Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is a position with the UK Opposition's Shadow Cabinet that deals with issues surrounding the environment and food and rural affairs; if elected, the designated person is a likely choice to become the new Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The position existed as Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment until 1997, when it was renamed Environment, Transport and the Regions to match the Government's reorganisation. It changed to its current name in 2001 for the same reason. Under Michael Howard, the arrangement was slightly different. There was a Shadow Environment Secretary outside Shadow Cabinet and (together with the Shadow Transport Secretary) under the direction of the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment and Transport.

The current Shadow Secretary, as of June 2016, is Rachael Maskell.

Shadow Secretaries

Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Leader
	Anthony Crosland		19 June 1970	5 March 1974	Labour	Harold Wilson
	Margaret Thatcher		5 March 1974	18 February 1975	Conservative	Edward Heath
	Timothy Raison		18 February 1975	19 November 1976	Conservative	Margaret Thatcher
	Michael Heseltine		19 November 1976	4 May 1979	Conservative
	Peter Shore		4 May 1979	14 July 1979	Labour	James Callaghan
	Roy Hattersley		14 July 1979	8 December 1980	Labour
	Gerald Kaufman		8 December 1980	31 October 1983	Labour	Michael Foot
	Jack Cunningham		31 October 1983	2 November 1989	Labour	Neil Kinnock
	Bryan Gould		2 November 1989	18 July 1992	Laborr
	Chris Smith		18 July 1992	20 October 1994	Labour	John Smith
						Margarett Beckett
	Frank Dobson		20 October 1994	2 May 1997	Labour	Tony Blair
	John Gummer		2 May 1997	11 June 1997	Conservative	John Major
Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Leader of the Opposition
	Norman Fowler		11 June 1997	1 June 1998	Conservative	William Hague
	Gillian Shepherd[1]		1 June 1998	14 June 1999	Conservative
	John Redwood[2]		14 June 1999	2 February 2000	Conservative
	Archie Norman		2 February 2000	18 September 2001	Conservative
Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Leader of the Opposition
	Peter Ainsworth		18 September 2001	23 July 2002	Conservative	Iain Duncan Smith
	David Lidington		23 July 2002	10 November 2003	Conservative
Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Leader
	Caroline Spelman		10 November 2003	15 March 2004	Conservative	Michael Howard
	Richard Ottaway		15 March 2004	10 May 2005	Conservative
Name			Took office	Left office	Political party	Leader
	Oliver Letwin		10 May 2005	6 December 2005	Conservative	Michael Howard
	Peter Ainsworth		6 December 2005	19 January 2009	Conservative	David Cameron
	Nick Herbert		19 January 2009	11 May 2010	Conservative
	Hilary Benn		11 May 2010	8 October 2010	Labour	Harriet Harman
	Mary Creagh		8 October 2010	7 October 2013	Labour	Ed Miliband
	Maria Eagle		7 October 2013	14 September 2015	Labour
						Harriet Harman
	Kerry McCarthy		14 September 2015	26 June 2016	Labour	Jeremy Corbyn
	Rachael Maskell		27 June 2016	Incumbent	Labour	Jeremy Corbyn

References

1. "Hague reshuffles shadow cabinet". BBC News. 1 June 1998. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
2. "Lilley sacked in Hague reshuffle". The Guardian. 15 June 1999. Retrieved 10 March 2013.