In British politics, the Shadow Home Secretary 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, immigration, the criminal justice system, the prison service, and matters of citizenship. If and when 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 present Shadow Home Secretary is Yvette Cooper.
| Name | Portrait | Entered office | Left office | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Younger | 14 December 1955 | 13 May 1957 | Labour | ||
| Patrick Gordon Walker | 13 May 1957 | 12 March 1962 | Labour | ||
| George Brown | 12 March 1962 | 15 February 1963 | Labour | ||
| Frank Soskice | 15 February 1963 | 15 October 1964 | Labour | ||
| Edward Boyle | 15 October 1964 | 28 July 1965 | Conservative | ||
| Peter Thorneycroft | 28 July 1965 | 13 April 1966 | Conservative | ||
| Quintin McGarel Hogg | 13 April 1966 | 18 June 1970 | Conservative | ||
| James Callaghan | 18 June 1970 | 19 October 1971 | Labour | ||
| Shirley Williams | 19 October 1971 | 4 May 1973 | Labour | ||
| Roy Jenkins | 4 May 1973 | 4 March | Labour | ||
| Keith Joseph | 4 March | 11 February 1975 | Conservative | ||
| Ian Gilmour | 11 February 1975 | 11 April 1976 | Conservative | ||
| William Whitelaw | 11 April 1976 | 4 May 1979 | Conservative | ||
| Merlyn Rees | 4 May 1979 | 8 December 1980 | Labour | ||
| Roy Hattersley | 8 December 1980 | 31 October 1983 | Labour | ||
| Gerald Kaufman | 31 October 1983 | 13 July 1987 | Labour | ||
| Roy Hattersley | 13 July 1987 | 24 July 1992 | Labour | ||
| Tony Blair | 24 July 1992 | 20 October 1994 | Labour | ||
| Jack Straw | 20 October 1994 | 2 May 1997 | Labour | ||
| Michael Howard | 2 May 1997 | 11 June 1997 | Conservative | ||
| Brian Mawhinney | 11 June 1997 | 2 June 1998 | Conservative | ||
| Norman Fowler | 2 June 1998 | 15 June 1999 | Conservative | ||
| Ann Widdecombe | 15 June 1999 | 18 September 2001 | Conservative | ||
| Oliver Letwin | 18 September 2001 | 6 November 2003 | Conservative | ||
| David Davis | 6 November 2003 | 12 June 2008 | Conservative | ||
| Dominic Grieve | 12 June 2008 | 19 January 2009 | Conservative | ||
| Chris Grayling | 19 January 2009 | 11 May 2010 | Conservative | ||
| Alan Johnson | 11 May 2010 | 8 October 2010 | Labour | ||
| Ed Balls | 8 October 2010 | 20 January 2011 | Labour | ||
| Yvette Cooper | 20 January 2011 | present | Labour | ||
| Name | Title(s) | Tenure | Political party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Rt Hon Alan Beith MP | Deputy Leader and Frontbench Spokesperson for Home & Legal Affairs | May 1997 – August 1999 | Lib Dem | |
| Simon Hughes MP | Frontbench Spokesperson for Home & Legal Affairs | August 1999 – October 2003 | ||
| Mark Oaten MP | Shadow Home Secretary | October 2003 – March 2006 | ||
| Nick Clegg MP | Shadow Home Secretary | March 2006 – December 2007 | ||
| Chris Huhne MP | Shadow Home Secretary | December 2007 – May 2010 | ||
| Since May 2010, there has been no third party, the Liberal Democrats being the junior party in a coalition government | ||||
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