Deputy Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)

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.

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

Deputy Leader of the OppositionDeputy LeaderTerm of Office Concurrent position Political Party Leader of the OppositionVacant 6 December 1916 14 December 1918 Liberal H. H. AsquithUnknown 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 MacDonaldUnknown 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 MacDonaldUnknown 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 HendersonUnknown 27 October 1931 5 November 1931 Labour Unknown Clement Attlee 5 November 1931 8 October 1935 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (1932–1935) Labour George LansburyVacant 8 October 1935 26 November 1935 Labour Clement Attlee Arthur Greenwood 26 November 1935 22 May 1940 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party LabourUnknown 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 StanleyActing January 1949 March 1949 Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Conservative Herbert Morrison 26 October 1951 25 November 1955 Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Labour Clement AttleeVacant 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 PartyShadow Foreign Secretary LabourVacant 6 July 1960 10 November 1960 Labour George Brown 10 November 1960 18 January 1963 Deputy Leader of the Labour PartyShadow Minister of Defence (1960–1962)Shadow Home Secretary (1962–1963) LabourVacant 18 January 1963 14 February 1963 Labour George Brown George Brown 14 February 1963 16 October 1964 Deputy Leader of the Labour PartyShadow Home Secretary Labour Harold WilsonUnknown 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 HeathVacant 20 June 1970 8 July 1970 Labour Harold Wilson Roy Jenkins 8 July 1970 10 April 1972 Deputy Leader of the Labour PartyShadow Chancellor of the Exchequer LabourVacant 10 April 1972 25 April 1972 Labour Edward Short 25 April 1972 4 March 1974 Deputy Leader of the Labour PartyShadow Secretary of State for Education and Science (1972)Shadow Leader of the House of Commons (1972–1974) LabourVacant 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 PartyShadow Home Secretary (1976–1979) Conservative Margaret Thatcher Michael Foot 4 May 1979 13 November 1980 Deputy Leader of the Labour PartyShadow Leader of the House of Commons Labour James Callaghan Denis Healey 13 November 1980 2 October 1983 Deputy Leader of the Labour PartyShadow Foreign Secretary Labour Michael Foot Roy Hattersley 2 October 1983 18 July 1992 Deputy Leader of the Labour PartyShadow 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 PartyShadow Leader of the House of Commons Labour John SmithVacant 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 IndustryShadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Conservative John MajorVacant 19 June 1997 1 June 1998 ConservativeWilliam Hague Peter Lilley 1 June 1998 15 June 1999 Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party ConservativeVacant 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 PartyShadow Foreign Secretary (2001–2005)Shadow Secretary of State for Defence (2005) Conservative Iain Duncan SmithMichael HowardSenior Member of the Shadow CabinetSenior MemberTerm of Office Concurrent position Political Party Leader of the Opposition William Hague 6 December 2005 11 May 2010 Shadow Foreign Secretary Conservative David CameronShadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United KingdomShadow Deputy Prime MinisterTerm of Office Concurrent position Political Party Leader of the Opposition Jack StrawActing 11 May 2010 25 September 2010 Shadow Secretary of State for JusticeShadow Lord Chancellor Labour Harriet Harman Harriet Harman 7 October 2010 8 May 2015 Deputy Leader of the Labour PartyChair of the Labour PartyShadow Secretary of State for International Development (2010–2011)Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (2011–2015) Labour Ed MilibandShadow First Secretary of StateShadow First SecretaryTerm of Office Concurrent position Political Party Leader of the Opposition Hilary BennActing 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 LabourDeputy Leader of the OppositionDeputy Leader of the OppositionTerm of Office Concurrent position Political Party Leader of the Opposition Angela Rayner 5 April 2020 5 July 2024 Deputy Leader of the Labour PartyShadow 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 StarmerShadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United KingdomShadow Deputy Prime MinisterTerm 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 SunakVacant 5 November 2024 1 September 2026 Kemi BadenochDeputy Leader of the OppositionDeputy Leader of the OppositionTerm of Office Concurrent position Political Party Leader of the OppositionAlex Burghart1 September 2026IncumbentDeputy Leader of the Conservative PartyShadow Chancellor of the Duchy of LancasterShadow Secretary of State for Northern IrelandConservative Kemi Badenoch

See also Official Opposition frontbench Shadow Cabinet of Kemi Badenoch Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office

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