# Liberal Democrat frontbench team

* Frontbench Teams since 1997
* Ashdown Team (1997–1999)
* Kennedy Team (1999–2006)
* Campbell Team (2006–2007)
* First Cable Team (2007)
* Clegg Team (2007–2010)
* General Election Cabinet (2015)
* Farron Team (2015–2017)
* Second Cable Team (2017–2019)
* Swinson Team (2019)
* Davey Team (2019–present)
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 after 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'.
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'. In 2001, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said the following in the House of Commons:
   The House of Commons is in the unique position of having two shadow Chancellors: one [Conservative Michael Howard] sits in Folkestone and the other [Liberal Democrat Matthew Taylor] in Truro. It is rather like the mediaeval papacy: two hon. Members claim to hold the position of shadow Chancellor. I shall organise a play-off during the year.
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").
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 |
| Liberal | January 1967 | Jeremy Thorpe | Richard Wainwright | James Davidson | Unknown |
| Liberal | June 1970 | Jeremy Thorpe | John Pardoe | Russell Johnston | Unknown |
| Liberal | 1975 | Jeremy Thorpe | John Pardoe | David Steel | Unknown |
| Liberal | May 1976 | Jo Grimond | John Pardoe | David Steel | Unknown |
| Liberal | July 1976 | David Steel | John Pardoe | Jeremy Thorpe | Unknown |
| Liberal | 1977 | David Steel | John Pardoe | Jeremy Thorpe | Emlyn Hooson |
| Liberal | May 1979 | David Steel | Richard Wainwright | Russell Johnston | |
| Liberal | October 1981 | David Steel | Richard Wainwright | Russell Johnston | Bill Pitt |
| Liberal | June 1983 | David Steel | Richard Wainwright | Russell Johnston | |
| Liberal | 1985 | David Steel | David Penhaligon | Alan Beith | |
| Liberal | January 1987 | David Steel | | Alan Beith | |
| Liberal | June 1987 | David Steel | Alan Beith | Russell Johnston | |
| Liberal Democrats | March 1988 | David Steel and Robert Maclennan (co-leaders) | Alan Beith | Russell Johnston | Robert Maclennan |
| Liberal Democrats | July 1988 | Paddy Ashdown | Alan Beith | Russell Johnston | Robert Maclennan |
| Liberal Democrats | July 1989 | Paddy Ashdown | Alan Beith | David Steel | Robert Maclennan |
| Liberal Democrats | July 1994 | Paddy Ashdown | Malcolm Bruce | Menzies Campbell | Alan Beith |
| Liberal Democrats | August 1999 | Charles Kennedy | Matthew Taylor | Menzies Campbell | Simon Hughes |
| Liberal Democrats | June 2003 | Charles Kennedy | Vince Cable | Menzies Campbell | Mark Oaten |
| Liberal Democrats | January 2006 | Menzies Campbell (acting: Jan – Mar 2006) | Vince Cable | Menzies Campbell | Mark Oaten |
| Liberal Democrats | January 2006 | Menzies Campbell (acting: Jan – Mar 2006) | Vince Cable | Menzies Campbell | Alistair Carmichael |
| Liberal Democrats | March 2006 | Menzies Campbell (acting: Jan – Mar 2006) | Vince Cable | Michael Moore | Nick Clegg |
| Liberal Democrats | October 2007 | Vince Cable (acting) | Vince Cable | Michael Moore | Nick Clegg |
| Liberal Democrats | December 2007 | Nick Clegg (Deputy Prime Minister: May 2010 – May 2015) | Vince Cable | Ed Davey | Chris Huhne |
| Liberal Democrats | May 2010 | Nick Clegg (Deputy Prime Minister: May 2010 – May 2015) | David Laws (Chief Secretary to the Treasury) | Jeremy Browne (Minister of State for Foreign Affairs) | The Lord McNally (Minister of State for Justice) |
| Liberal Democrats | May 2010 | Nick Clegg (Deputy Prime Minister: May 2010 – May 2015) | Danny Alexander (Chief Secretary to the Treasury) | Jeremy Browne (Minister of State for Foreign Affairs) | The Lord McNally (Minister of State for Justice) |
| Liberal Democrats | September 2012 | Nick Clegg (Deputy Prime Minister: May 2010 – May 2015) | Danny Alexander (Chief Secretary to the Treasury) | Lynne Featherstone (Under Secretary of State for International Development) | Jeremy Browne (Minister of State for Home Affairs) |
| Liberal Democrats | October 2013 | Nick Clegg (Deputy Prime Minister: May 2010 – May 2015) | Danny Alexander (Chief Secretary to the Treasury) | Lynne Featherstone (Under Secretary of State for International Development) | Norman Baker (Minister of State for Home Affairs) |
| Liberal Democrats | November 2014 | Nick Clegg (Deputy Prime Minister: May 2010 – May 2015) | Danny Alexander (Chief Secretary to the Treasury) | Menzies Campbell Member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee | Lynne Featherstone (Minister of State for Home Affairs) |
| Liberal Democrats | January 2015 | Nick Clegg (Deputy Prime Minister: May 2010 – May 2015) | Danny Alexander (Chief Secretary to the Treasury) | Tim Farron | Lynne Featherstone (Minister of State for Home Affairs) |
| Liberal Democrats | May 2015 | Nick Clegg (Deputy Prime Minister: May 2010 – May 2015) | Norman Lamb | Tim Farron | The Lord McNally |
| Liberal Democrats | July 2015 | Tim Farron | The Baroness Kramer | Tom Brake | Alistair Carmichael |
| Liberal Democrats | October 2016 | Tim Farron | The Baroness Kramer | Tom Brake | The Lord Paddick |
| Liberal Democrats | May 2017 | Tim Farron | Sir Vince Cable | Tom Brake | The Lord Paddick |
| Liberal Democrats | June 2017 | Tim Farron | Sir Vince Cable | Jo Swinson | Sir Ed Davey |
| Liberal Democrats | July 2017 | Sir Vince Cable | Vacant | Jo Swinson | Sir Ed Davey |
| Liberal Democrats | Oct 2017 | Sir Vince Cable | The Baroness Kramer | Jo Swinson | Sir Ed Davey |
| Liberal Democrats | June 2019 | Sir Vince Cable | Chuka Umunna | Jo Swinson | Sir Ed Davey |
| Liberal Democrats | August 2019 | Jo Swinson | Sir Ed Davey | Chuka Umunna | Christine Jardine |
| Liberal Democrats | December 2019 | Sir Ed Davey and Mark Pack (acting) | Sir Ed Davey | Angela Smith (Int. Dev.) | Christine Jardine |
| Liberal Democrats | January 2020 | Sir Ed Davey and Mark Pack (acting) | Sir Ed Davey | Alistair Carmichael | Christine Jardine |
| Liberal Democrats | August 2020 | Sir Ed Davey | Christine Jardine | Layla Moran | Alistair Carmichael |
| Liberal Democrats | July 2022 | Sir Ed Davey | Sarah Olney | Layla Moran | Alistair Carmichael |
| Liberal Democrats | September 2024 | Sir Ed Davey | Daisy Cooper | Calum Miller | Lisa Smart |