In British parliamentary practice, the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (usually known simply as the shadow cabinet) consists of senior members of
His Majesty's Loyal Opposition who scrutinise their corresponding
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
ministers, develop alternative policies, hold the government to account for its actions and responses, and act as
spokespeople for the opposition party in their own specific policy areas.
Since May 2010, the
Labour Party has been the Official Opposition, and its leadership therefore forms the current
shadow cabinet.
Not all
opposition frontbenchers are members of the shadow cabinet, which is composed of the most senior opposition members (usually around twenty).
The
leader of the opposition, the opposition chief whip and opposition deputy chief whip are the only members of the Official Opposition to be paid for their opposition roles in addition to their salaries as
members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
. The leader of the opposition and the opposition chief whip in the House of Lords also receive a salary.
Members
See also
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His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition (United Kingdom)
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Official Opposition frontbench
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List of British shadow cabinets
This is a list of the shadow cabinets of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the con ...
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List of shadow holders of the Great Offices of State
This is a list shadow holders of the Great Offices of State in the United Kingdom's Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet since Hugh Gaitskell's Shadow Cabinet of 1955. The purpose of the Shadow Cabinet is to scrutinise the opposing ministers, dev ...
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2010 Labour Party (UK) Shadow Cabinet election
The Commons members of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) elected 19 members of the Shadow Cabinet from among their number in 2010. This follows the Labour Party's defeat at the 2010 general election, after which the party formed the Official ...
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May 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle
Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, carried out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet on 9 May 2021. This followed disappointing results for the Labour Party, including historic defeat in the Hartlepool by-election a ...
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November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle
On 29 November 2021, Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, carried out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet. The slimmed down shadow cabinet, was seen to be Starmer creating a top team in his own image.
The major outcome ...
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SNP Frontbench Team
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Liberal Democrat frontbench team
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Cabinet of the United Kingdom
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British Government frontbench
The Government frontbench in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, also known as the Treasury Bench, consists of the Cabinet and all other ministers.
Parliamentary opposition to the Government frontbench is provided by the Official Opposition f ...
References
External links
His Majesty's Official Opposition– official UK Parliament webpage
{{British shadow cabinets
Official Opposition (United Kingdom)
Cabinet of the United Kingdom