Shadow Minister for Employment

British opposition frontbench position

Shadow Secretary of State
for Employment

Appointer| Leader of the Opposition

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.[1]

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.

## List of Shadow Secretaries

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### Shadow Minister for Labour and National Service

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Shadow Minister  | Took office  | Left office  | Political Party  | Leader of the Opposition
| Aneurin Bevan |  | 15 July 1955  | 15 February 1956  | Labour  | Clement Attlee
| Hugh Gaitskell
| George Brown |  | 15 February 1956  | 27 November 1956  | Labour
| Alfred Robens |  | 27 November 1956  | 12 November 1959 | Labour

### Shadow Minister for Labour

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Shadow Minister  | Took office  | Left office  | Political Party  | Leader of the Opposition
| Alfred Robens |  | 12 November 1959 | November 1960  | Labour  | Hugh Gaitskell
| Frederick Lee |  | November 1960  | 6 December 1961[2] | Labour
| Ray Gunter |  | 6 December 1961  | 16 October 1964  | Labour
| Harold Wilson
| Joseph Godber |  | 16 October 1964  | 5 August 1965  | Conservative  | Alec Douglas-Home
| Keith Joseph |  | 5 August 1965  | 23 February 1967  | Conservative  | Edward Heath
| Robert Carr |  | 23 February 1967  | 6 April 1968 | Conservative

### Shadow Secretaries of State for Employment and Productivity

[edit]

Shadow Secretary  | Took office  | Left office  | Political Party  | Leader of the Opposition
| Robert Carr |  | 6 April 1968 | 19 June 1970  | Conservative  | Edward Heath

### 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 |  | 4 March 1974  | 12 June 1974  | Conservative  | Edward Heath
| James Prior |  | 12 June 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  | 8 July 2024  | Labour  | Keir Starmer

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Robert Malcolm Punnett (1973). Front-bench opposition; the role of the Leader of the Opposition, the Shadow Cabinet and Shadow Government in British politics. London. pp. 458–467\. ISBN 978-0-435-83734-1. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
2. ^ "New Labour Spokesman On Power". The Glasgow Herald. Westminister: The Glasgow Herald. 7 December 1961. p. 1. Retrieved 27 April 2025.

* v
* t
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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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