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Deputy Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Deputy Leader of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition
Incumbent
Alex Burghart
since 1 September 2026
Appointer
First holderUnknown[a]
William Hague[b]
Harriet Harman[c]
Angela Eagle[d]
WebsiteShadow Cabinet

The Deputy Leader of His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition, or more commonly known as Deputy Leader of the Opposition, is a position in the United Kingdom's 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. 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 remained vacant from 5 November 2024 until 1 September 2026, when Alex Burghart was appointed to the position by Kemi Badenoch.

List of Deputy Leaders of the Opposition

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Deputy Leader of the Opposition

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Deputy Leader Term of Office Concurrent position Political Party Leader of the Opposition
Vacant 6 December 1916[e] 14 December 1918 Liberal H. H. Asquith
Unknown 14 December 1918 25 February 1920 Liberal Donald Maclean
Donald Maclean 25 February 1920 15 November 1922 Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party Liberal H. H. Asquith
Stephen Walsh 15 November 1922 22 November 1922 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Labour J. R. Clynes
J. R. Clynes 22 November 1922 22 January 1924 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Labour Ramsay MacDonald
Unknown 22 January 1924 4 November 1924 Conservative Stanley Baldwin
J. R. Clynes 4 November 1924 4 June 1929 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Labour Ramsay MacDonald
Unknown 4 June 1929 24 August 1931 Conservative Stanley Baldwin
J. R. Clynes 24 August 1931 27 October 1931 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Labour Arthur Henderson
Unknown 27 October 1931 5 November 1931 Labour Unknown[f]
Clement Attlee 5 November 1931 8 October 1935 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (1932–1935) Labour George Lansbury
Vacant 8 October 1935 26 November 1935 Labour Clement Attlee
Arthur Greenwood 26 November 1935 22 May 1940 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Labour
Unknown 22 May 1940 22 February 1942 Labour Hastings Lees-Smith
Frederick Pethick-Lawrence
Frederick Pethick-Lawrence 22 February 1942 23 May 1945 Labour Arthur Greenwood
Arthur Greenwood 23 May 1945 26 July 1945 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Labour Clement Attlee
Anthony Eden 26 July 1945 26 October 1951 Shadow Foreign Secretary Conservative Winston Churchill
Oliver Stanley
Acting		 January 1949[2] March 1949 Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Conservative
Herbert Morrison 26 October 1951 25 November 1955 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Labour Clement Attlee
Vacant 25 November 1955 2 February 1956 Labour Herbert Morrison
Hugh Gaitskell
Jim Griffiths 2 February 1956 24 October 1959 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Labour
Aneurin Bevan 24 October 1959 6 July 1960 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Shadow Foreign Secretary		 Labour
Vacant 6 July 1960 10 November 1960 Labour
George Brown 10 November 1960 18 January 1963 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Shadow Minister of Defence (1960–1962)
Shadow Home Secretary (1962–1963)		 Labour
Vacant 18 January 1963 14 February 1963 Labour George Brown
George Brown 14 February 1963 16 October 1964 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Shadow Home Secretary		 Labour Harold Wilson
Unknown 16 October 1964 29 October 1964 Conservative Alec Douglas-Home
Reginald Maudling 29 October 1964 20 June 1970 Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (1964–1965)
Shadow Foreign Secretary (1965)
Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party (1965–1970)
Shadow Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs (1966–1968)
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence (1968)		 Conservative
Edward Heath
Vacant 20 June 1970 8 July 1970 Labour Harold Wilson
Roy Jenkins 8 July 1970 10 April 1972 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer		 Labour
Vacant 10 April 1972 25 April 1972 Labour
Edward Short 25 April 1972 4 March 1974 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Science (1972)
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons (1972–1974)		 Labour
Vacant 4 March 1974 12 March 1974 Conservative Edward Heath
Robert Carr 12 March 1974 11 February 1975 Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Conservative
William Whitelaw 11 February 1975 4 May 1979 Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party
Shadow Home Secretary (1976–1979)		 Conservative Margaret Thatcher
Michael Foot 4 May 1979 13 November 1980 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons		 Labour James Callaghan
Denis Healey 13 November 1980 2 October 1983 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Shadow Foreign Secretary		 Labour Michael Foot
Roy Hattersley 2 October 1983 18 July 1992 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (1983–1987)
Shadow Home Secretary (1987–1992)		 Labour Neil Kinnock
Margaret Beckett 18 July 1992 12 May 1994 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons		 Labour John Smith
Vacant 12 May 1994 21 July 1994 Labour Margaret Beckett
John Prescott 21 July 1994 2 May 1997 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Labour Tony Blair
Michael Heseltine 2 May 1997 19 June 1997 Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster		 Conservative John Major
Vacant 19 June 1997 1 June 1998 Conservative William Hague
Peter Lilley 1 June 1998 15 June 1999 Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party Conservative
Vacant 15 June 1999 1 February 2000 Conservative
Michael Portillo 1 February 2000 18 September 2001 Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Conservative
Michael Ancram 18 September 2001 6 December 2005 Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party
Shadow Foreign Secretary (2001–2005)
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence (2005)		 Conservative Iain Duncan Smith
Michael Howard

Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet

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Senior Member Term of Office Concurrent position Political Party Leader of the Opposition
William Hague 6 December 2005 11 May 2010 Shadow Foreign Secretary Conservative David Cameron

Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

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Shadow Deputy Prime Minister Term of Office Concurrent position Political Party Leader of the Opposition
Jack Straw
Acting		 11 May 2010 25 September 2010 Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Shadow Lord Chancellor		 Labour Harriet Harman
Harriet Harman 7 October 2010 8 May 2015 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Chair of the Labour Party
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development (2010–2011)
Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (2011–2015)		 Labour Ed Miliband

Shadow First Secretary of State

[edit]
Shadow First Secretary Term of Office Concurrent position Political Party Leader of the Opposition
Hilary Benn
Acting		 11 May 2015 13 September 2015 Shadow Foreign Secretary Labour Harriet Harman
Angela Eagle 13 September 2015 27 June 2016 Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Labour Jeremy Corbyn
Office not in use from June 2016 to June 2017.
Emily Thornberry 14 June 2017 5 April 2020 Shadow Foreign Secretary Labour

Deputy Leader of the Opposition

[edit]
Deputy Leader of the Opposition Term of Office Concurrent position Political Party Leader of the Opposition
Angela Rayner 9 April 2020 5 July 2024 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Shadow First Secretary of State (2020–2023)
Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (2023–2024)
Chair of the Labour Party (2020–2021)
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (2021–2023)
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office (2021–2023)
Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (2023–2024)		 Labour Keir Starmer

Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

[edit]
Shadow Deputy Prime Minister Term of Office Concurrent position Political Party Leader of the Opposition
Oliver Dowden 5 July 2024 5 November 2024 Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Conservative Rishi Sunak
Vacant[g] 5 November 2024 1 September 2026 Kemi Badenoch

Deputy Leader of the Opposition

[edit]
Deputy Leader of the Opposition Term of Office Concurrent position Political Party Leader of the Opposition
Alex Burghart 1 September 2026 Incumbent Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland		 Conservative Kemi Badenoch

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ as Deputy Leader of the Opposition
  2. ↑ as Senior Member of the Shadow Cabinet
  3. ↑ as Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  4. ↑ as Shadow First Secretary of State
  5. ↑ Asquith does not appear to have appointed a formal deputy however it appears that Reginald McKenna, Herbert Samuel and Walter Runciman served as de facto deputy leaders.[3]
  6. ↑ Labour leader Henderson and deputy leader Clynes lost their seats in the House of Commons on 27 October 1931.
  7. ↑ Kemi Badenoch initially did not appoint a formal deputy however a number of frontbenchers stood in for her during this time including Alex Burghart (Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster)[4], Chris Philp (Shadow Home Secretary)[5], Mel Stride (Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer)[6], James Cartlidge (Shadow Defence Secretary)[7], Andrew Griffith (Shadow Business Secretary)[8], Claire Coutinho (Shadow Energy Secretary)[9] and James Cleverly (Shadow Communities Secretary)[10]

References

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  1. ↑ "Brexit: Green and Thornberry Prime Minister's Questions clash". BBC News Online. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "Mr Oliver Stanley 's Lifetime of Political Service". The Glasgow Herald. 12 December 1950. p. 8. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
  3. "London Correspondence". The Glasgow Herald. 7 December 1917. p. 7. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  4. Hancock, Sam; Atkinson, Emily. "Angela Rayner and Alex Burghart clash on economy and farming at PMQs - follow live". BBC News. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  5. "Prime Minister's Questions - 18/06/2025". BBC iPlayer. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  6. "Prime Minister's Questions - 25/06/2025". BBC iPlayer. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  7. "Prime Minister's Questions - 05/11/2025". BBC iPlayer. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  8. "Prime Minister's Questions - 28/01/2026". BBC iPlayer. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  9. "Prime Minister's Questions - 17/06/2026". BBC iPlayer. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  10. "Prime Minister's Questions - 08/07/2026". BBC iPlayer. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
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