The shadow secretary of state for work and pensions is an office within British politics held by a member of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The duty of the office holder is to scrutinise the actions of the government's secretary of state for work and pensions and develop alternative policies.
List of shadow secretaries Shadow Minister of Pensions and National InsuranceName Entered office Left office Political party Shadow Cabinet Hilary Marquand 15 July 1955 16 November 1959 Labour Attlee Gaitskell Richard Crossman 16 November 1959 14 March 1960 Labour Douglas Houghton 14 March 1960 21 February 1963 Labour Brown Dick Mitchison 21 February 1963 16 October 1964 Labour Wilson Richard Wood 16 October 1964 29 October 1964 ConservativeDouglas-Home Margaret Thatcher 29 October 1964 6 October 1965 Conservative Heath Charles Longbottom 6 October 1965 13 April 1966 Conservative Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Services See Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social ServicesShadow Secretary of State for Social Security Michael Meacher 2 November 1989 18 July 1992 Labour Kinnock Donald Dewar 18 July 1992 19 October 1995 Labour Smith Beckett Blair Chris Smith 19 October 1995 1 July 1996 Labour Harriet Harman 1 July 1996 2 May 1997 Labour Peter Lilley 2 May 1997 19 June 1997 Conservative Major Iain Duncan Smith 19 June 1997 15 June 1999 Conservative Hague David Willetts 15 June 1999 14 September 2001 ConservativeShadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions David Willetts 14 September 2001 6 May 2005 Conservative Duncan Smith Howard Malcolm Rifkind 6 May 2005 6 December 2005 Conservative Philip Hammond 6 December 2005 2 July 2007 Conservative Cameron Chris Grayling 2 July 2007 19 January 2009 Conservative Theresa May 19 January 2009 11 May 2010 Conservative Yvette Cooper 11 May 2010 8 October 2010 Labour Harman I Douglas Alexander 8 October 2010 20 January 2011 Labour Miliband Liam Byrne 20 January 2011 7 October 2013 Labour Rachel Reeves 7 October 2013 8 June 2015 Labour Stephen Timms 8 June 2015 13 September 2015 Labour Harman II Owen Smith 14 September 2015 27 June 2016 Labour Corbyn Debbie Abrahams 27 June 2016 11 March 2018 Labour Margaret Greenwood 11 March 2018 6 April 2020 Labour Jonathan Reynolds 6 April 2020 29 November 2021Labour & Co-opStarmer Jonathan Ashworth 29 November 2021 4 September 2023Labour & Co-op Liz Kendall 4 September 2023 5 July 2024LabourMel Stride8 July 20244 November 2024ConservativeSunakHelen Whately5 November 2024IncumbentConservativeBadenoch
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