Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer |
|
|---|---|
| Appointer | Leader of the Opposition |
| Inaugural holder | Rab Butler |
| Deputy | Laura Trott |
The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer is an important job in the British Parliament. This person is part of the Shadow Cabinet. Their main role is to keep an eye on what the actual Chancellor of the Exchequer is doing. The Chancellor is the government's finance minister.
The Leader of the Opposition chooses who gets to be the Shadow Chancellor. It is usually seen as the second most important job in the opposition party. This role does not have a formal legal power.
Many famous politicians have been Shadow Chancellor. These include Harold Wilson, James Callaghan, Edward Heath, Geoffrey Howe, Kenneth Clarke, Gordon Brown, John McDonnell, and Rachel Reeves.
Currently, Jeremy Hunt holds this position. He became Shadow Chancellor after the 2024 United Kingdom General Election.
What is a Shadow Chancellor?
The name "Shadow Chancellor" means they are the main person for the opposition party who talks about money and the economy. They are like a "shadow" version of the real Chancellor.
Sometimes, other parties like the Liberal Democrats also use this name for their finance spokesperson. This once led to a funny moment in Parliament. In 2005, Chancellor Gordon Brown joked about having two "shadow chancellors." He said he liked the one from Twickenham, referring to the Liberal Democrat Vince Cable. He was teasing the Conservative Party's Shadow Chancellor at the time.
Past Shadow Chancellors
Here is a list of people who have held the job of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer:
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rab Butler |  |
10 December 1950 | 26 October 1951 | Conservative | ||
| Hugh Gaitskell |  |
26 October 1951 | 14 December 1955 | Labour | Attlee | |
| Harold Wilson |  |
14 December 1955 | 2 November 1961 | Gaitskell | ||
| James Callaghan | .jpg) |
2 November 1961 | 15 October 1964 | |||
| Wilson I | ||||||
| Reginald Maudling | 15 October 1964 | 16 February 1965 | Conservative | Douglas-Home | ||
| Edward Heath | .jpg) |
16 February 1965 | 11 November 1965 | Heath I | ||
| Iain Macleod |  |
11 November 1965 | 20 June 1970 | |||
| Roy Jenkins | .jpg) |
20 June 1970 | 19 April 1972 | Labour | Wilson II | |
| Denis Healey |  |
19 April 1972 | 4 March 1974 | |||
| Robert Carr |  |
4 March 1974 | 11 February 1975 | Conservative | Heath II | |
| Sir Geoffrey Howe | .jpg) |
11 February 1975 | 4 May 1979 | Thatcher | ||
| Denis Healey | |
4 May 1979 | 8 December 1980 | Labour | Callaghan | |
| Peter Shore | 8 December 1980 | 31 October 1983 | Foot | |||
| Roy Hattersley |  |
31 October 1983 | 13 July 1987 | Kinnock | ||
| John Smith | 13 July 1987 | 24 July 1992 | ||||
| Gordon Brown |  |
24 July 1992 | 2 May 1997 | Smith | ||
| Beckett | ||||||
| Blair | ||||||
| Ken Clarke |  |
2 May 1997 | 11 June 1997 | Conservative | Major | |
| Peter Lilley |  |
11 June 1997 | 2 June 1998 | Hague | ||
| Francis Maude |  |
2 June 1998 | 1 February 2000 | |||
| Michael Portillo |  |
1 February 2000 | 18 September 2001 | |||
| Michael Howard |  |
18 September 2001 | 6 November 2003 | Duncan Smith | ||
| Oliver Letwin |  |
6 November 2003 | 10 May 2005 | Howard | ||
| George Osborne |  |
10 May 2005 | 11 May 2010 | |||
| Cameron | ||||||
| Alistair Darling |  |
11 May 2010 | 8 October 2010 | Labour | Harman I | |
| Alan Johnson |  |
8 October 2010 | 20 January 2011 | Miliband | ||
| Ed Balls |  |
20 January 2011 | 11 May 2015 | |||
| Chris Leslie |  |
11 May 2015 | 12 September 2015 | Harman II | ||
| John McDonnell |  |
13 September 2015 | 5 April 2020 | Corbyn | ||
| Anneliese Dodds |  |
5 April 2020 | 9 May 2021 | Starmer | ||
| Rachel Reeves |  |
9 May 2021 | 5 July 2024 | |||
| Jeremy Hunt | .jpg) |
5 July 2024 | Present | Conservative | Sunak | |
