The shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland is a member of the British Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the secretary of state for Northern Ireland and their department, the Northern Ireland Office. The post is held by Alex Burghart.

Until recently there had been a 'bi-partisan' attitude to Northern Ireland affairs in the House of Commons but the role is influenced by the relationship between the main Official Opposition and parties in the country. The Conservative Party, for example, generally supports the unionist cause and in 2008 re-formalised a (since ended) link with the Ulster Unionist Party and relied on the support of the Democratic Unionist Party until the 2019 United Kingdom General Election in the House of Commons, while Labour has traditionally supported Irish nationalism and is loosely allied to the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). The Liberal Democrats are linked with the cross-community Alliance Party.

Shadow secretaries of state Name Entered office Left officeLength of Term Political party Shadow Cabinet Merlyn Rees 24 March 1972 4 March 1974 Labour Harold Wilson Francis Pym 4 March 1974 29 October 1974 Conservative   Edward Heath   Ian Gilmour 29 October 1974 18 February 1975 Airey Neave 18 February 1975 30 March 1979 Edward HeathMargaret Thatcher Roy Mason 4 May 1979 14 July 1979 Labour James Callaghan Brynmor John 14 July 1979 8 December 1980 Don Concannon 8 December 1980 31 October 1983 Michael Foot Peter Archer 31 October 1983 13 July 1987  Neil Kinnock  Kevin McNamara 13 July 1987 20 October 1994 John Smith Margaret Beckett Mo Mowlam 20 October 1994 2 May 1997 Tony Blair Andrew Mackay 23 June 1997 14 September 2001 Conservative William Hague Quentin Davies 14 September 2001 11 November 2003 Iain Duncan Smith David Lidington 11 November 2003 2 July 2007 Michael Howard David Cameron Owen Paterson 2 July 2007 11 May 2010 Shaun Woodward 11 May 2010 7 October 2011 Labour Harriet Harman Ed Miliband Vernon Coaker 7 October 2011 7 October 2013 Ivan Lewis 7 October 2013 13 September 2015Harriet Harman Vernon Coaker 13 September 2015 26 June 2016 Jeremy Corbyn Dave Anderson 26 June 2016 14 June 2017 Owen Smith 14 June 2017 23 March 2018 Tony Lloyd 23 March 2018 28 April 2020 Louise Haigh 28 April 2020 29 November 2021 Keir Starmer Peter Kyle 29 November 20214 September 2023Hilary Benn 4 September 2023 5 July 2024 Alex Burghart 8 July 2024 Incumbent Conservative Rishi SunakKemi Badenoch

See also

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Office UK Shadow Cabinet Liberal Democrat Frontbench Team Northern Ireland Affairs Committee Northern Ireland Grand Committee

Notes

References

External links Conservative Northern Ireland branch Conservative Northern Ireland news Conservative Northern Ireland Education Spokesman David Lidington MP Lembit Öpik MP