Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade

Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Incumbent Andrew Griffith since 5 November 2024
Appointer	Leader of the Opposition

The shadow secretary of state for business and trade is an office within British politics held by a member of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition. The duty of the office holder is to scrutinise the actions of the government's secretary of state for business and trade and develop alternative policies. The office holder is a member of the Shadow Cabinet. The position is currently held by Andrew Griffith.

List of shadow secretaries

Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Harold Wilson		15 July 1955	15 February 1956	Labour	Attlee
	Patrick Gordon Walker		15 February 1956	November 1958	Labour	Gaitskell
	Dick Mitchison		November 1958	21 February 1963	Labour
	Douglas Jay		21 February 1963	16 October 1964	Labour	Wilson
	Edward Heath		16 October 1964	29 October 1964 [1]	Conservative	Douglas-Home
	Edward du Cann		29 October 1964	16 February 1965 [2]	Conservative
	Anthony Barber		16 February 1965	22 February 1967 [3]	Conservative
						Heath
	Keith Joseph		22 February 1967	19 June 1970	Conservative

Shadow Secretary of State for Industry and Technology & President of the Board of Trade

Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Tony Benn		19 June 1970	15 October 1970	Labour		Roy Mason		19 June 1970	15 October 1970	Labour	Wilson II

Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Tony Benn		15 October 1970	4 March 1974	Labour	Wilson II
	Peter Walker		4 March 1974 [4]	19 June 1974	Conservative	Heath II
	Michael Heseltine		19 June 1974 [5]	18 February 1975	Conservative

Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Michael Heseltine		18 February 1975 [6]	19 November 1976	Conservative		Terence Higgins		18 February 1975 [7]	19 November 1976	Conservative	Thatcher
	John Biffen		19 November 1976	28 February 1977 [8]	Conservative		Teddy Taylor		19 November 1976	9 December 1976	Conservative
							John Nott		December 1976	4 May 1979	Conservative
	Keith Joseph		28 February 1977	4 May 1979	Conservative
	Eric Varley		4 May 1979	14 July 1979	Labour		John Smith		4 May 1979	24 November 1982	Labour	Callaghan
	John Silkin		14 July 1979	4 November 1980	Labour
	Stan Orme		4 November 1980	31 October 1983	Labour							Foot
							Peter Archer		24 November 1982	31 October 1983	Labour

Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Peter Shore		31 October 1983	26 October 1984	Labour	Kinnock
	John Smith		26 October 1984	13 July 1987	Labour
	Bryan Gould		13 July 1987	2 November 1989	Labour
	Gordon Brown		2 November 1989	18 July 1992	Labour
	Robin Cook		18 July 1992	20 October 1994	Labour	Smith Beckett
	Jack Cunningham		20 October 1994	19 October 1995	Labour	Blair
	Margaret Beckett		19 October 1995	2 May 1997	Labour
	Michael Heseltine		2 May 1997	11 June 1997	Conservative	Major
	John Redwood		11 June 1997	15 June 1999	Conservative	Hague
	Angela Browning		15 June 1999	26 September 2000	Conservative
	David Heathcoat-Amory		26 September 2000	18 September 2001	Conservative
	John Whittingdale		18 September 2001	23 July 2002	Conservative	Duncan Smith
	Tim Yeo		23 July 2002	11 November 2003	Conservative

						Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Stephen O'Brien			James Arbuthnot		11 November 2003	6 May 2005	Conservative	Howard

Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	David Willetts		6 May 2005	8 December 2005	Conservative	Howard
	Alan Duncan		8 December 2005	2 July 2007	Conservative	Cameron
	Alan Duncan		2 July 2007	19 January 2009	Conservative	Cameron
	Kenneth Clarke		19 January 2009	11 May 2010	Conservative	Cameron
	Pat McFadden		11 May 2010	8 October 2010	Labour	Harman
	John Denham		8 October 2010	7 October 2011	Labour	Miliband
	Chuka Umunna		7 October 2011	13 September 2015	Labour
						Harman II
	Angela Eagle		13 September 2015	27 June 2016	Labour	Corbyn
	Jon Trickett		5 July 2016	6 October 2016	Labour
	Clive Lewis		6 October 2016	8 February 2017	Labour	Corbyn
	Rebecca Long-Bailey		9 February 2017	6 April 2020	Labour
	Ed Miliband		6 April 2020	29 November 2021	Labour	Starmer
	Jonathan Reynolds		29 November 2021	7 February 2023	Labour	Starmer
	Jonathan Reynolds		7 February 2023	5 July 2024	Labour	Starmer
	Kevin Hollinrake		8 July 2024	5 November 2024	Conservative	Sunak
	Andrew Griffith		5 November 2024	Incumbent	Conservative	Badenoch

References

1. "Sir Alec Picks His Front Bench". The Glasgow Herald. 29 October 1964. p. 1. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
2. "Sir Alec Reshuffles Shadow Cabinet". The Glasgow Herald. 17 February 1965. p. 1. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
3. "Barber is Key in Shadow Cabinet Moves". The Glasgow Herald. 23 February 1967. p. 17. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
4. "Barber Prepares to Quit". The Glasgow Herald. 12 March 1974. pp. 1, 30. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
5. "Shadow Cabinet Changes". The Glasgow Herald. 20 June 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
6. John Warden (19 February 1975). "Out Go Carr And Walker. Maudling Makes His Comeback". The Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
7. "New face on Scottish Tory Front Bench". The Glasgow Herald. 25 February 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
8. William Russell (1 March 1977). "Front-Line Tory Stepping Back". The Glasgow Herald. p. 5. Retrieved 5 May 2025.