Shadow Secretary of State for Defence | |
---|---|
Appointer | Leader of the Opposition |
Inaugural holder | Denis Healey |
Formation | 1 April 1964 |
The Shadow Secretary of State for Defence is a member of the UK Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Defence and the department, the Ministry of Defence. The post is currently held by John Healey.
Name | Entered office | Left office | Political party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Denis Healey | 1 April 1964 | 16 October 1964 | Labour | Wilson I | ||
Peter Thorneycroft | 16 October 1964 | 7 July 1965 | Conservative | Douglas-Home | ||
Enoch Powell | 7 July 1965 | 21 April 1968 | Conservative | Heath I | ||
Reginald Maudling | 21 April 1968 | 1969 | Conservative | |||
Geoffrey Rippon | 1969 | 8 July 1970 | Conservative | |||
George Thomson | 8 July 1970 | 10 April 1972 | Labour | Wilson II | ||
Fred Peart | 10 April 1972 | 4 March 1974 | Labour | |||
Ian Gilmour | 4 March 1974 | 29 October 1974 | Conservative | Heath II | ||
Peter Walker | 29 October 1974 | 18 February 1975 | Conservative | |||
George Younger | 18 February 1975 | 15 January 1976 | Conservative | Thatcher | ||
Ian Gilmour | 15 January 1976 | 4 May 1979 | Conservative | |||
Fred Mulley | 4 May 1979 | 14 June 1979 | Labour | Callaghan | ||
William Rodgers | 14 June 1979 | 8 December 1980 | Labour | |||
Brynmor John | 8 December 1980 | 24 November 1981 | Labour | Foot | ||
John Silkin | 24 November 1981 | 26 October 1984 | Labour | |||
Kinnock | ||||||
Denzil Davies | 26 October 1984 | 14 June 1988 | Labour | |||
Martin O'Neill | 14 June 1988 | 18 July 1992 | Labour | |||
David Clark | 18 July 1992 | 2 May 1997 | Labour | Smith | ||
Beckett | ||||||
Blair | ||||||
John Major | 2 May 1997 | 11 June 1997 | Conservative | Major | ||
George Young | 11 June 1997 | 1 June 1998 | Conservative | Hague | ||
John Maples | 1 June 1998 | 15 June 1999 | Conservative | |||
Iain Duncan Smith | 15 June 1999 | 18 September 2001 | Conservative | |||
Bernard Jenkin | 18 September 2001 | 6 November 2003 | Conservative | Duncan Smith | ||
Nicholas Soames | 6 November 2003 | 10 May 2005 | Conservative | Howard | ||
Michael Ancram [1] | 10 May 2005 | 6 December 2005 | Conservative | |||
Liam Fox [2] | 7 December 2005 | 6 May 2010 | Conservative | Cameron | ||
Bob Ainsworth [3] | 12 May 2010 | 8 October 2010 | Labour | Harman I | ||
Jim Murphy [4] | 8 October 2010 | 7 October 2013 | Labour | Miliband | ||
Vernon Coaker [5] | 7 October 2013 | 14 September 2015 | Labour | |||
Harman II | ||||||
Maria Eagle [6] | 14 September 2015 | 5 January 2016 | Labour | Corbyn | ||
Emily Thornberry [7] | 5 January 2016 | 27 June 2016 | Labour | |||
Clive Lewis [8] | 27 June 2016 | 6 October 2016 | Labour | |||
Nia Griffith [9] | 6 October 2016 | 6 April 2020 | Labour | |||
John Healey [10] | 6 April 2020 | Incumbent | Labour | Starmer |
Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley, is a British Labour Party politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. He was MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook for over 32 years from 1964 to 1997, and served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992.
Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey, was a British Labour politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979 and as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970; he remains the longest-serving Defence Secretary to date. He was a Member of Parliament from 1952 to 1992, and was Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1980 to 1983. To the public at large, Healey became well known for his bushy eyebrows, his avuncular manner and his creative turns of phrase.
The secretary of state for defence, also referred to as the defence secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Ministry of Defence. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
The secretary of state for Scotland, also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
The secretary of state for work and pensions, also referred to as the work and pensions secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Department for Work and Pensions. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
Winifred Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, is a British politician and life peer who served as Minister for International Defence and Security from 2008 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Bolton West from 1974 to 1983 and for Dewsbury from 1987 to 2005.
Maria Eagle is a British politician who served in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. She later served in the Shadow Cabinets of Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Garston and Halewood, previously Liverpool Garston, since 1997.
Kevan David Jones is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Durham since 2001. He served as a defence minister under Gordon Brown, and resigned as a shadow defence minister in January 2016 in protest against a front bench reshuffle by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
John Healey is a British Labour Party politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wentworth and Dearne, formerly Wentworth, since 1997 and Shadow Secretary of State for Defence since 2020.
Emily Anne Thornberry is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales since 2021, and previously from 2011 to 2014. She has also served as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from 2016 to 2020, Shadow First Secretary of State from 2017 to 2020 and Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade from 2020 to 2021.
Ed Miliband became Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition upon being elected to the former post on 25 September 2010. The election was triggered by Gordon Brown's resignation following the party's fall from power at the 2010 general election, which yielded a Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition. Miliband appointed his first Shadow Cabinet in October 2010, following the Labour Party Shadow Cabinet elections. These elections were the last such elections before they were abolished in 2011.
The Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is a position with the UK Opposition's Shadow Cabinet; if the opposition party forms a new government, the designated person is a likely choice to become the new Levelling Up Secretary.
Neil Kinnock was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2 October 1983 to 18 July 1992. He convincingly defeated Roy Hattersley, Eric Heffer, and Peter Shore in the 1983 leadership election, which was prompted by Michael Foot's resignation following the disastrous general election result earlier that year. Kinnock's period as Leader encompassed the bulk of the Thatcher premiership and the first two years of the Major premiership. Kinnock resigned in 1992 after losing his second election as Leader.
Michael Foot was Leader of the Opposition from 4 November 1980, following his victory in the 1980 leadership election, to 2 October 1983, when he was replaced by Neil Kinnock at the 1983 leadership election. The 1980 election was triggered by James Callaghan's loss at the 1979 general election, and Foot's own disastrous defeat in the 1983 general election.
Harold Wilson of the Labour Party would form his Second Shadow Cabinet, as Leader of Her Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition, after losing the 1970 general election to Conservative Edward Heath. He would retain leadership of the Opposition for the length of the Heath Ministry, from 1970 − 1974. In February 1974, his party would narrowly win an election. Wilson was then forced to form a minority government, which would only last until another election in October of that year. After that election, Wilson would form a majority government.
Christian John Patrick Matheson is a former Labour Party politician. He served as Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of City of Chester from winning the seat in the 2015 general election until his resignation in October 2022 following sexual misconduct allegations. Matheson has been described as having "slightly left-of-centre views".
Jeremy Corbyn assumed the position of Leader of the Opposition after being elected as leader of the Labour Party on 12 September 2015; the election was triggered by Ed Miliband's resignation following the Labour Party's electoral defeat at the 2015 general election when David Cameron formed a majority Conservative government. The usual number of junior shadow ministers were also appointed.
The Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson is the spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats on matters relating to the work of the Home Secretary and Home Office. The office holder is a member of the Liberal Democrat frontbench team. The post exists when the Liberal Democrats are in opposition, but not when they in government, for example during the Cameron–Clegg coalition.
Rachel Louise Hopkins is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton South since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she has been a Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office since 2021.