OFFICIAL OPPOSITION SHADOW CABINET (UNITED KINGDOM)

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In British parliamentary practice, the 'Official Loyal Opposition Shadow Cabinet' (usually known simply as 'The Shadow Cabinet') is a group of members from Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition who scrutinise their corresponding office holders in government, and develop alternative policies.^[1] Since 1997 the Conservative Party has been Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, and its leadership therefore forms the current Shadow Cabinet.^[2] The Shadow Cabinet is a constitutional body appointed by the Crown^[3]
Not every Conservative frontbench spokesman is a member of the Shadow Cabinet, which represents the most senior spokesmen only (usually around 20).^[4]
Under Charles Kennedy's leadership, and with the increase in numbers of Liberal Democrat MPs, the Liberal Democrats began to refer to the senior members of their front benches as a Shadow Cabinet, although conventionally this title has only applied to the senior front-benchers of the Official Opposition; the Liberal Democrats' use of the term has been disputed by the Conservative Party.

Contents

The current Shadow Cabinet

References

See also

External links

The current Shadow Cabinet

As of July 2007, the current shadow cabinet is:^[5]

Portfolio	Shadow Minister
Leader of the Opposition	David Cameron
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and General Election Campaign Coordinator	George Osborne
Shadow Home Secretary	David Davis
Shadow Foreign Secretary Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet	William Hague
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence	Liam Fox
Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families	Michael Gove
Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills	David Willetts
Shadow Secretary of State for Health	Andrew Lansley
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport	Theresa Villiers
Shadow Secretary of State for Justice	Nick Herbert
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions	Chris Grayling
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	Peter Ainsworth
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government	Eric Pickles
Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion	Sayeeda Warsi
Shadow Minister for Security	Dame Pauline Neville-Jones
Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport	Jeremy Hunt
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster	Francis Maude
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons	Theresa May
Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform	Alan Duncan
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland	Owen Paterson
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales	Cheryl Gillan
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland	David Mundell
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development	Andrew Mitchell
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury	Philip Hammond
Shadow Leader of the House of Lords	Lord Strathclyde
Chairman of the Conservative Party	Caroline Spelman
Chairman of the Policy Review and Chairman of the Conservative Research Department	Oliver Letwin
Opposition Chief Whip Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury	Patrick McLoughlin

'Also attending the Shadow Cabinet:'

Portfolio	Shadow Minister
Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords	Baroness Anelay
Shadow Minister for Housing	Grant Shapps
Shadow Foreign Office Minister	David Lidington

References

1. the Shadow Cabinet, Explore.parliament.uk. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
2. Monstersandcritics.com (March 16, 2007), Budget shows 'balanced' economy, says Brown. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
3. Liberal Democrat Frontbench Team, Wikipedia, Retrieved August 7, 2007
4. Compare Official Shadow Ministers list with the Official Shadow Cabinet, Conservatives.com. Retrieved March 16, 2007.
5. Conservative Shadow Cabinet

See also

★ Official opposition frontbench (UK)

★ Official Opposition (UK)

★ UK Shadow Cabinet 1997-2001

★ UK Shadow Cabinet 2001-2003

★ Cabinet of the United Kingdom

★ Liberal Democrat Frontbench Team

External links

★ Conservative Party - Shadow Cabinet

★ Conservative front bench BBC News