Abstract
A focal job of Westminster opposition, there is nevertheless a dearth of published analysis on the job of Shadow Chancellor. This article argues that the Shadow Chancellor is distinctive because of its strategic power over opposition policy and other shadow portfolios and offers a critique of the post for perhaps the first time. The article shows that: most Shadow Chancellors have leadership ambitions but demonstrates that their position is intertwined with that of leader; that they are unlikely to be reshuffled by the leader who appointed them; and, that new leaders usually appoint new Shadow Chancellors. Drawing on various data about the behaviour of post holders, it demonstrates that the Shadow Chancellor occupies a central coordinating role alongside the opposition leader and supports the ‘Westminster Model’ by acting as a combative critic of government and grounding leadership in the collegiality of Parliament. Nonetheless, it also shows that the Shadow Chancellor’s profile is strongest outside Westminster, in projecting the economic credibility of an alternative government.
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Notes
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The leader of the opposition is the leader of the largest party in the Commons not to be in government. The Act provides for the Speaker of the House to select who this person is in the event of dispute. There has been no cause yet for the Speaker to exercise this power.
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Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to my two anonymous reviewers for their helpful and encouraging comments practically all of which have been incorporated. I’d also like to thank the House of Commons Library for helping to locate parliamentary data.
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Barber, S. ‘Westminster’s wingman’? Shadow chancellor as a strategic and coveted political role. Br Polit 11, 184–204 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/bp.2015.33
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/bp.2015.33