Shadow Home Secretary
| Shadow Home Secretary | |
|---|---|
| Appointer | Leader of the Opposition |
| Website | The Shadow Cabinet |
In British politics, the Shadow Home Secretary is the person within the shadow cabinet who 'shadows' the Home Secretary; this effectively means scrutinising government policy on home affairs including policing, national security, immigration, the criminal justice system, the prison service, and matters of citizenship. If the opposition party is elected to government, the Shadow Home Secretary often becomes the new Home Secretary though this is not always the case. The office has been held by Labour MP Diane Abbott since 6 October 2016.
List of Shadow Home Secretaries
 |
| Name | Portrait | Entered office | Left office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Kenneth Younger | 
|
14 December 1955 | 13 May 1957 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Patrick Gordon-Walker | 13 May 1957 | 12 March 1962 | Labour | |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | George Brown | 
|
12 March 1962 | 15 February 1963 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Frank Soskice |
|
15 February 1963 | 15 October 1964 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Edward Boyle |
|
15 October 1964 | 4 August 1965 | Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Peter Thorneycroft | 4 August 1965 | 13 April 1966 | Conservative | |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Quintin Hogg | 
|
13 April 1966 | 18 June 1970 | Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Jim Callaghan | 
|
18 June 1970 | 19 October 1971 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Shirley Williams | 
|
19 October 1971 | 25 November 1973 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Roy Jenkins | 
|
25 November 1973 | 4 March 1974 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Jim Prior |
|
11 March 1974 | 13 June 1974 | Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Keith Joseph | 13 June 1974 | 11 February 1975 | Conservative | |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Ian Gilmour |
|
18 February 1975 | 15 Jan 1976 | Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Willie Whitelaw |
|
11 April 1976 | 4 May 1979 | Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Merlyn Rees |
|
4 May 1979 | 4 Nov 1980 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Roy Hattersley | 
|
4 Nov 1980 | 31 October 1983 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Gerald Kaufman | 
|
31 October 1983 | 13 July 1987 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Roy Hattersley |
|
13 July 1987 | 24 July 1992 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Tony Blair | 
|
24 July 1992 | 20 October 1994 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Jack Straw | 
|
20 October 1994 | 2 May 1997 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Michael Howard | 
|
2 May 1997 | 11 June 1997 | Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Brian Mawhinney |
|
11 June 1997 | 2 June 1998 | Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Norman Fowler |
|
2 June 1998 | 15 June 1999 | Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Ann Widdecombe | 
|
15 June 1999 | 18 September 2001 | Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Oliver Letwin | 
|
18 September 2001 | 6 November 2003 | Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | David Davis | 
|
6 November 2003 | 12 June 2008 | Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Dominic Grieve | 
|
12 June 2008 | 19 January 2009 | Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Chris Grayling | 
|
19 January 2009 | 11 May 2010 | Conservative |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Alan Johnson | 
|
11 May 2010 | 8 October 2010 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Ed Balls | 
|
8 October 2010 | 20 January 2011 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Yvette Cooper | _(tightcrop).jpg)
|
20 January 2011 | 12 September 2015 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Andy Burnham | 
|
13 September 2015 | 28 September 2016 | Labour |
| style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | Diane Abbott Absent: 7 June 2017 – 18 June 2017 Acting Shadow Home Secretary: Lyn Brown |
|
6 October 2016 | Incumbent | Labour |
