The Cabinet – and its Shadow

If you're a serious quizzer, and you're not all that interested in politics (oh – is that just me?) this section is a potential millstone around your neck. You feel you need to know it, and there's a lot of it to learn; and a lot of the names are just names. It's also subject to periodic "reshuffles", although the reshuffles are (fortunately) fairly infrequent.

I might add that this page is a nightmare to maintain, because the Government and Shadow posts never match exactly and different roles are shared by people on either side. But you don't care about that!

You're unlikely to get asked about the first couple of rows – unless it's by a member of the medical profession who's concerned about your mental well–being. Otherwise, the higher up the page these posts appear, the more likely they are to come up.

So actually, I suppose, the problem for the serious quizzer who isn't all that interested in politics is how much of this to learn!

This page was last updated on 26 October 2023.

Position		Incumbent		Shadow
Prime Minister / Leader of the Opposition		Rishi Sunak		Keir Starmer
First Lord of the Treasury
Minister for the Union
Minister for the Civil Service
Deputy Prime Minister / Deputy Leader of the Opposition		Oliver Dowden		Angela Rayner
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster				Pat McFadden
Chancellor of the Exchequer		Jeremy Hunt		Rachel Reeves
Home Secretary		Suella Braverman		Yvette Cooper
Foreign Secretary		James Cleverly		David Lammy
SoS for Defence		Grant Shapps		John Healey
SoS for Justice, Lord Chancellor		Alex Chalk		Shabana Mahmood
SoS for Energy Security (/ Climate Change) and Net Zero		Claire Coutinho		Ed Miliband
SoS for Science, Innovation and Technology		Michelle Donelan		Peter Kyle
SoS for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities		Michael Gove		Angela Rayner
SoS for Health and Social Care		Steve Barclay		Wes Streeting
Leader of the House of Commons		Penny Mordaunt		Lucy Powell
Lord President of the Council
Leader of the House of Lords		Nicholas True		Angela Smith
Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal
Minister Without Portfolio		Greg Hands		N. Thomas–Symonds
Party Chair(man)				Anneliese Dodds
SoS for Women and Equalities		Kemi Badenoch
SoS for Business and Trade				Jonathan Reynolds
President of the Board of Trade
SoS for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs		Thérèse Coffey		Steve Reed
SoS for Work and Pensions		Mel Stride		Liz Kendall
SoS for Education		Gillian Keegan		Bridget Phillipson
SoS for Transport		Mark Harper		Louise Haigh
SoS for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport		Lucy Frazer		Thangam Debbonaire
SoS for Northern Ireland		Chris Heaton–Harris		Hilary Benn
SoS for Scotland		Alister Jack		Ian Murray
SoS for Wales		David T. C. Davies		Jo Stevens

The following people attend meetings of the Cabinet (or Shadow Cabinet), but are not full members:

Position		Incumbent		Shadow
Chief Whip in the House of Commons		Simon Hart		Sir Alan Campbell
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
Chief Secretary to the Treasury		John Glen		Darren Jones
Attorney General for England and Wales		Victoria Prentis		Emily Thornberry
Advocate General for Northern Ireland
Minister for the Cabinet Office		Jeremy Quin		Jenny Chapman
Paymaster General				Jonathan Ashworth
Minister of State for Immigration		Robert Jenrick
Minister of State for Security		Tom Tugendhat
Minister of State for Development and Africa		Andrew Mitchell
Minister of State for Veterans' Affairs		Johnny Mercer
(Shadow) Chief Whip in the House of Lords				Roy Kennedy
(Shadow) Minister for International Development				Lisa Nandy

© Haydn Thompson 2018–23