Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

The Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is an office within British politics held by a member of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The duty of the office holder is to scrutinise the actions of the government's Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and develop alternative policies. The office holder is a member of the Shadow Cabinet.

List of Shadow Secretaries

Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Michael Meacher		2 November 1989	18 July 1992	Labour	Neil Kinnock
	Donald Dewar		18 July 1992	19 October 1995	Labour	John Smith
						Tony Blair
	Chris Smith		19 October 1995	1 July 1996	Labour
	Harriet Harman		1 July 1996	2 May 1997	Labour
	Peter Lilley		2 May 1997	19 June 1997	Conservative	John Major
	Iain Duncan Smith		19 June 1997	15 June 1999	Conservative	William Hague
	David Willetts		15 June 1999	14 September 2001	Conservative
	David Willetts		14 September 2001	6 May 2005	Conservative	Iain Duncan Smith
						Michael Howard
	Malcolm Rifkind		6 May 2005	6 December 2005	Conservative
	Philip Hammond		6 December 2005	2 July 2007	Conservative	David Cameron
	Chris Grayling		2 July 2007	19 January 2009	Conservative
	Theresa May		19 January 2009	11 May 2010	Conservative
	Yvette Cooper		11 May 2010	8 October 2010	Labour	Harriet Harman
	Douglas Alexander		8 October 2010	20 January 2011	Labour	Ed Miliband
	Liam Byrne		20 January 2011	7 October 2013	Labour
	Rachel Reeves		7 October 2013	8 June 2015	Labour
						Harriet Harman
	Stephen Timms Acting		8 June 2015	13 September 2015	Labour
	Owen Smith		14 September 2015	27 June 2016	Labour	Jeremy Corbyn
	Debbie Abrahams		27 June 2016	Incumbent	Labour