Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Incumbent Stuart Andrew since 22 July 2025
Appointer	Leader of the Opposition
Website	The Shadow Cabinet

The shadow secretary of state for health and social care is an office within British politics held by a member of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The duty of the office holder is to scrutinise the actions of the government's secretary of state for health and social care and develop alternative policies. The office holder is a member of the Shadow Cabinet and appointed by the leader of the opposition.

It is currently held by Stuart Andrew.

List of shadow secretaries

Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet	Notes	Ref
	Edith Summerskill		15 July 1955	November 1961	Labour	Gaitskell		[1]
	Kenneth Robinson		November 1961	16 October 1964	Labour		Minister of Health (1964–1968)
						Wilson
Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet	Notes	Ref
	Bernard Braine		16 October 1964	29 October 1964	Conservative	Douglas-Home	Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health (1962–1964)
	Keith Joseph		29 October 1964	19 April 1966			Secretary of State for Health and Social Services (1970–1974)
						Heath
	Mervyn Pike		19 April 1966	10 October 1967				[2]
	Robert Lindsay		10 October 1967	1 November 1968
Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet	Notes	Ref
	Robert Lindsay		1 November 1968	19 June 1970	Conservative	Heath
	Richard Crossman		19 June 1970	23 July 1970	Labour	Wilson II	Secretary of State for Health and Social Services (1968–1970)
	Shirley Williams		23 July 1970	19 October 1971			Later SDP Founder and Liberal Democrats Leader in House of Lords	[3]
	Barbara Castle		19 October 1971	6 December 1972			Secretary of State for Health and Social Services (1974–1976)
	John Silkin		6 December 1972	4 March 1974				[4]
	Keith Joseph		4 March 1974	11 March 1974	Conservative	Heath II	Secretary of State for Health and Social Services (1970–1974)
	Geoffrey Howe		11 March 1974	18 February 1975
	Norman Fowler		18 February 1975	19 November 1976		Thatcher
	Patrick Jenkin		19 November 1976	4 May 1979
	David Ennals		4 May 1979	14 June 1979	Labour	Callaghan	Secretary of State for Health and Social Services (1976–1979)
	Stanley Orme		14 June 1979	8 December 1980				[5]
	Gwyneth Dunwoody		8 December 1980	31 October 1983		Foot
	Michael Meacher		31 October 1983	13 July 1987		Kinnock
	Robin Cook		13 July 1987	25 July 1988				[6]
Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet	Notes	Ref
	Robin Cook		25 July 1988	18 July 1992	Labour	Kinnock
	David Blunkett		18 July 1992	20 October 1994		Smith		[7]
						Beckett
	Margaret Beckett		20 October 1994	19 October 1995		Blair		[8]
	Harriet Harman		19 October 1995	1 July 1996				[9]
	Chris Smith		1 July 1996	2 May 1997
	Stephen Dorrell		2 May 1997	11 June 1997	Conservative	Major	Secretary of State for Health (1995–1997)
	John Maples		11 June 1997	1 June 1998		Hague		[10] [11]
	Ann Widdecombe		1 June 1998	13 January 1999				[12]
	Liam Fox		13 January 1999	6 November 2003			[13]
						Duncan Smith
	Tim Yeo		6 November 2003	19 June 2004		Howard	Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Education	[14]
	Andrew Lansley		19 June 2004	12 May 2010			Secretary of State for Health (2010–2012)	[15] [16]
						Cameron
	Andy Burnham		12 May 2010	8 October 2010	Labour	Harman	Secretary of State for Health (2009–2010)
	John Healey		8 October 2010	6 October 2011		Miliband
	Andy Burnham		7 October 2011	13 September 2015			Secretary of State for Health (2009–2010)
						Harman II
	Heidi Alexander		13 September 2015	26 June 2016		Corbyn
	Diane Abbott		27 June 2016	6 October 2016				[17]
	Jonathan Ashworth		7 October 2016	8 January 2018				[18]
Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet	Notes	Ref
	Jonathan Ashworth		8 January 2018	29 November 2021	Labour	Corbyn
						Starmer
	Wes Streeting		29 November 2021	5 July 2024			Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (2024-present)	[19]
	Victoria Atkins		8 July 2024	5 November 2024	Conservative	Sunak	Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (2023-2024)
	Ed Argar		5 November 2024	22 July 2025		Badenoch	Shadow Secretary of State for Justice (2024) Shadow Lord Chancellor (2024)
	Stuart Andrew		22 July 2025	Incumbent

References

1. Robert Malcolm Punnett (1973). Front-bench opposition; the role of the Leader of the Opposition, the Shadow Cabinet and Shadow Government in British politics. London. pp. 458–467. ISBN   978-0-435-83734-1 . Retrieved 18 April 2025.
2. "Younger Tories In Shadow Cabinet". The Glasgow Herald. 11 October 1967. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
3. John Warden (23 July 1970). "No Surprises in Wilson's Shadow Cabinet". The Glasgow Herald. p. 19. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
4. William Russell (7 December 1972). "Wilson gives Shore key prices post". The Glasgow Herald. p. 16. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
5. "Parliamentary career for Lord Orme". Parliament of the United Kingdom .
6. "Former minister Robin Cook dies". BBC News . British Broadcasting Corporation. 6 August 2005. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
7. Brown, Colin (21 March 2005). "David Blunkett: 'I'd like to come back but I have to earn it. That means the graft of getting round the country'". The Independent . London: Independent News & Media . Retrieved 29 September 2008.
8. "Hunting a second term". BBC News . British Broadcasting Corporation. 7 December 2000. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
9. "Politics 97; Harriet Harman". BBC Political Research Unit. British Broadcasting Corporation. 1997. Retrieved 30 September 2008.
10. "John Maples; Biographical details". Ask Aristotle. London: guardian.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 November 2005. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
11. Maples, John. "John Maples: Political Biography". John Maples. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
12. "Opposition front bench team as at 5 June 1998". House of Commons Weekly Information Bulletin. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 6 June 1998. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
13. "Opposition front bench team". House of Commons Weekly Information Bulletin. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 19 June 1999. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
14. "Tim Yeo; Biographical details". Ask Aristotle. London: guardian.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
15. "House of Commons Weekly Information Bulletin Noticeboard". House of Commons Weekly Information Bulletin. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 19 June 2004. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
16. "Her Majesty's Official Opposition". Parliament of the United Kingdom. 7 October 2008. Archived from the original on 20 October 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
17. Turnbull, Alex (27 June 2016). "Diane Abbott appointed shadow health secretary". www.independentnurse.co.uk. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
18. Jamie Grierson; Anushka Asthana (27 June 2016). "Jeremy Corbyn unveils new shadow cabinet after raft of resignations". The Guardian.
19. Launder, Mimi (30 November 2021). "Wes Streeting appointed as shadow health secretary in reshuffle". Nursing in Practice. Retrieved 16 June 2022.