The Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is a position with the
UK Opposition's
Shadow Cabinet; if the opposition party forms a new government, the designated person is a likely choice to become the new
Levelling Up Secretary.
The position has existed in many iterations, first as Environment, Transport and the Regions in 1997 after the Government's reorganisation. The portfolio shifted among government departments for many years until resting on Housing, Communities and Local Government in 2006, until 2021 when it got its current name
Under
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 ...
, the arrangement was slightly different. There was a Shadow Secretary of State for Local and Devolved Government Affairs in Shadow Cabinet who supervised a Shadow Local Government Secretary and a Shadow Regions Secretary outside of it.
The current Shadow Communities Secretary is
Lisa Nandy
Lisa Eva Nandy (born 9 August 1979) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Wigan since 2010.
N ...
. The main role is to scrutinise the
levelling up policy of the Boris Johnson government
"Levelling up" is a political policy first articulated in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto that aims to reduce the imbalances, primarily economic, between areas and social groups across the United Kingdom. It seeks to do so without acting to ...
.
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions (1997–2001)
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (2001–2002)
Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government and the Regions (2002)
Shadow Secretary of State for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2002–2003)
Shadow Secretary of State for Local and Devolved Government Affairs (2003–2005)
Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government Affairs and Communities (2005)
Shadow Secretary of State for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2005–2006)
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (2006–2021)
Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (2021–present)
References
Official Opposition (United Kingdom)
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