Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
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| Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
|---|---|
| Appointer | Leader of the Opposition |
| Inaugural holder | Rab Butler |
| Website | The Shadow Cabinet |
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 in the gift of the Leader of the Opposition but is informal. The Shadow Chancellor has no constitutional role.
The name for the position has a mixed history. It is used to designate the lead economic spokesman for the Opposition, although some Shadow Cabinets have not used the term (the Thatcher Shadow Cabinet in the Conservative Party Campaign of 1979). The term has been used interchangeably with "economic spokesperson" by the Liberal Democrats as well as the main opposition party.[1]
This was a source of humour for one time Chancellor of the Exchequer 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 [Vince Cable], rather than the shadow Chancellor for the Conservative Party."[2]
The current position of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer is held by John McDonnell.
List of Shadow Chancellors
| Name | Portrait | Entered office | Left office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rab Butler | 60px | 10 December 1950 | 26 October 1951 | Conservative | |
| Hugh Gaitskell |  |
26 October 1951 | 14 December 1955 | Labour | |
| Harold Wilson | 60px | 14 December 1955 | 2 November 1961 | Labour | |
| James Callaghan |  |
2 November 1961 | 15 October 1964 | Labour | |
| Reginald Maudling | 60px | 15 October 1964 | 16 February 1965[3] | Conservative | |
| Edward Heath |  |
16 February 1965[4] | 11 November 1965 | Conservative | |
| Iain Macleod |  |
11 November 1965 | 20 June 1970 | Conservative | |
| Roy Jenkins | 60px | 20 June 1970 | 19 April 1972 | Labour | |
| Denis Healey |  |
19 April 1972 | 4 March 1974 | Labour | |
| Robert Carr | 60px | 4 March 1974 | 11 February 1975 | Conservative | |
| Geoffrey Howe |  |
11 February 1975 | 4 May 1979 | Conservative | |
| Denis Healey | |
4 May 1979 | 8 December 1980 | Labour | |
| Peter Shore |  |
8 December 1980 | 31 October 1983 | Labour | |
| Roy Hattersley | 60px | 31 October 1983 | 13 July 1987 | Labour | |
| John Smith | 13 July 1987 | 24 July 1992 | Labour | ||
| Gordon Brown | Gordon Brown | 24 July 1992 | 2 May 1997 | Labour | |
| Kenneth Clarke |  |
2 May 1997 | 11 June 1997 | Conservative | |
| Peter Lilley |  |
11 June 1997 | 2 June 1998 | Conservative | |
| Francis Maude |  |
2 June 1998 | 1 February 2000 | Conservative | |
| Michael Portillo |  |
1 February 2000 | 18 September 2001 | Conservative | |
| Michael Howard | 60px | 18 September 2001 | 6 November 2003 | Conservative | |
| Oliver Letwin |  |
6 November 2003 | 10 May 2005 | Conservative | |
| George Osborne |  |
10 May 2005 | 11 May 2010 | Conservative | |
| Alistair Darling |  |
11 May 2010 | 8 October 2010 | Labour | |
| Alan Johnson |  |
8 October 2010 | 20 January 2011 | Labour | |
| Ed Balls | 60px | 20 January 2011 | 8 May 2015 | Labour | |
| Chris Leslie |  |
11 May 2015 | 12 September 2015 | Labour | |
| John McDonnell |  |
13 September 2015 | Incumbent | Labour | |
References
Book
- Lewis Baston (2004) Reggie: The Life of Reginald Maudling. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-2924-3
