The office of Shadow Minister for Employment is a position on the United Kingdom's Official Opposition frontbench, and has occasionally been a position in the Shadow Cabinet.
From 1970 to 1995, the duty of the office holder was to scrutinise the actions of the government's Secretary of State for Employment and develop alternative policies. From 1995, the office shadowed the Secretary of State for Education and Employment. In 2001, the office was replaced by that of Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions after the creation of the Department for Work and Pensions.
In 2019, the office was reformed in the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn as Shadow Minister for Labour; later renamed Secretary of State for Employment Rights and, in the Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer, Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights and Protections. The position was vacant after the resignation of Andy McDonald, who was replaced by Alison McGovern in the November 2021 reshuffle.
List of Shadow Secretaries Shadow Minister for Labour and National Service Shadow Minister Took office Left office Political Party Leader of the Opposition David Maxwell Fyfe c.1946 27 October 1951 Conservative Winston Churchill Alfred Robens 28 October 1951 Unknown Labour Clement Attlee Aneurin Bevan 15 July 1955 15 February 1956 Labour Hugh Gaitskell George Brown 15 February 1956 27 November 1956 Labour Alfred Robens 27 November 1956 12 November 1959 LabourShadow Minister for Labour Shadow Minister Took office Left office Political Party Leader of the Opposition Alfred Robens 12 November 1959 November 1960 Labour Hugh Gaitskell Frederick Lee November 1960 6 December 1961 Labour Ray Gunter 6 December 1961 16 October 1964 Labour Harold Wilson Joseph Godber 16 October 1964 5 August 1965 Conservative Alec Douglas-Home Keith Joseph 5 August 1965 23 February 1967 Conservative Edward Heath Robert Carr 23 February 1967 6 April 1968 Conservative Shadow Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity Shadow Secretary Took office Left office Political Party Leader of the Opposition Robert Carr 6 April 1968 19 June 1970 Conservative Edward Heath Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Shadow Secretary Took office Left office Political Party Leader of the Opposition Barbara Castle 19 June 1970 19 October 1971 Labour Harold Wilson James Callaghan 19 October 1971 19 April 1972 Labour Reg Prentice 19 April 1972 4 March 1974 Labour William Whitelaw 4 March 1974 12 June 1974 Conservative Edward Heath James Prior 12 June 1974 4 May 1979 Conservative Margaret Thatcher Albert Booth 4 May 1979 14 July 1979 Labour James Callaghan Eric Varley 14 July 1979 31 October 1983 Labour Michael Foot John Smith 31 October 1983 26 October 1984 Labour Neil Kinnock John Prescott 26 October 1984 13 July 1987 Labour Michael Meacher 13 July 1987 2 November 1989 Labour Tony Blair 2 November 1989 18 July 1992 Labour Frank Dobson 18 July 1992 21 October 1993 Labour John Smith John Prescott 21 October 1993 20 October 1994 Labour Harriet Harman 20 October 1994 19 October 1995 Labour Tony Blair Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Employment Shadow Secretary Took office Left office Political Party Leader of the Opposition David Blunkett 19 October 1995 2 May 1997 Labour Tony Blair Gillian Shephard 2 May 1997 11 June 1997 Conservative John Major Stephen Dorrell 11 June 1997 15 June 1998 Conservative William Hague David Willetts 1 June 1998 15 June 1999 Conservative Theresa May 15 June 1999 18 September 2001 Conservative Shadow Minister for Labour Shadow Minister Took office Left office Political Party Leader of the Opposition Jack Dromey 10 October 2016 12 January 2018 Labour Jeremy Corbyn Laura Pidcock 12 January 2018 10 September 2019 Labour Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights Shadow Secretary Took office Left office Political Party Leader of the Opposition Laura Pidcock 10 September 2019 12 December 2019 Labour Jeremy Corbyn Rachael Maskell 7 January 2020 6 April 2020 Labour Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights and Protections Shadow Secretary Took office Left office Political Party Leader of the Opposition Andy McDonald 6 April 2020 27 September 2021 Labour Keir Starmer Shadow Minister for Employment Shadow Minister Took office Left office Political Party Leader of the Opposition Alison McGovern 4 December 2021 5 July 2024 Labour Keir Starmer
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