Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development
The shadow cabinet minister for international development is the lead spokesperson for the United Kingdom's Official Opposition on issues related to international aid, most notably to the Third World. The shadow cabinet minister holds the Minister of State for Development and Africa to account in Parliament. The role previously had no counterpart in the Government between 2020 and 2022 after the Department for International Development (DFID) and the role of international development secretary was abolished by the second Johnson government in 2020. The position was renamed from Shadow Secretary of State for International Development in November 2021 and placed under the Shadow Foreign Secretary.
Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development | |
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Appointer | Leader of the Opposition |
Website | The Shadow Cabinet |
The shadow minister also holds the Foreign Secretary and other FCDO ministers to account in Parliament. DFID was abolished in 2020 but Keir Starmer retained the role in his Shadow Cabinet.
Before Tony Blair established DfID in his first government after coming to power in 1997, there was a minister for overseas development ("minister of" before 1970) who was a part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Since 1989, the shadow minister or shadow secretary has usually been a member of the shadow cabinet.
Shadow Ministers and Secretaries
Shadow Minister for Overseas Development | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Took office | Left office | Political party | Leader | ||
Robert Carr | October 1964 | October 1965 | Conservative | Alec Douglas-Home | ||
Christopher Chataway | October 1965 | 31 March 1966 | Conservative | Edward Heath | ||
Richard Wood | April 1966 | c. October 1967 | Conservative | |||
Bernard Braine | c. October 1967 | 15 June 1970 | Conservative | |||
Judith Hart | 19 June 1970 | 4 March 1974 | Labour | Harold Wilson | ||
Richard Wood | 4 March 1974 | 18 February 1975 | Conservative | Edward Heath | ||
Unclear; possibly none[n 1] | 18 February 1975 | 15 January 1976 | Conservative | Margaret Thatcher | ||
Richard Luce | 15 January 1976 | 4 May 1979 | Conservative | |||
Judith Hart | 4 May 1979 | 8 December 1980 | Labour | James Callaghan | ||
Frank McElhone | 8 December 1980 | 22 September 1982 | Labour | Michael Foot | ||
Guy Barnett | 24 November 1982 | 31 October 1983 | Labour | |||
Stuart Holland | 31 October 1983 | 13 July 1987 | Labour | Neil Kinnock | ||
Unclear | 13 July 1987 | 2 November 1989 | Labour | |||
Ann Clwyd | 2 November 1989[1] | 18 July 1992 | Labour | |||
Michael Meacher | 18 July 1992[2] | 21 October 1993 | Labour | John Smith | ||
Tom Clarke | 21 October 1993[3] | 20 October 1994 | Labour | |||
Margaret Beckett | ||||||
Joan Lestor | 20 October 1994[4] | October 1996 | Labour | Tony Blair | ||
Clare Short | 25 July 1996[5] | 2 May 1997 | Labour | |||
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development | ||||||
Name | Took office | Left office | Political party | Leader | ||
The Baroness Chalker of Wallasey[n 2] | 2 May 1997 | 30 June 1997 | Conservative | John Major | ||
Alastair Goodlad | 30 June 1997[7] | 1 June 1998 | Conservative | William Hague | ||
Gary Streeter | 1 June 1998[8] | 14 September 2001 | Conservative | |||
Caroline Spelman | 14 September 2001[9] | 10 November 2003 | Conservative | Iain Duncan Smith | ||
John Bercow | 10 November 2003[10] | 8 September 2004 | Conservative | Michael Howard | ||
Alan Duncan | 8 September 2004[11] | 10 May 2005 | Conservative | |||
Andrew Mitchell | 10 May 2005[12][13] | 11 May 2010 | Conservative | |||
Douglas Alexander | 11 May 2010[n 3] | 8 October 2010 | Labour | Harriet Harman | ||
Harriet Harman | 8 October 2010[16] | 7 October 2011 | Labour | Ed Miliband | ||
Ivan Lewis | 7 October 2011[17] | 7 October 2013 | Labour | |||
Jim Murphy | 7 October 2013[18] | 2 November 2014 | Labour | |||
Mary Creagh | 5 November 2014[19] | 12 September 2015 | Labour | |||
Harriet Harman | ||||||
Diane Abbott | 13 September 2015[20] | 27 June 2016 | Labour | Jeremy Corbyn | ||
Kate Osamor | 27 June 2016[21] | 1 December 2018 | Labour & Co-op | |||
Dan Carden | 1 December 2018 | 6 April 2020 | Labour | |||
Preet Gill | 6 April 2020 | 29 November 2021 | Labour & Co-op | Keir Starmer | ||
Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development | ||||||
Name | Took office | Left office | Political party | Leader | ||
Preet Gill | 29 November 2021 | 4 September 2023 | Labour & Co-op | Keir Starmer | ||
Lisa Nandy | 4 September 2023 | Incumbent | Labour |
Notes
- Richard Wood replied for the Opposition in a debate on 24 February, six days after Margaret Thatcher named her Shadow Cabinet. Various other Conservatives, including the Reginald Maudling (as Shadow Foreign Secretary), Peter Tapsell, and John Davies (as Shadow Foreign Secretary) replied in debates on overseas development thereafter.
- John Major's interim Shadow Cabinet consisted of those members of his Cabinet who retained their seats at the 1997 general election, but there had been no International Development Secretary, and the Overseas Development Minister was not in Cabinet. According to the Shadow Cabinet list, Major himself was responsible for Foreign Affairs (the department responsible for development in his government), but ministers could "call on the services of Members who served under them in Government".[6] It is unknown whether Major called on the service of Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, the last Minister for Overseas Development, during the approximately two months before William Hague was elected leader. Therefore it is unclear whether the office was vacant or non-existent, or whether Major or Chalker should be considered to have held it.
- Under Labour Party rules, ministers shadow their former roles when the party enters opposition.[14] Alexander was International Development Secretary when Gordon Brown resigned as Prime Minister.[15]
References
- "Kinnock splits his top Treasury team". The Glasgow Herald. 2 November 1989. p. 1.
- Timmins, Nicholas (25 July 1992). "Smith revamps Shadow Cabinet: Nicholas Timmins analyses the Labour line-up and looks at the backgrounds of the newcomers". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- Linton, Martin (22 October 1993). "Women's lists 'not illegal': The New Shadow Cabinet". The Guardian. Manchester. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- Timms, Nicholas (21 October 1994). "Blair uses reshuffle to put own sta on Shadow Cabinet: Brown stays as shadow Chancellor—Cook takes foreign affairs—Straw is shadow Home Secretary—Beckett moves to health". The Independent. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- Rentoul, John (26 July 1996). "A rare national treasure in peril". The Independent.
- "Opposition Front Bench Spokespersons as at 13 May 1997 (Interim List)". Weekly Information Bulletin. House of Commons Information Office. 17 May 1997.
- "Hague Makes Final Appointments". Politics 97. BBC News. 24 June 1997. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- "Hague reshuffles shadow cabinet". 1 June 1998. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- "Eurosceptics prosper under Duncan Smith". BBC News. 14 September 2001. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
- "Howard unveils his top team". BBC News. 10 November 2003. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- "Howard expands shadow cabinet in reshuffle". The Telegraph. 8 September 2005. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- "Reshuffle deals Tories mixed hand". The Scotsman. 11 May 2005. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- "Cameron's frontlilne team unveiled". BBC News. 8 December 2005.
- Prince, Rosa (21 May 2010). "Mandelson and Adonis step down". The Telegraph.
- "Douglas Alexander MP". House of Commons Information Office. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
- Prince, Rosa (8 October 2010). "Ed Miliband unveils shocks in shadow cabinet selections". The Telegraph.
- "Labour's Shadow Cabinet". Labour.org.uk. 7 October 2011. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011.
- http://www.jimmurphymp.com/jims-blog/blog.aspx?b=33
- "Labour reshuffle: Dugher and Powell promoted by ed Miliband". BBC News. 5 November 2014.
- "Shadow Cabinet: Who's In And Who's Out?". Sky News. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- Jamie Grierson; Anushka Asthana (27 June 2016). "Jeremy Corbyn unveils new shadow cabinet after raft of resignations". The Guardian.