Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
| Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Appointer | Leader of the Opposition |
The shadow secretary of state for energy security and net zero is a post in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet. The shadow secretary originally helped hold the secretary of state for energy and climate change and junior ministers to account and is the lead spokesperson on energy and climate change issues for their party. The post currently holds the secretary of state for energy security and net zero to account in Parliament.
A previous Official Opposition post of shadow secretary of state for energy existed until the Department of Energy was merged into the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in 1992. In 2008, the Department for Energy and Climate Change was split from the DTI's successor department, effectively reviving the former department and the need for an Opposition shadow.
Following Theresa May's appointment as Prime Minister in July 2016, the department was disbanded and merged with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to form the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with the consequent ending of this shadow post.
It was revived during the Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer and given to Ed Miliband, the former Labour leader, who was then serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy before his appointment.
List of shadow secretaries for energy
[edit]
Shadow Minister for Power[edit] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Took office | Left office | Political party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
| Philip Noel-Baker | .jpg)
|
15 July 1955 | 27 November 1956 | Labour | Attlee | |
| Gaitskell | ||||||
| Harold Neal | 
|
27 November 1956 | November 1959 | |||
| Frederick Lee |
|
November 1959 | November 1960 | |||
| Ray Gunter |
|
November 1960 | 6 December 1961[1] | |||
| Tom Fraser |
|
6 December 1961 | 16 October 1964 | |||
| Brown | ||||||
| Wilson | ||||||
| Frederick Erroll | .jpg)
|
16 October 1964 | 29 October 1964 | Conservative | Douglas-Home | |
| John Peyton |
|
29 October 1964 | 19 April 1966 | |||
| Heath | ||||||
| Anthony Barber |
|
19 April 1966 | 23 February 1967 | |||
| Keith Joseph |
|
23 February 1967 | 10 October 1967 | |||
| Margaret Thatcher | 
|
10 October 1967 | 14 November 1968 | |||
| John Eden |
|
14 November 1968 | 19 June 1970 | |||
Shadow Minister for Fuel and Power[edit] | ||||||
| Name | Took office | Left office | Political party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
| Michael Foot | .jpg)
|
22 July 1970 | 16 December 1971 | Labour | Wilson II | |
| Harold Lever |
|
16 December 1971 | 11 April 1972 | |||
| Eric Varley |
|
11 April 1972 | 4 March 1974 | |||
Shadow Secretary of State for Energy[edit] | ||||||
| Name | Took office | Left office | Political party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
| Patrick Jenkin |
|
12 March 1974 | 15 January 1976 | Conservative | Heath II | |
| Thatcher | ||||||
| John Biffen |
|
15 January 1976 | 19 November 1976 | |||
| Tom King | 
|
19 November 1976 | 4 May 1979 | |||
| Tony Benn | _-_53Fi1748_(Tony_Benn).jpg)
|
4 May 1979 | 14 July 1979 | Labour | Callaghan | |
| David Owen | 
|
14 July 1979 | 4 November 1980 | |||
| Merlyn Rees | .jpg)
|
4 November 1980 | 24 November 1982 | Michael Foot | ||
| John Smith |
|
24 November 1982 | 2 October 1983 | |||
| Stan Orme | 
|
2 October 1983 | 13 July 1987 | Kinnock | ||
| John Prescott | .jpg)
|
13 July 1987 | 23 November 1988 | |||
| Tony Blair | 
|
23 November 1988 | 2 November 1989 | |||
| Frank Dobson | .jpg)
|
2 November 1989 | 18 July 1992 | |||
Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change[edit] | ||||||
| Name | Took office | Left office | Political party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
| Greg Clark | 
|
6 October 2008 | 11 May 2010 | Conservative | Cameron | |
| Ed Miliband | 
|
11 May 2010 | 8 October 2010 | Labour | Harman | |
| Meg Hillier | 
|
8 October 2010 | 7 October 2011 | Miliband | ||
| Caroline Flint | 
|
7 October 2011 | 14 September 2015 | |||
| Harman II | ||||||
| Lisa Nandy | 
|
14 September 2015 | 27 June 2016 | Corbyn | ||
| Barry Gardiner | 
|
27 June 2016 | 8 October 2016 | |||
Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero[edit] | ||||||
| Name | Took office | Left office | Political party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
| Ed Miliband |
|
29 November 2021 | 4 September 2023 | Labour | Starmer | |
Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero[edit] | ||||||
| Name | Took office | Left office | Political party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
| Ed Miliband |
|
4 September 2023 | 5 July 2024 | Labour | Starmer | |
| Claire Coutinho | 
|
8 July 2024 | Incumbent | Conservative | Sunak | |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "New Labour Spokesman On Power". The Glasgow Herald. Westminister: The Glasgow Herald. 7 December 1961. p. 1. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
| ||
| Politics | .jpg)  | |
| General elections | ||
| Party elections | ||
| Local elections | ||
| European elections | ||
| Family |
| |
| In the media | ||
