Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer

Member of the British Shadow Cabinet

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Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer

Incumbent
Mel Stride

since 4 November 2024

Style| Shadow Chancellor (informal)
Member of| Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet
Appointer| Leader of the Opposition
Inaugural holder| Rab Butler
Deputy| Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The shadow chancellor of the exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the chancellor of the exchequer. The title is given at the gift of the leader of the Opposition and has no formal constitutional role, but is generally considered the second-most senior position, unless a shadow deputy prime minister is chosen, on the opposition frontbench, after the leader. Past shadow chancellors include Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Edward Heath, Geoffrey Howe, Kenneth Clarke, Gordon Brown, John McDonnell and Rachel Reeves.

The name for the position has a mixed history. It is used to designate the lead economic spokesman for the Opposition. The name 'Shadow Chancellor' has also been used for the corresponding position for the Liberal Democrats, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson.[1] This was a source of humour for Chancellor Gordon Brown, who in 2005 played the two off against one another in Parliament, saying, "I, too, have a great deal of time for the shadow chancellor who resides in Twickenham [Liberal Democrat Vince Cable], rather than the shadow chancellor for the Conservative Party."[2]

## List of shadow chancellors

[edit]

Name  | Portrait  | Entered office  | Left office  | Party  | Shadow Cabinet

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| Oliver Stanley |  | Unknown  | 10 December 1950  | Conservative | Churchill
| Rab Butler |  | 10 December 1950  | 26 October 1951
| Hugh Gaitskell |  | 26 October 1951  | 15 February 1956  | Labour | Attlee
| Gaitskell
| Harold Wilson |  | 15 February 1956  | 30 November 1961[3]
| James Callaghan |  | 30 November 1961[4] | 16 October 1964
| Wilson I
| Reginald Maudling |  | 16 October 1964  | 16 February 1965[5] | Conservative  | Douglas-Home
| Edward Heath |  | 16 February 1965[6] | 28 July 1965
| Iain Macleod |  | 28 July 1965  | 20 June 1970  | Heath
| Roy Jenkins |  | 20 June 1970  | 19 April 1972  | Labour  | Wilson II
| Denis Healey |  | 19 April 1972  | 4 March 1974
| Anthony Barber |  | 4 March 1974  | 11 March 1974[7] | Conservative  | Heath II
| Robert Carr |  | 11 March 1974  | 11 February 1975
| Sir Geoffrey Howe |  | 11 February 1975  | 4 May 1979  | Thatcher
| Denis Healey |  | 4 May 1979  | 8 December 1980  | Labour  | Callaghan
| Peter Shore |  | 8 December 1980  | 31 October 1983  | Foot
| Roy Hattersley |  | 31 October 1983  | 13 July 1987  | Kinnock
| John Smith |  | 13 July 1987  | 24 July 1992
| Gordon Brown |  | 24 July 1992  | 2 May 1997  | Smith
Beckett
Blair
| Ken Clarke |  | 2 May 1997  | 11 June 1997  | Conservative  | Major
| Peter Lilley |  | 11 June 1997  | 2 June 1998  | Hague
| Francis Maude |  | 2 June 1998  | 1 February 2000
| Michael Portillo |  | 1 February 2000  | 18 September 2001
| Michael Howard |  | 18 September 2001  | 6 November 2003  | Duncan Smith
| Oliver Letwin |  | 6 November 2003  | 10 May 2005  | Howard
| George Osborne |  | 10 May 2005  | 11 May 2010
| Cameron
| Alistair Darling |  | 11 May 2010  | 8 October 2010  | Labour  | Harman I
| Alan Johnson |  | 8 October 2010  | 20 January 2011  | Miliband
| Ed Balls |  | 20 January 2011  | 11 May 2015
| Chris Leslie |  | 11 May 2015  | 12 September 2015  | Harman II
| John McDonnell |  | 13 September 2015  | 5 April 2020  | Corbyn
| Anneliese Dodds |  | 5 April 2020  | 9 May 2021 | Starmer
| Rachel Reeves |  | 9 May 2021  | 5 July 2024
| Jeremy Hunt |  | 8 July 2024  | 4 November 2024  | Conservative | Sunak
| Mel Stride |  | 4 November 2024  | Incumbent  | Badenoch

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Parker, George (18 October 2014). "Alexander to replace Cable as LibDem shadow chancellor". Financial Times. London. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
2. ^ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster (5 December 2005). "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 5 Dec 2005 (pt 8)". Publications.parliament.uk. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2019.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. ^ "Wilson - Foreign Spokesman". Evening Times. 30 November 1961. p. 1. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
4. ^ "Wilson - Foreign Spokesman". Evening Times. 30 November 1961. p. 1. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
5. ^ Baston 2004, 246
6. ^ Baston 2004, 246
7. ^ "Barber Prepares to Quit". The Glasgow Herald. 12 March 1974. pp. 1, 30. Retrieved 16 April 2025.

## Book

[edit]

* Lewis Baston (2004) Reggie: The Life of Reginald Maudling. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-2924-3

* v
* t
* e

Shadow chancellors of the exchequer of the United Kingdom

* Stanley
* Butler
* Gaitskell
* Wilson
* Callaghan
* Maudling
* Heath
* Macleod
* Jenkins
* Healey
* Carr
* Howe
* Healey
* Shore
* Hattersley
* Smith
* Brown
* Clarke
* Lilley
* Maude
* Portillo
* Howard
* Letwin
* Osborne
* Darling
* Johnson
* Balls
* Leslie
* McDonnell
* Dodds
* Reeves
* Hunt
* Stride

* v
* t
* e

Shadow Great Officers of State of the United Kingdom

Leader of the Opposition
Kemi Badenoch

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Mel Stride

Shadow Foreign Secretary
Priti Patel

Shadow Home Secretary
Chris Philp

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* v
* t
* e

His Majesty's Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet

Official Opposition frontbench

Current|

* Leader of the Opposition
* Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
* Shadow Deputy Prime Minister
* Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
* Shadow Home Secretary
* Shadow Foreign Secretary
* Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster / Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
* Shadow Defence Secretary
* Shadow Education Secretary
* Shadow Justice Secretary / Shadow Lord Chancellor
* Shadow Attorney General
* Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
* Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
* Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
* Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
* Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary
* Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
* Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
* Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
* Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
* Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
* Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
* Shadow Scottish Secretary
* Shadow Welsh Secretary
* Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary
* Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
* Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
* Shadow Paymaster General
* Shadow Minister for Security
* Shadow Minister for Veterans
* Opposition Chief Whip

Former|

* Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development
* Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health
* Shadow Minister without Portfolio
* Shadow Minister of State at the Cabinet Office
* Shadow Secretary of State for Child Poverty
* Shadow Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs
* Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights and Protections
* Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
* Shadow Secretary of State for the Family
* Shadow Secretary of State for Housing
* Shadow Secretary of State for Young People and Democracy
* Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work

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