Shadow Cabinet

The Shadow Cabinet (also called the Opposition Front Bench) is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster System of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition (or the leader of other smaller opposition parties) form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government. Members of a shadow cabinet are often but not always appointed to a Cabinet post if and when their party gets into government.

In the United Kingdom and Canada the major opposition party and specifically its shadow cabinet is often called Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The adjective "loyal" is used because while there are policy differences, everyone acknowledges the role of the opposition in the system.

In the UK, the Parliamentary Labour Party elects most members of the Shadow Cabinet when in opposition, but when in government, the choice of Cabinet members is left wholly to the Prime Minister.

The official Shadow Cabinet in the UK is

• Leader of the Opposition - Michael Howard
• Shadow Chancellor - Oliver Letwin
• Deputy Leader and Shadow Foreign Secretary - Michael Ancram
• Shadow Home Secretary and Culture Secretary - David Davis
• Shadow Health Secretary and Education Secretary - Tim Yeo
• Shadow Leader of the House of Lords - Lord Strathclyde
• Shadow Regions Secretary - David Curry
• Shadow Transport Secretary and Environment Secretary - Theresa May
• Chairman - Liam Fox and Maurice Saatchi
• Chief Whip - David Maclean
• Head of Policy Co-ordination - David Willetts

This number of posts represents a major cutback. Traditionally shadow cabinets have had the same number of members as the real cabinet, but this has just half. Other major posts on the opposition front bench include

• Shadow Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Secretary - John Whittingdale
• Shadow Attorney General - Dominic Greave
• Shadow Constitutional Affairs Secretary - Alan Duncan
• Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary - Julie Kirkbride
• Shadow Defence Secretary - Nicholas Soames
• Shadow Education Secretary - Tim Collins
• Shadow Environment Secretary - Caroline Spelman
• Shadow Local and Devolved Government Affairs Secretary - David Curry
• Shadow Local Government Secretary - Eric Pickles
• Shadow Minister for London - Mark Field
• Shadow International Development Secretary - John Bercow
• Shadow Health Secretary - Andrew Lansley
• Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary - David Lidington
• Shadow Regions Secretary - Bernard Jenkin
• Shadow Scotland Secretary - Peter Duncan
• Shadow Trade Secretary - James Arbuthnot
• Shadow Transport Secretary - Damian Green
• Shadow Wales Secretary - Bill Wiggin

• Deputy Chief Whip - Patrick McLoughlin
• Shadow Leader of the House - Oliver Heald
• Deputy Chairmen: David Cameron, Charles Hendry