Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
 |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport | |
|---|---|
| Style | Shadow Culture Secretary (informal) |
| Member of | Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet |
| Appointer | |
| Inaugural holder | Bryan Gould |
| Formation | 18 July 1992 |
The shadow secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS), previously the shadow secretary of state for national heritage and shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport, is a position in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet.
The shadow secretary of state is the opposite number to the secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, holding them and their department to account. They are the lead opposition spokesperson on culture, media and sport issues.
The post was created in 1992 after John Major established the Department of National Heritage and secretary of state for national heritage, with the opposition forming an equivalent shadow post. The title and remit of the post has adjusted over time, following changes in those of the cabinet post it is shadowing. An exception to this occurred in 2010–2012, where the opposition did not follow the government's approach of merging the ministery for the Olympics into that for culture, media and sport.
List of shadow secretaries of state
[edit]Shadow secretaries of state for national heritage (1992–97)
[edit]| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bryan Gould |  |
18 July 1992 | 29 September 1992 | Labour | Smith | |
| Ann Clwyd |  |
29 September 1992 | 21 October 1993 | |||
| Mo Mowlam | .jpg) |
21 October 1993 | 21 July 1994 | |||
| Beckett | ||||||
| Chris Smith | .png) |
21 July 1994 | 19 October 1995 | Blair | ||
| Jack Cunningham | .jpg) |
19 October 1995 | 2 May 1997 | |||
| Virginia Bottomley |  |
2 May 1997 | 11 June 1997 | Conservative | Major | |
Shadow secretaries of state for culture, media and sport (1997–2017)
[edit]| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Maude |  |
11 June 1997 | 1 June 1998 | Conservative | Hague | |
| Peter Ainsworth | 1 June 1998 | 18 September 2001 | ||||
| Tim Yeo | _(cropped).jpg) |
18 September 2001 | 23 July 2002 | Duncan Smith | ||
| John Whittingdale |  |
23 July 2002 | 6 November 2003 | |||
| Julie Kirkbride |  |
6 November 2003 | 19 June 2004 | Howard | ||
| John Whittingdale |  |
19 June 2004 | 6 May 2005 | |||
| Theresa May | _(cropped).jpg) |
6 May 2005 | 8 December 2005 | |||
| Hugo Swire | .jpg) |
8 December 2005 | 2 July 2007 | Cameron | ||
| Jeremy Hunt |  |
2 July 2007 | 11 May 2010 | |||
| Ben Bradshaw |  |
11 May 2010 | 8 October 2010 | Labour | Harman I | |
| Ivan Lewis |  |
8 October 2010 | 7 October 2011 | Miliband | ||
| Harriet Harman | .jpg) |
7 October 2011 | 11 May 2015 | |||
| Chris Bryant |  |
11 May 2015 | 13 September 2015 | Harman II | ||
| Michael Dugher |  |
13 September 2015 | 5 January 2016 | Corbyn | ||
| Maria Eagle |  |
6 January 2016 | 27 June 2016 | |||
| Kelvin Hopkins |  |
28 June 2016 | 7 October 2016 | |||
| Tom Watson | .jpg) |
7 October 2016 | 3 July 2017 | |||
Shadow secretaries of state for digital, culture, media and sport (2017–2023)
[edit]| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Watson |  |
3 July 2017 | 12 December 2019 | Labour | Corbyn | |
| Tracy Brabin |  |
7 January 2020 | 6 April 2020 | |||
| Jo Stevens |  |
6 April 2020 | 29 November 2021 | Starmer | ||
| Lucy Powell |  |
29 November 2021 | 4 September 2023 | |||
Shadow secretaries of state for culture, media and sport (2023–2026)
[edit]| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thangam Debbonaire |  |
4 September 2023 | 5 July 2024 | Labour | Starmer | |
| Julia Lopez |  |
8 July 2024 | 5 November 2024 | Conservative | Sunak | |
| Stuart Andrew |  |
5 November 2024 | 22 July 2025 | Badenoch | ||
| Nigel Huddleston |  |
22 July 2025 | 31 August 2026 | |||
Shadow secretaries of state for digital, culture, media and sport (2023–present)
[edit]| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rebecca Paul |  |
31 August 2026 | incumbent | Conservative | Badenoch | |