Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government

The shadow secretary of state for housing, communities and local government is a position with the UK Opposition's Shadow Cabinet; if the opposition party forms a new government, the designated person is a likely choice to become the new secretary of state for housing, communities and local government.

Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
Incumbent Kevin Hollinrake since 5 November 2024
Shadow Cabinet
Appointer	Leader of the Opposition
Formation	11 June 1997
First holder	Norman Fowler
Website

The position has existed in many iterations, first as Environment, Transport and the Regions in 1997 after the Government's reorganisation. The portfolio shifted among government departments for many years; under Conservative leader Michael Howard, the arrangement differed slightly, with a shadow secretary of state for local and devolved government affairs in the Howard Shadow Cabinet, supervising a shadow local government secretary and a shadow regions secretary outside of it.^[1]

In 2006, the portfolio was renamed Communities and Local Government, until 2021 when it got its current name with the added portfolio of housing; until 2021, the shadow communities secretary did not hold responsibility for housing as the Labour Party created a separate position, shadow secretary of state for housing in 2016. In 2024, the Labour Party retired the "Levelling up" title from the official cabinet position, with the Conservative Party following suit in their Shadow Cabinet.^[2][3]

This position is currently held by Kevin Hollinrake.

Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Transport and the Regions (1997–2001)

Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Norman Fowler		11 June 1997	1 June 1998	Conservative	Hague
	Gillian Shephard		1 June 1998	14 June 1999	Conservative
	John Redwood		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 (2001–2002)

Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Theresa May		18 September 2001	6 June 2002	Conservative	Duncan Smith

Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government and the Regions (2002)

Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Eric Pickles[4]		6 June 2002	23 July 2002	Conservative	Duncan Smith

Shadow Secretary of State for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2002–2003)

Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	David Davis		23 July 2002	11 November 2003	Conservative	Duncan Smith

Shadow Secretary of State for Local and Devolved Government Affairs (2003–2005)

Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	David Curry		11 November 2003	15 March 2004	Conservative	Howard
	Caroline Spelman		15 March 2004	6 May 2005	Conservative

Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government					Shadow Secretary of State for the Regions					Political party	Shadow Cabinet
Name			Took office	Left office	Name			Took office	Left office
	Eric Pickles		11 November 2003	6 May 2005		Bernard Jenkin		11 November 2003	6 May 2005	Conservative	Howard

Shadow Secretary of State for Local Government Affairs and Communities (2005)

Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Caroline Spelman[5]		6 May 2005	5 December 2005	Conservative	Howard

Shadow Secretary of State for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2005–2006)

Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Caroline Spelman[6]		5 December 2005	6 May 2006	Conservative	Cameron

Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (2006–2021)

Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Caroline Spelman		6 May 2006	2 July 2007	Conservative	Cameron
	Eric Pickles		2 July 2007	19 January 2009	Conservative
	Caroline Spelman		19 January 2009	11 May 2010	Conservative
	John Denham[7]		12 May 2010	8 October 2010	Labour	Harman I
	Caroline Flint[8]		8 October 2010	7 October 2011	Labour	Miliband
	Hilary Benn[9]		7 October 2011	8 May 2015	Labour
	Emma Reynolds[10]		8 May 2015	14 September 2015	Labour	Harman II
	Jon Trickett[11]		14 September 2015	28 June 2016	Labour	Corbyn
	Grahame Morris[12]		28 June 2016	7 October 2016	Labour
	Teresa Pearce		7 October 2016	2 April 2017	Labour
	Roberta Blackman-Woods		2 April 2017	14 June 2017	Labour
	Andrew Gwynne		14 June 2017	6 April 2020	Labour
	Steve Reed		6 April 2020	29 November 2021	Labour	Starmer

Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (2021–2024)

Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Lisa Nandy		29 November 2021	4 September 2023	Labour	Starmer
	Angela Rayner		4 September 2023	5 July 2024	Labour

Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (2024–present)

Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Kemi Badenoch		8 July 2024	2 November 2024	Conservative	Sunak
	Kevin Hollinrake		5 November 2024	Incumbent	Conservative	Badenoch

References

1. Full list: the shadow cabinet
2. "'Levelling up' phrase to be erased, says minister". BBC News. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
3. "His Majesty's Official Opposition: The Shadow Cabinet". Parliament.uk. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
4. CHANGES TO OPPOSITION FRONTBENCH: PICKLES REPLACES MAY IN LOCAL GOVT
5. Her Majesty's Official Opposition as at 21 May 2005
6. At-a-glance: New shadow cabinet
7. "Mr John Denham". UK Parliament. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
8. "Caroline Flint". UK Parliament. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
9. "Hilary Benn". UK Parliament. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
10. "Emma Reynolds". UK Parliament. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
11. "Jon Trickett". UK Parliament. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
12. "Grahame Morris". UK Parliament. Retrieved 4 April 2022.