Shadow cabinet

What is the shadow cabinet?

The shadow cabinet is made up of senior members of the main opposition party in Westminster who act as spokespeople for the opposition in specific policy areas. Shadow ministers are appointed by the leader of the opposition and generally take roles that mirror the current government. Their job is to scrutinise those they ‘shadow’ in government, and develop policies for their party.

The official opposition, and the shadow cabinet in particular, is expected to play the role of a ‘government in waiting’. In the event of a change of governing party, members of the shadow cabinet might expect to take up the role they have been shadowing. In 2024, most of Keir Starmer's shadow cabinet continued in the same brief in government. But a new prime minister may decide to allocate roles to their team differently once they are in government.

Not all shadow cabinet roles have a direct opposite number in government. Sometimes the opposition will appoint a shadow minister for a policy area it thinks is important and that it wishes to highlight. Before the 2023 shadow cabinet reshuffle, Rosena Allin-Khan attended Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet as shadow minister for mental health, despite the fact that her opposite number in government was a parliamentary under-secretary – the most junior rank of minister.

Who is in the shadow cabinet?

The current shadow cabinet was formed by Kemi Badenoch on 5 November 2024 in her new capacity as leader of the Conservative Party and leader of the opposition. 

The full shadow cabinet contains 25 shadow ministers. Badenoch has carried over nine shadow ministers from Rishi Sunak’s interim shadow cabinet, with four of these maintaining their previous role. Three of her competitors for the Conservative Party leadership race – Mel Stride, and Priti Patel and Robert Jenrick – have also accepted roles in her shadow cabinet as shadow chancellor, shadow foreign secretary and shadow justice secretary respectively. Julia Lopez also attends shadow cabinet as parliamentary private secretary. 

How experienced are the shadow cabinet?

Every member of the shadow cabinet has previously been a minister, but only six have served at secretaries of state, and of these only Claire Coutinho is shadowing her previous brief. Four shadow ministers hold portfolios for which they were junior ministers in government – Stuart Andrew at DCMS, Alex Burghart at the Cabinet Office, James Cartlidge at the Ministry of Defence and Chris Philp at the Home Office. Lord True has carried on as Conservative leader in the Lords and Rebecca Harris can draw on her previous experience as a government whip. 

The shadow chancellor Mel Stride previously chaired the Treasury Select Committee, which he can draw on to inform scrutiny of the brief he is shadowing.

All members of the shadow cabinet entered parliament after 2010, meaning that they entered opposition for the first time following the 2024 election. The median number of years that shadow ministers have spent in parliament is less time on average compared to their Labour equivalents – around 9.5 years compared to 14.5 years for the cabinet. 

Which constituencies do members of the shadow cabinet represent?

Most of Badenoch’s shadow cabinet represent constituencies in South East England. The shadow Scotland secretary is the only member of the shadow cabinet representing a Scottish constituency – there is no Welsh representation amongst the shadow cabinet as the Conservative party lost all of its Welsh MPs at the general election. 

Who else is on the shadow front bench?

Outside of her shadow cabinet, Badenoch also appointed: 

• Nineteen shadow ministers of state (or equivalent rank), ⁷ Three shadow secretaries of state simultaneously hold junior ministerial positions and Richard Fuller, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, sits in the shadow cabinet.  fourteen of whom have previously served in government 
• Seven shadow parliamentary under secretaries of state 
• Two opposition deputy chief whips, eight senior opposition whips (all of whom also hold other shadow ministerial positions) 
• Nine junior whips and eighteen parliamentary private secretaries (all of whom were first elected in 2024, except for Badenoch’s PPS, Julia Lopez). ⁸ Tali Fraser and Harriet Symonds, ‘Kemi Badenoch gives all 26 new Tory MPs jobs in opposition’, 18 November 2024, retrieved 21 November, https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/kemi-badenoch-gives-all-new-tory-mps-jobs-opposition.  

A number of shadow ministers hold more than one role. This means that 60 out of 121 Conservative MPs (just under half) hold shadow ministerial positions. Including parliamentary private secretaries, junior whips and party co-chair, Badenoch has given roles to 87 MPs (72% of the parliamentary party). 

Alongside Lord True who serves in cabinet as shadow leader of the House of Lords and Lord Johnson who serves as party co-chair, Badenoch has appointed 28 shadow Lords ministers, and 7 shadow Lords whips (3 of whom serve simultaneously as shadow Lords ministers).