Shadow Secretary of State for Transport

The shadow secretary of state for transport is a political post in the United Kingdom. It has been consistently held by a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet since May 1979. The shadow secretary helps hold the transport secretary and junior ministers to account and is the lead spokesperson on transport matters for their party. Should the relevant party take office, the shadow secretary would be a likely candidate to become the transport secretary.

Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Incumbent
Gareth Bacon
since 5 November 2024
Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom
Reports toLeader of the Opposition
AppointerLeader of the Opposition
WebsiteThe Shadow Cabinet

At various times, the post has been called Shadow Minister for Transport (including from 1979 to 1981), Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, and Shadow Secretary of State for Environment and Transport.

Shadow secretaries of state

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Shadow Secretary of State for Transport

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Name Took office Left office Political party Shadow Cabinet
William Rodgers   4 May 1979 14 June 1979 Labour Callaghan
Albert Booth[1][n 1]   14 June 1979 31 October 1983 Labour
Foot
John Prescott[2]   31 October 1983 26 October 1984 Labour Kinnock
Gwyneth Dunwoody[3]   26 October 1984 4 November 1985 Labour
Robert Hughes[4]   4 November 1985 23 November 1988 Labour
John Prescott   23 November 1988 21 October 1993 Labour
Smith
Frank Dobson[5]   21 October 1993 20 October 1994 Labour
Beckett
Michael Meacher[6]   20 October 1994 19 October 1995 Labour Blair
Clare Short[7]   19 October 1995 25 July 1996 Labour
Andrew Smith[8][9]   25 July 1996 2 May 1997 Labour
Sir George Young[10]   2 May 1997 June 1997 Conservative Major

Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions

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Name Took office Left office Political party Shadow Cabinet
Norman Fowler   June 1997 1 June 1998 Conservative Hague
Gillian Shepherd[11]   1 June 1998 14 June 1999 Conservative
John Redwood[12]   14 June 1999 2 February 2000 Conservative
Archie Norman   2 February 2000 18 September 2001 Conservative

Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions

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Name Took office Left office Political party Shadow Cabinet
Theresa May[13][14]   18 September 2001 23 July 2002 Conservative Duncan Smith

Shadow Secretary of State for Transport

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Name Took office Left office Political party Shadow Cabinet
Tim Collins[15]   23 July 2002 10 November 2003 Conservative Duncan Smith
Damian Green[n 2]   10 November 2003 8 September 2004 Conservative Howard

Shadow Secretary of State for Environment and Transport

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Name Took office Left office Political party Shadow Cabinet
Tim Yeo[17]   8 September 2004 10 May 2005 Conservative Howard

Shadow Secretary of State for Transport

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Name Took office Left office Political party Shadow Cabinet
Alan Duncan[18]   6 May 2005 8 December 2005 Conservative Howard
Chris Grayling[19]   8 December 2005 2 July 2007 Conservative Cameron
Theresa Villiers[20]   2 July 2007 11 May 2010 Conservative
Sadiq Khan[21]   14 May 2010 8 October 2010 Labour Harman I
Maria Eagle[22]   8 October 2010 7 October 2013 Labour Miliband
Mary Creagh[23]   7 October 2013 5 November 2014 Labour
Michael Dugher[24]   5 November 2014 13 September 2015 Labour
Harman II
Lilian Greenwood   13 September 2015 26 June 2016 Labour Corbyn
Andy McDonald   27 June 2016 6 April 2020 Labour
Jim McMahon   6 April 2020 29 November 2021 Labour Starmer
Louise Haigh   29 November 2021 5 July 2024 Labour
Helen Whately   8 July 2024 5 November 2024 Conservative Sunak
Gareth Bacon   5 November 2024 Incumbent Conservative Badenoch

Notes

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  1. ^ Booth was Shadow Minister of Transport until September 1981, when the Minister of Transport became Secretary of State for Transport.
  2. ^ During this period, Michael Howard had a small Shadow Cabinet, with members heading "super" Shadow Departments. The Shadow Transport Secretary was part of the Shadow Environment and Transport team, which was headed by the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment and Transport. Theresa May first held thislatter office, and was replaced by Tim Yeo on 14 June 2004.[16] When Damian Green resigned from the frontbench during a reshuffle on 8 September 2004, Yeo took on his responsibilities.[17]

References

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  1. ^ Parkhouse, Geoffrey (15 June 1979). "Shore steps up as Owen is demoted". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1.
  2. ^ Parkhouse, Geoffrey (1 November 1983). "Protest by Nationalists as Dewar takes over". The Glasgow Herald. p. 7.
  3. ^ Parkhouse, Geoffrey (27 October 1984). "Smith chosen to shadow Tebbit". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1.
  4. ^ Trotter, Stuart (5 November 1985). "Transport job goes to Hugues". The Glasgow Herald. p. 7.
  5. ^ Timmins, Nicholas (25 July 1992). "Smith revamps Shadow Cabinet: Nicholas Timmins analyses the Labour line-up and looks at the backgrounds of the newcomers". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
  6. ^ Timms, Nicholas (21 October 1994). "Blair uses reshuffle to put own sta on Shadow Cabinet: Brown stays as shadow Chancellor—Cook takes foreign affairs—Straw is shadow Home Secretary—Beckett moves to health". The Independent. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  7. ^ "New MPs promoted by Blair". The Independent. 22 October 1995. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  8. ^ "Opposition Front Bench Spokespersons 1996/97". Weekly Information Bulletin. House of Commons Information Office. 26 October 1996. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  9. ^ Rentoul, John (26 July 1996). "A rare national treasure in peril". The Independent.
  10. ^ "Opposition Frontbench Spokespersons as at 13 May 1997 (Interim List)". Weekly Information Bulletin. House of Commons Information Office. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  11. ^ "Hague reshuffles shadow cabinet". BBC News. 1 June 1998. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  12. ^ "Lilley sacked in Hague reshuffle". The Guardian. 15 June 1999. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  13. ^ "Eurosceptics prosper under Duncan Smith". BBC News. 14 September 2001. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  14. ^ "Opposition Front Bench Team as at 16 October 2001". Weekly Information Bulletin. House of Commons Information Office. 20 October 2001. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  15. ^ "Tory shadow cabinet". The Telegraph. 23 July 2002. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  16. ^ "Howard reshuffles his Tory team". BBC News. 14 June 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  17. ^ a b "Redwood returns to Tory frontline". BBC News. 8 September 2004. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  18. ^ "Howard reshuffles top Tory team". BBC News. 10 May 2005. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  19. ^ "At-a-glance: New shadow cabinet". BBC News. 8 December 2005. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  20. ^ "In full: Cameron's shadow cabinet". BBC News. 2 July 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  21. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: 'Bitter-sweet' promotion for Sadiq Khan MP". Wandsworth Guardian. 14 May 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  22. ^ Prince, Rosa (8 October 2010). "Ed Miliband unveils shocks in shadow cabinet selections". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  23. ^ Owen, Paul (7 October 2013). "Coalition government and Labour reshuffle". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  24. ^ "Labour reshuffle: Dugher and Powell promoted by Ed Miliband". BBC News. 5 November 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.