethins is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and academic. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Fife from the 2015 general election, until he lost his seat at the 2019 general election to Wendy Chamberlain of the Liberal Democrats. Subsequently, he was appointed Professor of Practice in International Relations at the University of St Andrews.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Frontbench Team of Angus Robertson</span>

    The list that follows was an unofficial shadow cabinet of the SNP led by Angus Robertson from 2015 to June 2017, after the Scottish National Party (SNP) became the third-largest party in the UK Parliament after the 2015 general election, and up until the defeat of Angus Robertson and other key SNP politicians in the 2017 general election. The Frontbench Team consisted exclusively of Members of the House of Commons, since the SNP has a policy of not appointing peers to the House of Lords.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition</span> Parliamentary political opposition to the government of the United Kingdom

    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.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Frontbench Team of Vince Cable</span> Political group within UK Parliament

    On 20 July 2017, Sir Vince Cable became Leader of the Liberal Democrats after facing no competition. He was the oldest leader of a major UK political party since Sir Winston Churchill. Upon taking office Cable made no significant reshuffle to his Frontbench Team, so the line-up remained much as it was inherited from Tim Farron. Cable later completed his first reshuffle a few weeks after the Party's 2017 Autumn Conference.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Flynn (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish politician (born 1988)

    Stephen Mark Flynn is a Scottish politician who has served as the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the House of Commons since December 2022. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen South since the 2019 general election.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Opposition frontbench of Keir Starmer</span>

    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.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 SNP Westminster leadership election</span>

    The 2022 Scottish National Party (SNP) Westminster leadership election was held to choose the leader of the SNP in the House of Commons, following the resignation of Ian Blackford on 1 December 2022. Stephen Flynn and Alison Thewliss were the two MPs who ran in the election. Flynn was elected by 26 votes to 17.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Frontbench Team of Stephen Flynn</span> Political party spokesperson group

    The Frontbench Team of Stephen Flynn is the team of Scottish National Party Spokespersons in the House of Commons since 2022. The frontbench was appointed on 10 December 2022.

    References

    1. Razaq, Lindsay (21 June 2017). "Ian Blackford unveils SNP front-bench team at Westminster". The Press and Journal .
    2. "SNP announce Westminster leadership team". BBC News. 20 June 2017.
    3. "SNP Westminster frontbench team and spokespeople". Scottish National Party. 20 June 2017.
    4. "Scottish National Party spokespersons - MPs and Lords - UK Parliament". members.parliament.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
    5. St, Olaf; o (7 January 2020). "The real opposition: meet your new SNP Westminster frontbench team". Scottish National Party. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
    6. Beaton, Ailean (7 January 2020). "Full list of SNP Westminster front bench and spokespeople 2020". Holyrood. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
    7. "MP Joanna Cherry dropped in SNP frontbench reshuffle". BBC News. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.