# Shadow Home Secretary

In British politics, the shadow home secretary (formally known as the shadow secretary of state for the home department) 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, and matters of citizenship. The shadow home secretary also formerly had responsibility for the criminal justice system and the prison service; these responsibilities are now held by the shadow justice secretary. 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 is currently held by Chris Philp, a member of the Conservative shadow cabinet.
In recent decades, the positions of home secretary and shadow home secretary have alternated between the Conservative and Labour parties. The corresponding position for the Liberal Democrats is the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson.

## List of shadow home secretaries

| Name | Entered office | Left office | Party | Shadow Cabinet |
| Kenneth Younger | 14 December 1955 | 13 May 1957 | Labour | Gaitskell |
| Patrick Gordon-Walker | 13 May 1957 | 12 March 1962 | Labour | Gaitskell |
| George Brown | 12 March 1962 | 15 February 1963 | Labour | Gaitskell |
| Frank Soskice | 15 February 1963 | 15 October 1964 | Labour | Wilson I |
| Edward Boyle | 15 October 1964 | 4 August 1965 | Conservative | Douglas-Home |
| Peter Thorneycroft | 4 August 1965 | 13 April 1966 | Conservative | Heath I |
| Quintin Hogg | 13 April 1966 | 18 June 1970 | Conservative | Heath I |
| James Callaghan | 18 June 1970 | 19 October 1971 | Labour | Wilson II |
| Shirley Williams | 19 October 1971 | 25 November 1973 | Labour | Wilson II |
| Roy Jenkins | 25 November 1973 | 4 March 1974 | Labour | Wilson II |
| Jim Prior | 11 March 1974 | 13 June 1974 | Conservative | Heath II |
| Keith Joseph | 13 June 1974 | 11 February 1975 | Conservative | Heath II |
| Ian Gilmour | 18 February 1975 | 15 January 1976 | Conservative | Thatcher |
| William Whitelaw | 11 April 1976 | 4 May 1979 | Conservative | Thatcher |
| Merlyn Rees | 4 May 1979 | 4 November 1980 | Labour | Callaghan |
| Roy Hattersley | 4 November 1980 | 31 October 1983 | Labour | Foot |
| Gerald Kaufman | 31 October 1983 | 13 July 1987 | Labour | Kinnock |
| Roy Hattersley | 13 July 1987 | 24 July 1992 | Labour | Kinnock |
| Tony Blair | 24 July 1992 | 21 July 1994 | Labour | Smith |
| Tony Blair | 24 July 1992 | 21 July 1994 | Labour | Beckett |
| Alun Michael | 21 July 1994 | 20 October 1994 | Labour | Blair |
| Jack Straw | 20 October 1994 | 2 May 1997 | Labour | Blair |
| Michael Howard | 2 May 1997 | 11 June 1997 | Conservative | Major |
| Brian Mawhinney | 11 June 1997 | 2 June 1998 | Conservative | Hague |
| Norman Fowler | 2 June 1998 | 15 June 1999 | Conservative | Hague |
| Ann Widdecombe | 15 June 1999 | 18 September 2001 | Conservative | Hague |
| Oliver Letwin | 18 September 2001 | 10 November 2003 | Conservative | Duncan Smith |
| David Davis | 10 November 2003 | 12 June 2008 | Conservative | Howard |
| David Davis | 10 November 2003 | 12 June 2008 | Conservative | Cameron |
| Dominic Grieve | 12 June 2008 | 19 January 2009 | Conservative | Cameron |
| Chris Grayling | 19 January 2009 | 6 May 2010 | Conservative | Cameron |
| Alan Johnson | 12 May 2010 | 8 October 2010 | Labour | Harman I |
| Ed Balls | 8 October 2010 | 20 January 2011 | Labour | Miliband |
| Yvette Cooper | 20 January 2011 | 14 September 2015 | Labour | Miliband |
| Yvette Cooper | 20 January 2011 | 14 September 2015 | Labour | Harman II |
| Andy Burnham | 14 September 2015 | 6 October 2016 | Labour | Corbyn |
| Diane Abbott | 6 October 2016 | 5 April 2020 | Labour | Corbyn |
| Nick Thomas-Symonds | 5 April 2020 | 29 November 2021 | Labour | Starmer |
| Yvette Cooper | 29 November 2021 | 5 July 2024 | Labour | Starmer |
| James Cleverly | 8 July 2024 | 5 November 2024 | Conservative | Sunak |
| Chris Philp | 5 November 2024 | Incumbent | Conservative | Badenoch |