Opposition Shadow Cabinets of the Scottish Parliament

Unlike the Westminster arrangement where there is an Official Opposition to the government of the day, all parties in the Scottish Parliament that are not in government are merely 'opposition parties'. With the current Scottish Government being the Scottish National Party (SNP), the four other main parties are all opposition parties and each will have a Shadow Cabinet composed of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and others with a responsibility to shadow a government minister or area of government. Parties are allowed to choose how their spokespersons are referred to.[1]

Jackson Carlaw (left) and Ruth Davidson (right) on the Scottish Conservative frontbench in 2018

Conservative Shadow Cabinet

Current Shadow Cabinet

**Ross Shadow Cabinet**
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Leader	Douglas Ross	2020–present
Leader in the Scottish Parliament	Ruth Davidson	2020–present
Education and Skills	Jamie Greene	2020–present
Justice	Liam Kerr	2020–present
Health and Sport	Donald Cameron	2020–present
Finance	Murdo Fraser	2020–present
Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform	Liz Smith	2020–present
Rural Economy and Tourism	Jamie Halcro Johnston	2020–present
Constitution, Europe and External Affairs	Dean Lockhart	2020–present
Communities and Local Government	Annie Wells	2020–present
Economy, Fair Work and Culture	Maurice Golden	2020–present
Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity	Graham Simpson	2020–present
Social Security and Older People	Rachael Hamilton	2020–present
Chief Whip	Miles Briggs	2020–present

Previous Shadow Cabinets

Second Davidson Shadow Cabinet[2][3][4][n 1]
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Leader	Ruth Davidson	2016–2020
Deputy Leader	Jackson Carlaw	2016–2020
Europe and External Affairs		2016–2020
Culture and Tourism		2016–2017
Culture and Tourism	Rachael Hamilton	2017–2020
Finance	Murdo Fraser	2016–2020
Economy, Jobs and Fair Work	Dean Lockhart	2016–2020
Health and Sport	Donald Cameron	2016–2017
Health and Sport	Miles Briggs	2017–2020
Education and Skills	Liz Smith	2016–2020
Constitution	Adam Tomkins	2016–2020
Social Security	Adam Tomkins	2016–2018
Social Security	Michelle Ballantyne	2018–2020
Justice	Douglas Ross	2016–2017
Justice	Liam Kerr	2017–2020
Rural Economy and Connectivity	Peter Chapman	2016–2020
Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform	Maurice Golden	2016–2017
Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform	Donald Cameron	2017–2020
Chief Whip	John Lamont	2016–2017
Chief Whip	Maurice Golden	2017–2020

Carlaw Shadow Cabinet
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Leader	Jackson Carlaw	February–August 2020
Deputy Leader	Liam Kerr	February–August 2020
Justice	Liam Kerr	February–August 2020
Deputy Leader	Annie Wells	February–August 2020
Climate Change, Environment and Land Reform	Annie Wells	February–August 2020
Finance	Donald Cameron	February–August 2020
Constitution and External Affairs	Murdo Fraser	February–August 2020
Strategy	Adam Tomkins	February–August 2020
Health	Miles Briggs	February–August 2020
Education	Jamie Greene	February–August 2020
Parliamentary Business Manager	Maurice Golden	February–August 2020
Climate Change, Environment and Land Reform
Economy, Fair Work and Culture
Business, Infrastructure and Transport	Dean Lockhart	February–August 2020
Rural Economy and Tourism	Rachael Hamilton	February–August 2020
Housing, Communities and Social Security	Graham Simpson	February–August 2020
Chief Whip	Liz Smith	February–August 2020

Labour Shadow Cabinets

Current Shadow Cabinet

Baillie Shadow Cabinet
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Acting Leader, Deputy Leader and Finance	Jackie Baillie	2021–present
Economy	Richard Leonard	2021–present
Deputy Economy	Alex Rowley	2021–present
Justice	Rhoda Grant	2021–present
Constitution	Anas Sarwar	2021–present
Education, Skills and Science	Iain Gray	2021–present
Health and Sport	Monica Lennon	2021–present
Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform	Claudia Beamish	2021–present
Poverty	Elaine Smith	January 2021–present
Parliamentary Business Manager	Elaine Smith	January 2021–present
Culture, Tourism and External Affairs	Claire Baker	2021–present
Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity	Colin Smyth	2021–present
Local Government	Sarah Boyack	2021–present
Communities and Equalities	Pauline McNeill	2021–present
Campaigns and Party Engagement	Joe Cullinane	2021–present

Previous Shadow Cabinets

**McConnell Shadow Cabinet**
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Leader	Jack McConnell	May–August 2007
Finance and Sustainable Growth	Wendy Alexander	May–August 2007
Education and Lifelong Learning	Hugh Henry	May–August 2007
Health and Wellbeing	Andy Kerr	May–August 2007
Justice	Margaret Curran	May–August 2007
Rural Affairs and Environment	Rhona Brankin	May–August 2007
Junior Opposition posts
Parliamentary Business	Cathy Jamieson	May–August 2007
Europe, External Affairs and Culture	Patricia Ferguson	May–August 2007
Enterprise, Energy and Tourism	Iain Gray	May–August 2007
Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change	Des McNulty	May–August 2007
Schools and Skills	Ken Macintosh	May–August 2007
Children and Early Years	Pauline McNeill	May–August 2007
Public Health	Lewis Macdonald	May–August 2007
Communities and Sport	Johann Lamont	May–August 2007
Community Safety	Paul Martin	May–August 2007
Environment	Sarah Boyack	May–August 2007
Deputy Parliamentary Business	Michael McMahon	May–August 2007
Parliamentary Private Secretary to Jack McConnell	Richard Baker	May–August 2007

**Alexander Shadow Cabinet**
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Leader	Wendy Alexander	2007–2008
Deputy Leader	Cathy Jamieson	2007–2008
Parliamentary Business	Cathy Jamieson	2007–2008
Health and Wellbeing	Andy Kerr	2007–2008
Justice	Margaret Curran	2007–2008
Education and Lifelong Learning	Hugh Henry	2007–2008
Rural Affairs and Environment	Rhona Brankin	2007–2008
Junior Opposition posts
Europe and Culture	Patricia Ferguson	2007–2008
Enterprise, Energy and Tourism	Iain Gray	2007–2008
Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change	Des McNulty	2007–2008
Schools and Skills	Ken Macintosh	2007–2008
Children and Early Years	Pauline McNeil	2007–2008
Public Health	Lewis Macdonald	2007–2008
Communities and Sport	Johann Lamont	2007–2008
Community Safety	Paul Martin	2007–2008
Environment	Sarah Boyack	2007–2008

**Gray Shadow Cabinet**[5][6]
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Leader	Iain Gray	2008–2011
Deputy Leader	Johann Lamont	2008–2011
Parliamentary Business Manager	Michael McMahon	2008–2011
Chief Whip	David Stewart	2008–2011
Europe, External Affairs and Culture	Pauline McNeill	2008–2011
Finance and Sustainable Growth	Andy Kerr	2008–2011
Economy and Skills	John Park	2008–2009
Education and Lifelong Learning	Rhona Brankin	2008–2009
Education and Lifelong Learning	Des McNulty	2009–2011
Health and Wellbeing	Cathy Jamieson	2008–2009
Health and Wellbeing	Jackie Baillie	2009–2011
Justice	Richard Baker	2008–2011
Rural Affairs and Environment	Sarah Boyack	2008–2011
Minister without Portfolio	Margaret Curran	2008–2010
Minister without Portfolio	John Park	2010–2011
Local Government	Michael McMahon	2009–2011

**Lamont Shadow Cabinet**[7][8]
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Leader	Johann Lamont	2011–2014
Deputy Leader	Anas Sarwar	2011–2014
Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth	Ken Macintosh	2011–2013
Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth	Iain Gray	2013–2014
Education and Lifelong Learning	Hugh Henry	2011–2013
Education and Lifelong Learning	Kezia Dugdale	2013–2014
Health and Wellbeing	Jackie Baillie	2011–2013
Health and Wellbeing	Neil Findlay	2013–2014
Culture, External Affairs and the Commonwealth Games	Patricia Ferguson	2011–2014
Justice	Graeme Pearson	2011–2013
Justice	Lewis Macdonald	2013–2014
Infrastructure and Capital Investment	Richard Baker	2011–2013
Infrastructure and Capital Investment	James Kelly	2013–2014
Local Government and Planning	Sarah Boyack	2011–2014
Rural Affairs and Environment	Claire Baker	2011–2014
Constitution	Drew Smith	2013–2014
Social Justice, Equalities and Welfare	Jackie Baillie	2013–2014
Parliamentary Business Manager	Paul Martin	2011–2014
Chief Whip	James Kelly	2011–2013
Chief Whip	Lewis Macdonald	2013–2014
Also attending Shadow Cabinet meetings
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Youth Employment	Kezia Dugdale	2011–2013
Youth Employment	Jenny Marra	2013–2014
Deputy Finance	Jenny Marra	2013–2014
Parliamentary Private Secretary to Johann Lamont	Siobhan McMahon	2011–2014

**Murphy Shadow Cabinet[9]**
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Leader	Jim Murphy	2014–2015
Deputy Leader	Kezia Dugdale	2014–2015
Finance, Constitution and Economy	Jackie Baillie	2014–2015
Infrastructure, Investment and Cities	Mary Fee	2014–2015
Fair Work, Skills and Training	Neil Findlay	2014–2015
Education and Lifelong Learning	Iain Gray	2014–2015
Health, Wellbeing and Sport	Jenny Marra	2014–2015
Social Justice, Communities and Pensioners' Rights	Ken Macintosh	2014–2015
Justice	Hugh Henry	2014–2015
Rural Affairs, Food and Environment	Sarah Boyack	2014–2015
Culture, Europe and External Affairs	Claire Baker	2014–2015
Enterprise	Graeme Pearson	2014–2015
Chief Whip	Neil Bibby	2014–2015
Parliamentary Business Manager	James Kelly	2014–2015

**First Dugdale Shadow Cabinet**[10]
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Leader	Kezia Dugdale	2015–2016
Deputy Leader	Alex Rowley	2015–2016
Equality	Jenny Marra	2015–2016
Opportunity	Iain Gray	2015–2016
Justice	Graeme Pearson	2015–2016
Public Services and Wealth Creation	Jackie Baillie	2015–2016
Community	Ken Macintosh	2015–2016
Environmental Justice	Sarah Boyack	2015–2016
Democracy	Claire Baker	2015–2016
Reform	Mary Fee	2015–2016
Parliamentary Business Manager	James Kelly	2015–2016
Chief Whip	Neil Bibby	2015–2016

**Second Dugdale Shadow Cabinet**[11][n 2]
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Leader	Kezia Dugdale	2016–2017
Deputy Leader	Alex Rowley	2016–2017
Economy, Jobs and Fair Work	Jackie Baillie	2016–2017
Finance	Kezia Dugdale	2016–2017
Community, Social Security and Equalities	Alex Rowley	2016–2017
Education, Skills and Science	Iain Gray	2016–2017
Justice	Claire Baker	2016–2017
Health and Sport	Anas Sarwar	2016–2017
Culture, Sport, Tourism and External Affairs	Lewis Macdonald	2016–2017
Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform	Claudia Beamish	2016–2017
Rural Economy and Connectivity	Rhoda Grant	2016–2017
Parliamentary Business Manager	James Kelly	2016–2017

**Leonard Shadow Cabinet[12]**[13][14][15]
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Leader	Richard Leonard	2017–2021
Deputy Leader	Lesley Laird	2017–2019
Deputy Leader	Jackie Baillie	2020–2021
Economy, Jobs and Fair Work	Jackie Baillie	2017–2018
Economy, Jobs and Fair Work	Richard Leonard	2018–2021
Finance	James Kelly	2017–2019
	Rhoda Grant	2019–2020
	Jackie Baillie	2020–2021
Justice	Daniel Johnson	2017–2019
	James Kelly	2019–2020
	Rhoda Grant	2020–2021
Constitution	Neil Findlay	2017–2019
	Alex Rowley	2019–2020
	Anas Sarwar	2020–2021
Education, Skills and Science	Iain Gray	2017–2021
Health and Sport	Anas Sarwar	2017–2018
Health and Sport	Monica Lennon	2018–2021
Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform	Claudia Beamish	2017–2021
Poverty	Elaine Smith	2017–2019
	David Stewart	2019–2020
	Rhoda Grant	2020
	Elaine Smith	2020–2021
Culture, Tourism and External Affairs	Claire Baker	2017–2021
Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity	Colin Smyth	2017–2021
Communities and Equalities	Monica Lennon	2017–2018
	Alex Rowley	2018–2019
	Pauline McNeill	2019–2021
Local Government	Sarah Boyack	2019–2021
Campaigns and Party Engagement	Neil Findlay	2017–2019
Campaigns and Party Engagement	Joe Cullinane[n 3]	2019–2021
Deputy Economy	Alex Rowley	2020–2021
Parliamentary Business Manager	Rhoda Grant	2017–2018
	Neil Findlay	2018–2019
	Elaine Smith	2019–2021

Scottish Greens Shadow Cabinet

Harvie–Chapman Shadow Cabinet[16]
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Co-Convener, Finance, Economy, Fair Work and Equalities	Patrick Harvie	2016–present
Co-Convener	Maggie Chapman[n 4]	2016–present
Justice, Tourism, Transport, and Rural and Island Communities	John Finnie	2016–present
International Development, External Affairs, Education, Skills, Culture and Media	Ross Greer	2016–present
Health, Sport, Social Security, Children and Young People	Alison Johnstone	2016–present
Communities, Land Reform and Local Government	Andy Wightman	2016–present
Climate, Energy, Environment, Food and Farming	Mark Ruskell	2016–present

Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet

Rennie Shadow Cabinet[17]
Portfolio	Officeholder	Term
Leader and Finance	Willie Rennie	2016–present
Deputy Leader	Alistair Carmichael[n 5]	2016–present
Education and Sports	Tavish Scott	2016–present
Justice and Energy	Liam McArthur	2016–present
Rural Affairs and Business Manager	Mike Rumbles	2016–present
Health	Alex Cole-Hamilton	2016–present
Economy	Carolyn Caddick[n 6]	2016–present
Culture	Eileen McCartin[n 7]	2016–present
Social Security	Karen Clark[n 8]	2016–present
2017 Scottish local election campaign chairperson	Katy Gordon[n 9]	2016–2017
Children and Party Convener	Sheila Thomson[n 9]	2016–present
Social Security and Party Treasurer	Caron Lindsay[n 9]	2016–present
Environment	Christine Jardine[n 5]	2016–present

Notes

Formed after the Scottish Conservatives came second at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election
Formed after Scottish Labour came third at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election
Leader of North Ayrshire Council, not a Member of the Scottish Parliament
Not a Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of Parliament
Highland councillor, not a Member of the Scottish Parliament
Renfrewshire councillor, not a Member of the Scottish Parliament
Aberdeenshire councillor, not a Member of the Scottish Parliament
Not a Member of the Scottish Parliament

References

"Scottish Parliament Fact sheet: Party Spokespersons" (PDF). 31 May 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet: Ruth Davidson announces new team. Holyrood, 19 May 2016.
"Ruth Davidson unveils reshuffled Scottish Tory shadow cabinet". Holyrood magazine. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
"Shadow cabinet role for former Selkirkshire councillor Michelle Ballantyne". The Southern Reporter. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
"Labour leadership: New Scottish Labour leader attacks David Cairns". The Guardian. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
"Party Spokespersons" (PDF). 16 June 2010.
"New Scottish Labour shadow cabinet announced". LabourList. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
"Johann Lamont in Scottish Labour front bench shake-up". BBC News. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
"Scottish Labour reshuffle sees allies and rivals alike on Holyrood front bench". The Guardian. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
"Kezia Dugdale announces new Scottish Labour frontbench". LabourList. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
"Scottish Labour announce front bench team". The Scotsman. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
"New Scottish shadow cabinet in full | LabourList". LabourList | Labour's biggest independent grassroots e-network. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
"Sarwar and Baillie out in Labour reshuffle". BBC News. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
"Scottish Labour reshuffle as Sarah Boyack returns to frontline politics". www.scotsman.com. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
Ponsonby, Bernard (16 November 2020). "Anas Sarwar returns to Labour frontbench in reshuffle". STV News. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
"Scottish Greens announce portfolios of new Holyrood group". Herald Scotland. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
"Willie Rennie announces Scottish Lib Dem leadership team". STV News. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2017.

External links

Conservative Shadow Cabinet -
Labour Shadow Cabinet -
Scottish Greens Spokespeople -
Lib Dem Spokespeople -

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[5] Formed after the Scottish Conservatives came second at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election

[13] Formed after Scottish Labour came third at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election

[18] Leader of North Ayrshire Council, not a Member of the Scottish Parliament

[20] Not a Member of the Scottish Parliament

[MP-22] Member of Parliament

[23] Highland councillor, not a Member of the Scottish Parliament

[24] Renfrewshire councillor, not a Member of the Scottish Parliament

[25] Aberdeenshire councillor, not a Member of the Scottish Parliament

[NMSP-26] Not a Member of the Scottish Parliament

[1] "Scottish Parliament Fact sheet: Party Spokespersons" (PDF). 31 May 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.

[2] Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet: Ruth Davidson announces new team. Holyrood, 19 May 2016.

[3] "Ruth Davidson unveils reshuffled Scottish Tory shadow cabinet". Holyrood magazine. 28 June 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2018.

[4] "Shadow cabinet role for former Selkirkshire councillor Michelle Ballantyne". The Southern Reporter. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2021.

[6] "Labour leadership: New Scottish Labour leader attacks David Cairns". The Guardian. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2021.

[7] "Party Spokespersons" (PDF). 16 June 2010.

[8] "New Scottish Labour shadow cabinet announced". LabourList. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2021.

[9] "Johann Lamont in Scottish Labour front bench shake-up". BBC News. 28 June 2013. Retrieved 19 January 2021.

[10] "Scottish Labour reshuffle sees allies and rivals alike on Holyrood front bench". The Guardian. 16 December 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2021.

[11] "Kezia Dugdale announces new Scottish Labour frontbench". LabourList. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2021.

[12] "Scottish Labour announce front bench team". The Scotsman. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2021.

[14] "New Scottish shadow cabinet in full | LabourList". LabourList | Labour's biggest independent grassroots e-network. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2018.

[15] "Sarwar and Baillie out in Labour reshuffle". BBC News. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.

[16] "Scottish Labour reshuffle as Sarah Boyack returns to frontline politics". www.scotsman.com. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.

[17] Ponsonby, Bernard (16 November 2020). "Anas Sarwar returns to Labour frontbench in reshuffle". STV News. Retrieved 18 January 2021.

[19] "Scottish Greens announce portfolios of new Holyrood group". Herald Scotland. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2017.

[21] "Willie Rennie announces Scottish Lib Dem leadership team". STV News. 28 May 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2017.