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.
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, 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 front bench 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.
The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury is a junior ministerial post in His Majesty's Treasury, ranked below the First Lord of the Treasury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the Paymaster General and the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, and alongside the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. It ranks at Parliamentary Secretary level and the holder does not attend Cabinet.
The Government frontbench in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, also known as the Treasury Bench, consists of the Cabinet and all other ministers.
Jennifer Chapman, Baroness Chapman of Darlington is a British politician serving as a Member of the House of Lords since 2021. 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 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.
Seema Malhotra is a British politician serving as the Minister for Skills and Member of Parliament (MP) for Feltham and Heston since 2011. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, she has served as Shadow Minister for Skills and Further Education since 2023 and previously sat on the opposition front bench as the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers, Shadow Minister for Employment and a shadow Home Office minister.
A party spokesperson is any member of a political party who is charged by the leaders of the party with communicating the party's position on specific portfolios. Party spokespersons largely feature in political parties of parliamentary systems. Party spokespersons can also be assisted in their duties by deputy or assistant spokespersons in the same portfolio.
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 who has served as Chair of the Labour Party and Minister of State 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 for England and Wales 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 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 Frontbench Team of Ian Blackford was the team of Scottish National Party Spokespersons in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022.
In the Senedd, the Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the Official Opposition, the largest political party that is not in the Welsh Government. The Leader of the Opposition leads and appoints members of the Shadow Cabinet and as such is sometimes styled as the Shadow First Minister of Wales.
The shadow ministry of Peter Dutton is the current shadow cabinet of Australia since 5 June 2022, serving in opposition to the Albanese government. The shadow ministry is the Opposition's alternative to the Albanese ministry, which was sworn in on 1 June 2022.
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.
