David Cameron was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from his election as Leader on 6 December 2005 until he became Prime Minister on 11 May 2010. His tenure as opposition leader was characterised by opposition to the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009, and his relative youth and inexperience before becoming leader invited satirical comparison with Tony Blair. Cameron sought to rebrand the Conservatives, embracing an increasingly socially liberal position, and introducing the "A-List" to increase the number of female and minority ethnic Conservative MPs.
Cameron had four Shadow Cabinets during his tenure as opposition leader. His Shadow Cabinet appointments included MPs associated with the various wings of the party. Former leader William Hague was appointed to the Foreign Affairs brief, while both George Osborne and David Davis were retained, as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and Shadow Home Secretary respectively. Hague, assisted by Davis, stood in for Cameron during his paternity leave in February 2006. In June 2008, Davis announced his intention to resign as an MP, and was immediately replaced as Shadow Home Secretary by Dominic Grieve; Davis' surprise move was seen as a challenge to the changes introduced under Cameron's leadership.
Under Cameron, the Conservatives made gains in the 2006 local elections, and made further gains in the 2007 and 2008 local elections. With the onset of the Great Recession leading to the Labour government under Gordon Brown taking the blame from a worsening economic climate, soaring unemployment and the expenses scandal, the Conservatives made significant gains in the local and European elections in 2009.
Following the 2010 general election, Cameron became prime minister at the head of a coalition government between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, as no party had gained an overall majority in the House of Commons for the first time since the February 1974 general election. One of the first decisions he made as prime minister was the appointment of Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, as deputy prime minister.
Shadow Cabinet (8 December 2005 – 2 July 2007) Cameron appointed his first shadow cabinet in December 2005. Portfolio Shadow Minister Leader of the Conservative PartyLeader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition The Rt Hon. David Cameron Shadow Foreign SecretarySenior Member of the Shadow Cabinet The Rt Hon. William Hague Shadow Chancellor of the ExchequerGeneral Election Campaign Co-ordinator George Osborne Shadow Home Secretary David Davis Chairman of the Conservative Party Francis Maude Shadow Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs Oliver Heald Shadow Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley CBE Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Caroline Spelman Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills David Willetts Shadow Secretary of State for Defence Dr. Liam Fox Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Peter Ainsworth Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Philip Hammond Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling Shadow Leader of the House of Commons The Rt Hon. Theresa May Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Hugo Swire Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Cheryl Gillan Shadow Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry & Shadow President of the Board of Trade Alan Duncan Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Theresa Villiers Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland David Lidington Opposition Chief Whip The Rt Hon. Patrick McLoughlin Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords The Rt Hon. Thomas Galbraith, Lord Strathclyde PC Also attending the Shadow Cabinet Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords The Rt Hon. John Cope, Lord Cope of Berkeley Shadow Minister for Women and Equality Eleanor Laing Shadow Minister for Europe Graham Brady Chairman of the Conservative Policy ReviewChairman of the Conservative Research DepartmentShadow Minister without Portfolio The Rt Hon. Oliver Letwin Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party Annabel Goldie MSP
Shadow Cabinet (2 July 2007 – 13 June 2008) Portfolio Shadow Minister Leader of the Conservative PartyLeader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition The Rt Hon. David Cameron Shadow Foreign SecretarySenior Member of the Shadow Cabinet The Rt Hon. William Hague Shadow Chancellor of the ExchequerGeneral Election Campaign Co-ordinator George Osborne Shadow Home Secretary David Davis Chairman of the Conservative Party Caroline Spelman Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Nick Herbert Shadow Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley CBE Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Michael Gove Shadow Secretary of State for Defence Dr. Liam Fox Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Peter Ainsworth Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Chris Grayling Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Theresa Villiers Shadow Leader of the House of CommonsShadow Minister for Women and Equality The Rt Hon. Theresa May Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Cheryl Gillan Shadow Minister for the Cabinet OfficeShadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Rt Hon. Francis Maude Shadow Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Alan Duncan Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills David Willetts Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson Opposition Chief Whip The Rt Hon. Patrick McLoughlin Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords The Rt Hon. Thomas Galbraith, Lord Strathclyde PC Also attending the Shadow Cabinet Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords The Rt Hon. Joyce Anelay, Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE PC Shadow Minister for Europe Mark Francois Shadow Foreign Office Minister David Lidington Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning Grant Shapps Shadow Minister for Science and Innovation Adam Afriyie Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action The Rt Hon. Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi Shadow Minister for SecurityNational Security Adviser to the Leader of the Opposition The Rt Hon. Pauline Neville-Jones, Baroness Neville-Jones DCMG PC Chairman of the Conservative Policy ReviewChairman of the Conservative Research DepartmentShadow Minister without Portfolio The Rt Hon. Oliver Letwin Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party Annabel Goldie MSP Changes
Caroline Spelman replaced Francis Maude as Chairman of the Conservative Party Nick Herbert replaced Oliver Heald as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Eric Pickles replaced Spelman as Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Michael Gove replaced David Willetts as Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Chris Grayling replaced Philip Hammond as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Theresa May replaced Eleanor Laing as Shadow Minister for Women and Equality while remaining Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Jeremy Hunt replaced Hugo Swire as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Francis Maude gained new portfolios of Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Philip Hammond replaced Theresa Villiers as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury David Willetts gained the new portfolio of Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills Owen Paterson replaced David Lidington as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Joyce Anelay replaced John Cope as Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords Mark Francois replaced Graham Brady as Shadow Minister for Europe
Shadow Cabinet (13 June 2008 – 19 January 2009) Portfolio Shadow Minister Leader of the Conservative PartyLeader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition The Rt Hon. David Cameron Shadow Foreign SecretarySenior Member of the Shadow Cabinet The Rt Hon. William Hague Shadow Chancellor of the ExchequerGeneral Election Campaign Co-ordinator George Osborne Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve QC Chairman of the Conservative Party Caroline Spelman Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Nick Herbert Shadow Secretary of State for Health Andrew Lansley CBE Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Eric Pickles Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Michael Gove Shadow Secretary of State for Defence Dr. Liam Fox Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Peter Ainsworth Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Chris Grayling Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Theresa Villiers Shadow Leader of the House of CommonsShadow Minister for Women and Equality The Rt Hon. Theresa May Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Cheryl Gillan Shadow Minister for the Cabinet OfficeShadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Rt Hon. Francis Maude Shadow Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Alan Duncan Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Philip Hammond Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills David Willetts Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson Opposition Chief Whip The Rt Hon. Patrick McLoughlin Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords The Rt Hon. Thomas Galbraith, Lord Strathclyde PC Also attending the Shadow Cabinet Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords The Rt Hon. Joyce Anelay, Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE PC Shadow Minister for Europe Mark Francois Shadow Foreign Office Minister David Lidington Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning Grant Shapps Shadow Minister for Science and Innovation Adam Afriyie Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action The Rt Hon. Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi Shadow Minister for SecurityNational Security Adviser to the Leader of the Opposition The Rt Hon. Pauline Neville-Jones, Baroness Neville-Jones DCMG PC Chairman of the Conservative Policy ReviewChairman of the Conservative Research DepartmentShadow Minister without Portfolio The Rt Hon. Oliver Letwin Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party Annabel Goldie MSP Changes
David Davis resigned as an MP to run for re-election and was replaced as Shadow Home Secretary by Dominic Grieve
Shadow Cabinet (19 January 2009 – 11 May 2010)