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.
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 in the House of Lords, 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.
The shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland is a member of the British Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the secretary of state for Northern Ireland and their department, the Northern Ireland Office. The post was held by Hilary Benn.
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 Kemi Badenoch, following her victory in the 2024 Conservative Party Leadership Election.
The term Notting Hill set refers to an informal group of young figures who were in prominent leadership positions in the Conservative Party, or close advisory positions around the former party leader and Prime Minister, David Cameron. Several of the group studied at Oxford University.
Melvyn John Stride is a British politician who has served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in Kemi Badenoch’s Shadow Cabinet since November 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Devon since 2010.
The shadow secretary of state for education, also called the shadow education secretary, is an office in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for Opposition policy on education and for holding the secretary of state for education, junior education ministers, and the Department for Education to account.
Rishi Sunak is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2022 to 2024. He was Leader of the Conservative Party from October 2022 to November 2024. Following his defeat to Keir Starmer’s Labour Party in the 2024 general election, he became Leader of the Opposition, serving in this role from July to November 2024. The first British Asian to hold those offices, he previously held two Cabinet positions under Boris Johnson, latterly as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2020 to 2022. Sunak has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Richmond and Northallerton, previously Richmond (Yorks), since 2015.
James Roger Cartlidge is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for South Suffolk since 2015. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been Shadow Secretary of State for Defence since 2024.
Sir Oliver James Dowden, is a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2023 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he previously held various ministerial positions under Prime Ministers Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak between 2018 and 2024. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hertsmere since 2015.
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.
The Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a position in the United Kingdom's Shadow Cabinet that was created on 6 December 2005 by the then-Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron for his shadow cabinet. From 2005 to 2010, the office was known as Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet, and from 2015 to 2023, the office was known as Shadow First Secretary of State. From 2010 to 2015 and again since 2023, the office has been known as Shadow Deputy Prime Minister.
Richard John Holden is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Basildon and Billericay and Shadow Paymaster General since 2024. A member of the Conservative party, he was previously the Member of Parliament for North West Durham from 2019 to 2024. Holden served as the Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio from November 2023 to July 2024, and as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Roads and Local Transport from 2022 to 2023.
Laura Trott is a British politician currently serving as Shadow Education Secretary since November 2024. She previously served as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from July to November 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sevenoaks since 2019.
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.
The Sunak ministry began on 25 October 2022 when Rishi Sunak was invited by King Charles III to succeed Liz Truss as prime minister of the United Kingdom. Truss resigned as leader of the Conservative Party the previous day after Sunak was elected unopposed as her successor. The Sunak ministry was formed from the 2019 Parliament of the United Kingdom, as a Conservative majority government. Sunak reshuffled his cabinet twice, first in February 2023 and later in November 2023.
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.
Rishi Sunak was Leader of the Opposition as Leader of the Conservative Party from 5 July to 2 November 2024, following his resignation as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the aftermath of the Conservative Party's defeat in the 2024 general election. He formed his shadow cabinet on 8 July 2024. Sunak served as Leader of the Opposition in a caretaker capacity until his successor was elected in the 2024 Conservative leadership election; the result was announced on 2 November.
Kemi Badenoch has served as the Leader of the Opposition as Leader of the Conservative Party since 2 November 2024, following her victory in the 2024 Conservative Leadership election. The election was triggered by Rishi Sunak's resignation as party leader following the 2024 general election, which the Labour Party under Keir Starmer won.
