Shadow Minister for Employment

Shadow Minister for Employment
Incumbent Alison McGovern since 4 December 2021
Appointer	Leader of the Opposition
Inaugural holder	Barbara Castle
Formation	19 June 1970
Website	The Shadow Cabinet

The office of Shadow Minister for Employment is a position on the United Kingdom's Official Opposition frontbench, and has occasionally been a position in the Shadow Cabinet.

From 1970 to 1995, the duty of the office holder was to scrutinise the actions of the government's Secretary of State for Employment and develop alternative policies. From 1995, the office shadowed the Secretary of State for Education and Employment. In 2001, the office was replaced by that of Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions after the creation of the Department for Work and Pensions.

In 2019, the office was reformed in the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn as Shadow Minister for Labour; later renamed Secretary of State for Employment Rights and, in the Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer, Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights and Protections. The position was vacant after the resignation of Andy McDonald, who was replaced by Alison McGovern in the November 2021 reshuffle.

Shadow Secretaries of State for Employment [edit]
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Barbara Castle		19 June 1970	19 October 1971	Labour	Harold Wilson
	James Callaghan		19 October 1971	19 April 1972	Labour
	Reg Prentice		19 April 1972	4 March 1974	Labour
	William Whitelaw		11 March 1974	29 October 1974	Conservative	Edward Heath
	James Prior		29 October 1974	4 May 1979	Conservative
						Margaret Thatcher
	Albert Booth		4 May 1979	14 July 1979	Labour	James Callaghan
	Eric Varley		14 July 1979	31 October 1983	Labour
						Michael Foot
	John Smith		31 October 1983	26 October 1984	Labour	Neil Kinnock
	John Prescott		26 October 1984	13 July 1987	Labour
	Michael Meacher		13 July 1987	2 November 1989	Labour
	Tony Blair		2 November 1989	18 July 1992	Labour
	Frank Dobson		18 July 1992	21 October 1993	Labour	John Smith
	John Prescott		21 October 1993	20 October 1994	Labour
	Harriet Harman		20 October 1994	19 October 1995	Labour	Tony Blair
Shadow Secretaries of State for Education and Employment [edit]
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	David Blunkett		19 October 1995	2 May 1997	Labour	Tony Blair
	Gillian Shephard		2 May 1997	11 June 1997	Conservative	John Major
	Stephen Dorrell		11 June 1997	15 June 1998	Conservative	William Hague
	David Willetts		1 June 1998	15 June 1999	Conservative
	Theresa May		15 June 1999	18 September 2001	Conservative
Shadow Ministers for Labour [edit]
Shadow Minister			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Jack Dromey		10 October 2016	12 January 2018	Labour	Jeremy Corbyn
	Laura Pidcock		12 January 2018	10 September 2019	Labour
Shadow Secretaries of State for Employment Rights [edit]
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Laura Pidcock		10 September 2019	12 December 2019	Labour	Jeremy Corbyn
	Rachael Maskell		7 January 2020	6 April 2020	Labour
Shadow Secretaries of State for Employment Rights and Protections [edit]
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Andy McDonald		6 April 2020	27 September 2021	Labour	Keir Starmer
Shadow Ministers for Employment [edit]
Shadow Minister			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Alison McGovern		4 December 2021	Incumbent	Labour	Keir Starmer