Liberal Democrat frontbench team
Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:UK Liberal Democrat Frontbench Teams The Liberal Democrats are a political party in the United Kingdom. While in opposition, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats appoints a frontbench team of members of Parliament (MPs), peers in the House of Lords, members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), and members of the Senedd (MSs) to speak for the party on different issues. Their areas of responsibility broadly corresponded to those of Government ministers. The frontbench team is divided into departmental sub-units, the principal ones being the economy, foreign policy, and home affairs. Sometimes the frontbench team consists of more than just the principal positions.
Status
Formerly, the Liberal Democrats' frontbench team did not use the term 'shadow cabinet', with assorted frontbench spokespeople covering areas (e.g., Defence and Foreign Affairs) rather than directly shadowing specific Cabinet portfolios. Under Charles Kennedy's leadership, and with the number of Liberal Democrat MPs growing following the 1997 general election, the senior members of the frontbench team began referring to themselves as a Shadow Cabinet. This was controversial, because in the two-party political system that dominated UK politics in the 20th century, the term 'Shadow Cabinet' referred to senior members of the frontbench team of the largest single opposition party in the House of Commons. This party, known as the Official Opposition, has constitutional status, although its Shadow Cabinet does not. Following Kennedy's decision to change the nomenclature, the UK Parliament's website used for a time the term 'Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet' in place of the old term 'Frontbench Team'.[1][2]
This is not without contention, and was disputed by the Conservative Party, who were then the Official Opposition to a Labour government. However, the official listing at the Parliament website is explicit in using the term 'Shadow Cabinet'.[3] In 2001, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said the following in the House of Commons:
Later in his chancellorship, Brown returned to this theme, comparing his frosty relationship with the official Shadow Chancellor George Osborne with his apparently warm relationship with Vince Cable (whom he referred to as "the Shadow Chancellor from Twickenham").[4]
The Official Opposition receives support for its official function which is denied to smaller opposition parties, although they, along with every parliamentary party, do receive Short Money. While the Opposition Leader and Chief Whips draw salaries, their counterparts in smaller opposition parties do not. The Official Opposition also has the exclusive use of facilities within Parliament.
Following the 2010 general election and the confirmation of Conservative leader David Cameron as Prime Minister on 11 May 2010, a coalition cabinet was formed that included Liberal Democrat ministers, including Liberal leader Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister and Lord President of the Council. Thus, the Liberal Democrats entered the Cabinet for the first time since the all-party War Government led by Winston Churchill in the early 1940s.
Following the 2015 general election, the Liberal Democrats were reduced to just eight seats in the House of Commons, falling into joint fourth place with the Democratic Unionist Party behind the Scottish National Party (SNP) for the first time. As a result of this, Parliament's website listed the SNP's frontbench team (in comparison with the Conservative Cabinet and Labour Shadow Cabinet) in lieu of the Liberal Democrat frontbench team. The Liberal Democrats returned as the third largest party following the 2024 general election, behind the Conservatives (the official opposition) and Labour (the governing party).
Previous frontbench teams
Previous team key-members in summary:
| Party | Date | Leader | Economy | Foreign affairs | Home affairs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal | April 1966 | Jo Grimond | Richard Wainwright | James Davidson | Unknown |
| January 1967 | Jeremy Thorpe | ||||
| June 1970 | John Pardoe | Russell Johnston | |||
| 1975 | David Steel | ||||
| May 1976 | Jo Grimond | ||||
| July 1976 | David Steel | Jeremy Thorpe | |||
| 1977 | Emlyn Hooson | ||||
| May 1979 | Richard Wainwright | Russell Johnston | |||
| October 1981 | Bill Pitt | ||||
| June 1983 | |||||
| 1985 | David Penhaligon | Alan Beith | |||
| January 1987 | |||||
| June 1987 | Alan Beith | Russell Johnston | |||
| Liberal Democrats |
March 1988 | David Steel and Robert Maclennan (co-leaders)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Robert Maclennan | ||
| July 1988 | Paddy Ashdown | ||||
| July 1989 | David Steel | ||||
| July 1994 | Malcolm Bruce | Menzies Campbell | Alan Beith | ||
| August 1999 | Charles Kennedy | Matthew Taylor | Simon Hughes | ||
| June 2003 | Vince Cable | Mark Oaten | |||
| January 2006 | Menzies Campbell (acting: Jan – Mar 2006)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| January 2006 | Alistair Carmichael | ||||
| March 2006 | Michael Moore | Nick Clegg | |||
| October 2007 | Vince Cable (acting)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| December 2007 | Nick Clegg
(Deputy Prime Minister: May 2010 – May 2015)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Ed Davey | Chris Huhne | ||
| May 2010 | David Laws (Chief Secretary to the Treasury)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Jeremy Browne (Minister of State for Foreign Affairs)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
The Lord McNally (Minister of State for Justice)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||
| May 2010 | Danny Alexander (Chief Secretary to the Treasury)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| September 2012 | Lynne Featherstone (Under Secretary of State for International Development)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Jeremy Browne (Minister of State for Home Affairs)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |||
| October 2013 | Norman Baker (Minister of State for Home Affairs)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | ||||
| November 2014 | Menzies Campbell
Member of the Foreign Affairs Select CommitteeScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Lynne Featherstone (Minister of State for Home Affairs)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". | |||
| January 2015 | Tim Farron | ||||
| May 2015 | Norman Lamb | The Lord McNally | |||
| July 2015 | Tim Farron | The Baroness Kramer | Tom Brake | Alistair Carmichael | |
| October 2016 | The Lord Paddick | ||||
| May 2017 | Vince Cable | ||||
| June 2017 | Jo Swinson | Ed Davey | |||
| July 2017 | Vince Cable | Vacant | |||
| Oct 2017 | The Baroness Kramer | ||||
| June 2019 | Chuka Umunna | ||||
| August 2019 | Jo Swinson | Ed Davey | Chuka Umunna | Christine Jardine | |
| December 2019 | Ed Davey and Mark Pack (acting)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". |
Angela Smith (Int. Dev.) | |||
| January 2020 | Alistair Carmichael | ||||
| August 2020 | Ed Davey | Christine Jardine | Layla Moran | Alistair Carmichael | |
| July 2022 | Sarah Olney | ||||
| September 2024 | Daisy Cooper | Calum Miller | Lisa Smart |
See also
- Cabinet of the United Kingdom
- Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom)
- List of British shadow cabinets
References
External links
Template:UK Parliament benches Template:British shadow cabinets Template:UK Liberal Democrats