| Shadow Secretary of State for Defence | |
|---|---|
| Appointer | Leader of the Opposition |
| Inaugural holder | Denis Healey |
| Formation | 1 April 1964 |
The shadow secretary of state for defence is a member of the UK Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the secretary of state for defence and the department, the Ministry of Defence. The post is currently held by James Cartlidge.
| Name | Entered office | Left office | Political party | Shadow Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denis Healey |  | 1 April 1964 | 16 October 1964 | Labour | Wilson I | |
| Peter Thorneycroft |  | 16 October 1964 | 7 July 1965 | Conservative | Douglas-Home | |
| Enoch Powell |  | 7 July 1965 | 21 April 1968 | Conservative | Heath I | |
| Reginald Maudling | 21 April 1968 | 1969 | Conservative | |||
| Geoffrey Rippon |  | 1969 | 8 July 1970 | Conservative | ||
| George Thomson |  | 8 July 1970 | 10 April 1972 | Labour | Wilson II | |
| Fred Peart | | 10 April 1972 | 4 March 1974 | Labour | ||
| Ian Gilmour | | 4 March 1974 | 29 October 1974 | Conservative | Heath II | |
| Peter Walker | | 29 October 1974 | 18 February 1975 | Conservative | ||
| George Younger |  | 18 February 1975 | 15 January 1976 | Conservative | Thatcher | |
| Ian Gilmour | | 15 January 1976 | 4 May 1979 | Conservative | ||
| Fred Mulley |  | 4 May 1979 | 14 June 1979 | Labour | Callaghan | |
| William Rodgers | | 14 June 1979 | 8 December 1980 | Labour | ||
| Brynmor John | | 8 December 1980 | 24 November 1981 | Labour | Foot | |
| John Silkin | | 24 November 1981 | 26 October 1984 | Labour | ||
| Kinnock | ||||||
| Denzil Davies | | 26 October 1984 | 14 June 1988 | Labour | ||
| Martin O'Neill |  | 14 June 1988 | 18 July 1992 | Labour | ||
| David Clark |  | 18 July 1992 | 2 May 1997 | Labour | Smith | |
| Beckett | ||||||
| Blair | ||||||
| John Major |  | 2 May 1997 | 11 June 1997 | Conservative | Major | |
| George Young |  | 11 June 1997 | 1 June 1998 | Conservative | Hague | |
| John Maples | 1 June 1998 | 15 June 1999 | Conservative | |||
| Iain Duncan Smith |  | 15 June 1999 | 18 September 2001 | Conservative | ||
| Bernard Jenkin |  | 18 September 2001 | 6 November 2003 | Conservative | Duncan Smith | |
| Nicholas Soames |  | 6 November 2003 | 10 May 2005 | Conservative | Howard | |
| Michael Ancram [1] |  | 10 May 2005 | 6 December 2005 | Conservative | ||
| Liam Fox [2] |  | 7 December 2005 | 6 May 2010 | Conservative | Cameron | |
| Bob Ainsworth [3] |  | 12 May 2010 | 8 October 2010 | Labour | Harman I | |
| Jim Murphy [4] |  | 8 October 2010 | 7 October 2013 | Labour | Miliband | |
| Vernon Coaker [5] |  | 7 October 2013 | 14 September 2015 | Labour | ||
| Harman II | ||||||
| Maria Eagle [6] |  | 14 September 2015 | 5 January 2016 | Labour | Corbyn | |
| Emily Thornberry [7] |  | 5 January 2016 | 27 June 2016 | Labour | ||
| Clive Lewis [8] |  | 27 June 2016 | 6 October 2016 | Labour | ||
| Nia Griffith [9] |  | 6 October 2016 | 6 April 2020 | Labour | ||
| John Healey [10] |  | 6 April 2020 | 5 July 2024 | Labour | Starmer | |
| James Cartlidge |  | 8 July 2024 | Incumbent | Conservative | Sunak | |
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