In British politics, the Shadow Home Secretary is the person within the shadow cabinet who shadows the Home Secretary; this effectively means scrutinising government policy on home affairs including policing, national security, and matters of citizenship. The Shadow Home Secretary also formerly had responsibility for the criminal justice system and the prison service; these responsibilities are now held by the Shadow Justice Secretary. If the opposition party is elected to government, the Shadow Home Secretary often becomes the new Home Secretary, though this is not always the case. The office has been held by Labour MP Yvette Cooper since 29 November 2021.
Shadow Home Secretary
Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom)
The Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet, or His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition Shadow Cabinet, but usually simply the Shadow Cabinet, is the committee of senior members of the Official Opposition who scrutinise the work of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Each Shadow Cabinet member is typically given a position which corresponds to that of a government minister in Cabinet. Shadow Cabinet members, known as Shadow Ministers, are usually appointed by the Leader of the Opposition. The roles of Shadow Ministers are to develop alternative policies, hold the government to account for its actions and responses, and act as spokespeople for the opposition party in their own specific policy areas. By convention, Shadow Ministers are drawn either from serving members of the House of Commons or the House of Lords, with most chosen from the former. Since May 2010, Labour has been the Official Opposition, and its leadership therefore forms the current Shadow Cabinet.
Image: Official portrait of Keir Starmer crop 2
Image: Angela Rayner
Image: Official portrait of Rachel Reeves crop 2
Image: Official portrait of Bridget Phillipson MP crop 2