Shadow Minister for Overseas Development
 Shadow Minister for Overseas Development  (British Shadow Cabinet) | |
|---|---|
| Website | http://www2.labour.org.uk/shadow-cabinet |
| The MP in charge of shadowing the Secretary of State for International Development. | |
The shadow cabinet minister for international development is the lead spokesperson for the United Kingdom's Official Opposition on issues related to international aid, most notably to the Third World. The shadow cabinet minister holds the Minister of State for Development and Africa to account in Parliament. The role previously had no counterpart in the Government between 2020 and 2022 after the Department for International Development (DFID) and the role of international development secretary was abolished by the second Johnson government in 2020. The position was renamed from Shadow Secretary of State for International Development in November 2021 and placed under the Shadow Foreign Secretary.
The shadow minister also holds the Foreign Secretary and other FCDO ministers to account in Parliament. DFID was abolished in 2020 but Keir Starmer retained the role in his Shadow Cabinet.
Before Tony Blair established DfID in his first government after coming to power in 1997, there was a minister for overseas development ("minister of" before 1970) who was a part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Since 1989, the shadow minister or shadow secretary has usually been a member of the shadow cabinet.
Office Holders on Wikispooks
| Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Kate Osamor | 27 June 2016 | 1 December 2018 |
| Diane Abbott | 13 September 2015 | 27 June 2016 |
| Jim Murphy | 7 October 2013 | 2 November 2014 |
| Ivan Lewis | 7 October 2011 | 7 October 2013 |
| Harriet Harman | 8 October 2010 | 7 October 2011 |
| Andrew Mitchell | 7 May 2005 | 11 May 2010 |
| Alan Duncan | 8 September 2004 | 10 May 2005 |
| John Bercow | 10 November 2003 | 8 September 2004 |
| Caroline Spelman | 18 September 2001 | 10 November 2003 |
| Alastair Goodlad | 30 June 1997 | 1 June 1998 |
| Michael Meacher | 18 July 1992 | 21 October 1993 |
| Stuart Holland | 31 October 1983 | 13 July 1987 |
