Ed Davey was appointed as Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats following the resignation of Jo Swinson. Davey announced his first frontbench team as Acting Leader in January 2020.[1]

Frontbench Team of Ed Davey
2020–present
Date formed27 August 2020
People and organisations
MonarchElizabeth II
Charles III
LeaderEd Davey
Deputy LeaderDaisy Cooper
Member party
  •   Liberal Democrats
Status in legislatureThird party
72 / 650 (11%)
(As of July 2024)

Opposition

11 / 650 (2%)
(2020 - 2024)
History
Legislature terms58th UK Parliament
59th UK Parliament
Incoming formation2020 leadership election
PredecessorFrontbench Team of Jo Swinson
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)

Davey was elected permanent Leader on 27 August 2020 and assembled a new Frontbench Team in the following days. Following the 2024 general election, Davey's frontbench team became the second largest opposition party to the governing Labour Party, behind the Shadow Cabinet of Rishi Sunak.

On 18 September 2024, after party conference, Davey announced a new 33-member frontbench team, with new members taking frontbench roles. This left 39 backbench MPs, more than twice the number of Liberal Democrat MPs prior to the election. This was also subsequent to former frontbench members Layla Moran, Alistair Carmichael, and Jamie Stone standing down from the frontbench after being elected to chair parliamentary select commitees. [2]

Frontbench team (2024–present)

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Frontbench Team of Ed Davey[3]
Portfolio Current holder Term
Leader of the Liberal Democrats   The Rt Hon Sir Ed Davey FRSA MP 2020–present
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats   Daisy Cooper MP (2020–present) 2020–present
Treasury 2024–present
Chief Whip   Wendy Chamberlain MP 2020–present
Foreign Affairs   Calum Miller MP 2024–present
Home Affairs   Lisa Smart MP 2024–present
Health and Social Care   Helen Morgan MP 2024–present
Education, Children and Families   Munira Wilson MP 2021–present
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs   Tim Farron MP 2020–present
Cabinet Office   Sarah Olney MP 2024–present
Business   Sarah Gibson MP 2024–present
Trade   Clive Jones MP 2024–present
Work and Pensions   Steve Darling MP 2024–present
Defence   Helen Maguire BEM MP 2024–present
International Development   Monica Harding MP 2024–present
Europe   James MacCleary MP 2024–present
Women and Equalities   Christine Jardine MP 2022–present
Scotland 2022–present
Justice   Josh Babarinde OBE MP 2024–present
Shadow Attorney General   Ben Maguire MP 2024–present
Care and Carers   Alison Bennett MP 2024–present
Mental Health   Danny Chambers MP 2024–present
Hospitals and Primary Care   Jess Brown-Fuller MP 2024–present
Science, Innovation, and Technology   Victoria Collins MP 2024–present
Culture, Media and Sport   Max Wilkinson MP 2024–present
Universities and Skills   Ian Sollom MP 2024–present
Energy Security and Net Zero   Pippa Heylings MP 2024–present
Housing, Communities and Local Government   Vikki Slade MP 2024–present
Transport   Paul Kohler MP 2024–present
Housing and Planning   Gideon Amos OBE MP 2024–present
Wales   David Chadwick MP 2024–present
Northern Ireland   Al Pinkerton MP 2024–present
London   Luke Taylor MP 2024–present
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons   Marie Goldman MP 2024–present
Deputy Chief Whip   Tom Morrison MP 2024–present


Other roles and spokespeople

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Portfolio Name
In the House of Lords[4]
Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords The Rt Hon The Lord Newby OBE PC
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords The Rt Hon The Baroness Walmsley
The Rt Hon The Lord Dholakia OBE PC JP DL
Lords Chief Whip The Rt Hon The Lord Stoneham
Lords Spokesperson for Business The Rt Hon The Lord Fox
Lords Spokesperson for Culture, Media and Sport The Rt Hon The Baroness Bonham-Carter
Lords Spokesperson for Defence The Rt Hon The Baroness Smith
Lords Spokesperson for Education The Rt Hon The Lord Storey CBE
Lords Spokesperson for Energy Security and Net Zero The Rt Hon The Earl Russell
Lords Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Rt Hon The Baroness Bakewell MBE
Lords Spokesperson for Foreign, Commonwealth and Developmental Affairs The Rt Hon The Lord Purvis
Lords Spokesperson for International Trade
Lords Spokesperson for Health The Rt Hon The Lord Allan
Lords Spokesperson for Housing, Communities and Local Government The Rt Hon The Baroness Pinnock
Lords Spokesperson for Justice The Rt Hon The Lord Marks KC
Lords Spokesperson for Northern Ireland The Rt Hon The Baroness Suttie
Lords Spokesperson for Policing The Rt Hon The Baroness Doocey OBE
Lords Spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology The Rt Hon The Lord Clement-Jones CBE FRSA
Lords Spokesperson for Scotland The Rt Hon The Lord Bruce of Bennachie PC
Lords Spokesperson for Transport The Rt Hon The Baroness Randerson
Lords Spokesperson for Treasury The Rt Hon The Baroness Kramer PC
Lords Spokesperson for Voluntary The Rt Hon The Baroness Barker
Lords Spokesperson for Wales The Rt Hon The Baroness Humphreys
Lords Spokesperson for Work and Pensions The Rt Hon The Lord Palmer OBE FCA
Lords Spokesperson for Attorney General's Office The Rt Hon The Lord Thomas OBE KC
Welsh Liberal Democrats
Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS
Deputy Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats David Chadwick MP
Scottish Liberal Democrats
Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP
Deputy Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats Wendy Chamberlain MP

Frontbench team (2020–2024)

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Frontbench Team of Ed Davey[5][6][7]
Portfolio Final holder Previous holders
Leader of the Liberal Democrats The Rt Hon Sir Ed Davey FRSA MP (2020–present) Sir Ed Davey MP and Mark Pack (acting) (2019–20)
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper MP (2020–present) Sir Ed Davey MP (2019–20)
Treasury
Economy and Social Justice (2020)
Sarah Olney MP (2022–2024) Sir Ed Davey MP (2020)
Christine Jardine MP (2020–22)
Foreign Affairs & International Development
Foreign Affairs (2020)
Layla Moran MP (2020–2024) The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP (2020)
Home Affairs Lisa Smart MP (2024–pressent) The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP (2020–2024)
Defence Helen MaguireMP (2024–present) Richard Foord MP (2022–2024)
Justice The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP (2022–2024) Daisy Cooper MP (2020)
Wera Hobhouse MP (2020–22)
Science, Innovation, and Technology Layla Moran MP (2023–2024)
Health, Wellbeing & Social Care Daisy Cooper MP (2021–2024) Munira Wilson MP (2020–21)
Housing, Communities and Local Government Helen Morgan MP (2022–2024) Tim Farron MP (–2022)
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Food and Rural Affairs (–2022)
Tim Farron MP (2020–present)
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Wera Hobhouse MP (2020–2024)
Business & Industrial Strategy
Business (2020–23)
Sarah Olney MP (2020–2024)
Energy and Climate Change
Climate Emergency and Energy (–2022)
Wera Hobhouse MP (2020–2024)
Work & Pensions Wendy Chamberlain MP (2020–2024)
Education Munira Wilson MP (2021–present) Layla Moran MP (2017–20)
Daisy Cooper MP (2020–21)
Transport Wera Hobhouse MP (2022–2024) Munira Wilson MP (2020)
Sarah Olney MP (2020–2022)
Culture, Media and Sport
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (2020–23)
Jamie Stone MP (2020–2024) Daisy Cooper MP (2020)
Cabinet Office Christine Jardine MP (2022–2024)
Women and Equalities Christine Jardine MP (2019–20; 2022–present) Wera Hobhouse MP (2020–22)
Trade Sarah Green MP (2022–2024) Sarah Olney MP (2020)
Christine Jardine MP (2020–21)
Sarah Olney MP (2021–22)
Northern Ireland The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP (2020–2024) Wendy Chamberlain MP (2020)
Scotland Christine Jardine MP (2022–present) Wendy Chamberlain MP (2020–22)
Wales Sarah Green MP (2022–2024) Wendy Chamberlain MP (2020–22)
Chief Whip in the House of Commons Wendy Chamberlain MP (2020–present) The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP (2017–20)
Defunct roles
Political and Constitutional Reform None Wendy Chamberlain MP (2020)
The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP (2020–22)
Brexit The Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael MP (2020)
Christine Jardine MP (2020–21)
International Development Wendy Chamberlain MP (2020)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Meet our new Commons team". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  2. ^ Morton, Becky (18 September 2024). "Lib Dems unveil new top team after election success". BBC News.
  3. ^ "People". libdems.org.uk. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Spokespersons in the House of Lords". UK Parliament. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Ed Davey announces key appointments on Twitter". libdemvoice.org.
  6. ^ "Daisy Cooper is the new Liberal Democrat education spokesperson". markpack.org.uk. September 2020.
  7. ^ "Spokespeople". libdems.org.uk.
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