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. In July 2025 Kemi Badenoch appointed Neil O’Brien as shadow minister for policy renewal and development, despite the fact that such a role does not exist within government.

Who is in the shadow cabinet?

Kemi Badenoch has had three different shadow cabinets since becoming leader. Her first shadow cabinet was formed in November 2024 after she won the conservative leadership contest. She then reshuffled her top team in July 2025 and again in August 2026. 

Badenoch reshuffled her shadow cabinet on 31 August 2026, apparently triggered by the decision of James Cleverly to step down from the Shadow Cabinet. The reshuffle also saw two major departures in her Shadow Chancellor and Shadow Foreign Secretary. 

• Mel Stride was replaced as shadow chancellor of the exchequer by Andrew Griffith, who was previously shadow business and trade secretary;
• Priti Patel was replaced as shadow foreign secretary by Tom Tugenhat, former security minister and previously chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee;
• Katie Lam became shadow secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, replacing James Cleverly who stood down from the frontbench to announce his candidacy for London Mayor;
• Claire Coutinho became shadow secretary of state for business, innnovation, science and trade, but is on maternity leave so her role is being covered by Julia Lopez.

What does the wider shadow front bench look like?

Following the August 2026 reshuffle, Badenoch’s wider shadow front bench has 70 MPs across 97 roles including, 

• Badenoch herself as leader of the opposition, 
• 20 other shadow secretary of state (or equivalent) roles, 
• 30 shadow minister of state (or equivalent) roles, 
• 23 shadow parliamentary under secretary (or equivalent) roles, 
• a shadow leader and a deputy shadow leader of the House of Commons as well as a chairman and a deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, 
• 19 opposition whips (including 2 deputy chief whips). ⁷ 'Badenoch’s full shadow cabinet, and shadow ministerial roles unveiled’, Conservative Home, 2 September 2026, accessed 10 September 2026, https://conservativehome.com/2026/09/02/new-badenochs-full-shadow-cabinet-and-shadow-ministerial-roles-unveiled/

22 of the shadow front bench MPs have multiple shadow ministerial roles with well over half of Conservative MPs (118) having a shadow front bench role. Badenoch has also appointed 4 shadow parliamentary private secretaries, including John Glen who also serves as a senior political advisor. 

Badenoch’s shadow front bench also includes 34 shadow Lords ministers across 39 roles which includes the shadow attorney general and shadow leader and deputy for the House of Lords. ⁸ 'His Majesty's official opposition', UK Parliament, https://members.parliament.uk/opposition/cabinet, accessed 10 September 2026  

Which constituencies did the shadow cabinet represent?

Most of Badenoch’s second shadow cabinet represented constituencies in South East England. There is no Welsh representation amongst the shadow cabinet as the Conservative party lost all of its Welsh MPs at the general election. Mims Davies, the shadow secretary of state for Wales, has a constituency in Sussex who worked in Wales earlier in her career. 

How experienced is Badenoch's shadow cabinet?

Four members of Badenoch’s current shadow cabinet entered parliament for the first time following the 2024 general election. The median number of years that shadow cabinet ministers have spent in parliament is less time on average compared to their Labour equivalents – around 11 years compared to 16 years for the cabinet.

What did Kemi Badenoch's first shadow cabinet look like?

Kemi Badenoch formed her first shadow cabinet on 5 November 2024 . Her shadow cabinet included nine members of Rishi Sunak’s interim shadow cabinet and three of her competitors for the Conservative Party leadership race – Mel Stride, Priti Patel and Robert Jenrick.