Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a position in the United Kingdom's Shadow Cabinet that was created on 6 December 2005 by the then-Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron for his shadow cabinet. From 2005 to 2010, the office was known as Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet, and from 2015 to 2023, the office was known as Shadow First Secretary of State, and from 2010 to 2015 and again from 2023 to 2024, the office was known as Shadow Deputy Prime Minister.

Even though the role has no specific responsibilities attached to it, the holder of the position shadows the First Secretary of State and/or Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and deputises for the Leader of the Opposition in Prime Minister's Questions when the First Secretary or Deputy PM is deputising for the Prime Minister.^[1] The position is currently vacant after Angela Rayner, the most recent officeholder, became Deputy Prime Minister in July 2024. Oliver Dowden currently serves as Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

List of Shadow Deputy Prime Ministers

Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet
Senior Member			Term of Office		Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	William Hague		6 December 2005	11 May 2010	Conservative	David Cameron
Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Shadow Deputy Prime Minister			Term of Office		Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Jack Straw Acting		11 May 2010	25 September 2010	Labour	Harriet Harman
	Harriet Harman		7 October 2010	8 May 2015	Labour	Ed Miliband
Shadow First Secretary of State
Shadow First Secretary			Term of Office		Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Hilary Benn Acting		11 May 2015	13 September 2015	Labour	Harriet Harman
	Angela Eagle		13 September 2015	27 June 2016	Labour	Jeremy Corbyn
Office not in use from June 2016 to June 2017.
	Emily Thornberry		14 June 2017	5 April 2020	Labour	Jeremy Corbyn
	Angela Rayner		9 April 2020	4 September 2023	Labour	Keir Starmer
Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Shadow Deputy Prime Minister			Term of Office		Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
	Angela Rayner		4 September 2023	5 July 2024	Labour	Keir Starmer

See also

• Official Opposition frontbench
• Shadow Cabinet of Rishi Sunak
• Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office

References