Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 26, 2026

Official Opposition frontbench

The frontbench of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow Cabinet and other official shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. The Opposition front bench provide Parliamentary opposition to the British Government frontbench and has been the Conservative Party since 5 July 2024. The current Leader of the Opposition is Kemi Badenoch, following her victory in the 2024 Conservative Party Leadership Election.

Last revised
Jun 26, 2026
Read time
≈ 4 min
Length
896 w
Citations
1
Source

The frontbench of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow Cabinet and other official shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. The Opposition front bench provide Parliamentary opposition to the British Government frontbench and has been the Conservative Party since 5 July 2024. The current Leader of the Opposition is Kemi Badenoch, following her victory in the 2024 Conservative Party Leadership Election.1

Key

Sits in the House of Commons
Sits in the House of Lords
Privy Counsellor
Shadow Cabinet full members in bold
Shadow Cabinet attendees in bold italics

Leader of the Opposition and Cabinet Office

Office of the Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition

Leader of the Conservative Party
Shadow First Lord of the Treasury
Shadow Minister for the Civil Service

Kemi Badenoch
Shadow Minister for Policy Renewal and Development Neil O'Brien
Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition John Glen
Shadow Minister without Portfolio Kevin Hollinrake
Cabinet Office
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Private Secretary Charlie Dewhirst
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office Mike Wood
Shadow Minister The Baroness Finn
Equalities Office
Shadow Minister for Equalities Claire Coutinho
Shadow Minister for Women Mims Davies
(Co-minister for Women and Equalities with Mims Davies while Claire Coutinho was on Maternity Leave.) Saqib Bhatti
Parliamentary Private Secretary Shivani Raja
Shadow Minister The Baroness Stedman-Scott

Foreign relations

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Priti Patel
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Wendy Morton
Parliamentary Private Secretary Lincoln Jopp
Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs The Lord Callanan
Defence
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence James Cartlidge
Shadow Minister for Defence Mark Francois
Parliamentary Private Secretary David Reed
Shadow Minister for Defence The Baroness Goldie
Business and Trade
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade Andrew Griffith
Shadow Minister of State Harriett Baldwin
Shadow Minister for London Gareth Bacon
Shadow Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Gareth Davies
Parliamentary Private Secretary Alison Griffiths
Shadow Minister The Lord Sharpe of Epsom
Shadow Minister Lord Hunt of Wirral
Science, Innovation and Technology
Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Julia Lopez
Shadow Minister of State Ben Spencer
Parliamentary Private Secretary Peter Fortune
Shadow Minister The Lord Markham

Social services

Education
Shadow Secretary of State for Education Laura Trott
Shadow Minister Saqib Bhatti
Shadow Minister The Baroness Barran
Health and Social Care
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Stuart Andrew
Shadow Minister Caroline Johnson
Shadow Minister Luke Evans
Parliamentary Private Secretary Neil Shastri-Hurst
Shadow Minister The Lord Kamall
Work and Pensions
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Helen Whately
Parliamentary Private Secretary Peter Bedford
Shadow Minister The Baroness Stedman-Scott
Shadow Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Mark Garnier

Environment

Energy Security and Net Zero
Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Claire Coutinho
Shadow Minister Andrew Bowie
Parliamentary Private Secretary Bradley Thomas
Shadow Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Greg Smith
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Victoria Atkins
Shadow Minister Robbie Moore
Shadow Minister Neil Hudson
Parliamentary Private Secretary Aphra Brandreth
Shadow Minister The Lord Blencathra

Culture

Culture, Media and Sport
Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Nigel Huddleston
Shadow Parliamentary Secretary Louie French
Parliamentary Private Secretary Joe Robertson
Shadow Minister The Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay

Transport

Transport
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Richard Holden
Shadow Minister of State Jerome Mayhew
Shadow Minister The Lord Moylan
Shadow Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Greg Smith

Devolved and local government

Housing, Communities and Local Government
Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government James Cleverly
Shadow Minister David Simmonds
Shadow Minister Paul Holmes
Parliamentary Private Secretary Lewis Cocking
Shadow Minister The Lord Jamieson
Shadow Minister The Baroness Scott of Bybrook
Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning Gareth Bacon
Northern Ireland
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Alex Burghart
Parliamentary Private Secretary Charlie Dewhirst
Shadow Minister The Lord Caine
Scotland
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland Andrew Bowie
Parliamentary Private Secretary John Cooper
Shadow Minister The Lord Cameron of Lochie
Wales
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Mims Davies
Shadow Minister The Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist

Parliament

House Leaders
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Jesse Norman
Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons John Lamont
Shadow Leader of the House of Lords The Lord True
House of Commons Whips
Opposition Chief Whip Rebecca Harris
Opposition Deputy Chief Whip Gagan Mohindra
Joy Morrissey
Senior Opposition Whip Mike Wood
Alicia Kearns
Paul Holmes
David Simmonds
James Wild
Jerome Mayhew
Junior Opposition Whip Nick Timothy
Katie Lam
Harriet Cross
Rebecca Paul
Rebecca Smith
Greg Stafford
Ashley Fox
Andrew Snowden
David Reed
House of Lords Whips
Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords Baroness Williams of Old Trafford
Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Lords The Earl of Courtown
Opposition Lords Whip The Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
The Baroness Stedman-Scott
The Lord Jamieson
See also

See also

References

References

  1. Balls, Katy (2 November 2024). "What Kemi Badenoch's victory means for the Conservatives". The Spectator.
External links