John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

from 2 May 1997, following his defeat at the 1997 general election, until 19 June 1997, when

William Hague William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

was elected to succeed him. Following the defeat, Major announced his resignation as leader. But, for logistical reasons, a new leader could not be elected for several weeks. In the intervening period, Major appointed an interim Shadow Cabinet. The Shadow Cabinet was based on Major's final Cabinet. However, as seven

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

Ministers had lost their seats in the general election and another had not contested his seat, there were several vacancies. These were largely filled by either Major himself or by a relevant minister in the outgoing Cabinet. The position of

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland The Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland is a member of the UK Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Scotland and his/her department, the Scotland Office. The incumbent holder of the office is Ian Murray ...

was not filled as the Conservatives had lost all their Scottish MPs in the election.

Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne (born Michael Hecht; 7 July 1941) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005. He previously held cabinet posi ...

and

were given joint responsibility for constitutional matters, including the brief to handle the

Scottish devolution Devolution is the process in which the central British parliament grants administrative powers (excluding principally reserved matters) to the devolved Scottish Parliament. Prior to the advent of devolution, some had argued for a Scottish Parl ...

legislation.

Shadow Cabinet list

External links

* {{John Major Official Opposition (United Kingdom) 1997 establishments in the United Kingdom 1997 in British politics John Major 1997 disestablishments in the United Kingdom British shadow cabinets Conservative Party (UK)-related lists

Shadow Cabinet list

See also

External links