British politics The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy which, by legislation and Convention (norm), convention, operates as a Unitary state, unitary parliamentary democracy. A Hereditary monarchy, hereditary Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch, ...

, the shadow home secretary (formally known as the shadow secretary of state for the home department) is the person within the shadow cabinet who shadows the

home secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

; this effectively means scrutinising government policy on home affairs including

policing The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citizen ...

national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...

, and matters of

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

. The shadow home secretary also formerly had responsibility for the criminal justice system and the

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

service; these responsibilities are now held by the shadow justice secretary. If the opposition party is elected to government, the Shadow Home Secretary often becomes the new Home Secretary, though this is not always the case. The office is currently held by Chris Philp, a member of the Conservative shadow cabinet. In recent decades, the positions of

and shadow home secretary have alternated between the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and Labour parties. The corresponding position for the Liberal Democrats is the Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson.

List of shadow home secretaries

References

{{UK Parliament Opposition Cabinet Offices Official Opposition (United Kingdom)