Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Incumbent Alex Burghart since 8 July 2024
Appointer	Leader of the Opposition
Inaugural holder	Merlyn Rees
Formation	24 March 1972
Website	The Shadow Cabinet

The Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is an important job in British politics. This person is part of the Shadow Cabinet, which is like a "government-in-waiting" made up of politicians from the main opposition party. Their main role is to keep a close eye on the actual Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and the government department that deals with Northern Ireland, called the Northern Ireland Office. They make sure the government is doing a good job and challenge them when needed.

For a long time, politicians in the House of Commons tried to agree on Northern Ireland issues, no matter which party they belonged to. This was called a 'bi-partisan' approach. However, the role of the Shadow Secretary is also shaped by how the main opposition party gets along with political parties in Northern Ireland itself. For example, the Conservative Party often supports parties that want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom (called unionists). The Labour Party has traditionally supported parties that want a united Ireland (called Irish nationalists). The Liberal Democrats are connected with the Alliance Party, which tries to bring both sides together.

People Who Held This Role

This table shows the people who have been the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since the role was created. It lists their names, when they started and left the job, how long they served, their political party, and which Shadow Cabinet they were part of.

Name			Entered office	Left office	Length of Term	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Merlyn Rees		24 March 1972	4 March 1974	1 year, 345 days	Labour	Harold Wilson
	Francis Pym		4 March 1974	29 October 1974	239 days	Conservative	Edward Heath
	Ian Gilmour		29 October 1974	18 February 1975	112 days
	Airey Neave		18 February 1975	30 March 1979	4 years, 40 days
							Edward Heath
							Margaret Thatcher
	Roy Mason		4 May 1979	14 July 1979	71 days	Labour	James Callaghan
	Brynmor John		14 July 1979	8 December 1980	1 year, 147 days
	Don Concannon		8 December 1980	31 October 1983	2 years, 327 days		Michael Foot
	Peter Archer		31 October 1983	13 July 1987	3 years, 255 days		Neil Kinnock
	Kevin McNamara		13 July 1987	20 October 1994	7 years, 99 days
							John Smith
							Mo Mowlam		20 October 1994	2 May 1997	2 years, 194 days	Tony Blair
	Andrew Mackay		23 June 1997	14 September 2001	4 years, 83 days		Conservative	William Hague
	Quentin Davies		14 September 2001	11 November 2003	2 years, 58 days	Iain Duncan Smith
	David Lidington		11 November 2003	2 July 2007	3 years, 233 days	Michael Howard
						David Cameron
	Owen Paterson		2 July 2007	11 May 2010	2 years, 313 days
	Shaun Woodward		11 May 2010	7 October 2011	Labour	Harriet Harman
						Ed Miliband
	Vernon Coaker		7 October 2011	7 October 2013			2 years, 0 days
	Ivan Lewis		7 October 2013	13 September 2015			1 year, 341 days
						Ed Miliband
						Harriet Harman
	Vernon Coaker		13 September 2015	26 June 2016		287 days	Jeremy Corbyn
	Dave Anderson		26 June 2016	14 June 2017		353 days
	Owen Smith		14 June 2017	23 March 2018		282 days
	Tony Lloyd		23 March 2018	6 April 2020		2 years, 14 days
	Louise Haigh		6 April 2020	29 November 2021		1 year, 237 days	Sir Keir Starmer
	Peter Kyle		29 November 2021	4 September 2023		1 year, 279 days
	Hilary Benn		4 September 2023	5 July 2024		305 days
	Alex Burghart		8 July 2024	Incumbent	360 days	Conservative	Rishi Sunak

See also

• Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
• Northern Ireland Office
• UK Shadow Cabinet
• Liberal Democrat Frontbench Team
• Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
• Northern Ireland Grand Committee