Shadow Secretary of State for Education

The Shadow Secretary of State for Education, also called the Shadow Education Secretary, is an office in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for Opposition policy on Education and for holding the Secretary of State for Education, junior Education ministers, and the Department for Education to account. The position is currently held by Lucy Powell.

List of Shadow Secretaries

Shadow Secretaries of State for Education and Science
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Roy Hattersley		4 May 1973	5 March 1974	Labour	Harold Wilson
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Norman St John-Stevas	File:Lord St John of Fawsley.jpg	28 February 1974	6 November 1978	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Mark Carlisle		6 November 1978	4 May 1979	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Gordon Oakes		4 May 1979	14 July 1979	Labour	James Callaghan
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Neil Kinnock		14 July 1979	2 October 1983	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |						Michael Foot
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Giles Radice		2 October 1983	13 July 1987	Labour	Neil Kinnock
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Jack Straw		13 July 1987	18 July 1992	Labour
Shadow Secretaries of State for Education
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political party	Leader of the Opposition
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Ann Taylor		18 July 1992	20 October 1994	Labour	John Smith
Margaret Beckett (1994)
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	David Blunkett		20 October 1994	19 October 1995	Labour	Tony Blair
Shadow Secretaries of State for Education and Employment
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political Party	Leader of the Opposition
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	David Blunkett		19 October 1995	2 May 1997	Labour	Tony Blair
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Gillian Shephard		2 May 1997	11 June 1997	Conservative	John Major
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Stephen Dorrell		11 June 1997	15 June 1998	Conservative	William Hague
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	David Willetts		1 June 1998	15 June 1999	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Theresa May		15 June 1999	18 September 2001	Conservative
Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political party	Leader of the Opposition
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Damian Green		18 September 2001	11 November 2003	Conservative	Iain Duncan Smith
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Tim Yeo		11 November 2003	14 June 2004	Conservative	Michael Howard
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Tim Collins		14 June 2004	6 May 2005	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	David Cameron		6 May 2005	6 December 2005	Conservative
Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political party	Leader of the Opposition
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	David Willetts		6 December 2005	2 July 2007	Conservative	David Cameron
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Michael Gove		2 July 2007	11 May 2010	Conservative
Shadow Secretaries of State for Education
Shadow Secretary			Took office	Left office	Political party	Leader of the Opposition
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Ed Balls		11 May 2010	8 October 2010	Labour	Harriet Harman
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Andy Burnham		8 October 2010	7 October 2011	Labour	Ed Miliband
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Stephen Twigg		7 October 2011	7 October 2013	Labour
rowspan=2 style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Tristram Hunt		7 October 2013	12 September 2015	Labour
Harriet Harman
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	Lucy Powell	File:Lucy Powell crop.jpeg	13 September 2015	Incumbent	Labour	Jeremy Corbyn

See also

• Official Opposition frontbench