Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Incumbent Thangam Debbonaire since 4 September 2023
Style	Shadow Culture Secretary (informal)
Member of	Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet
Appointer	Leader of the Opposition
Inaugural holder	Bryan Gould
Formation	18 July 1992

The Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), previously Shadow Secretary of State for National Heritage and Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, is a position in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet.

The Shadow Secretary of State is the opposite number to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, holding them and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to account. They are the lead opposition spokesperson on culture, media and sport issues.

The post was created in 1992 after John Major established the Department of National Heritage and Secretary of State for National Heritage. The National Heritage Department, and therefore the portfolio and title of the Secretary of State and Shadow Secretary of State, was replaced by Culture, Media and Sport in 1997.

In 2010, the government merged the offices of the Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Minister for the Olympics, establishing the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport. Nevertheless, the opposition retained the Shadow Minister for the Olympics and left the Shadow Secretary of State portfolio and title unchanged. The department and Secretary of State changed their titles to Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in 2017, and the opposition followed suit. The department reverted to the name Culture, Media and Sport in February 2023.

List of Shadow Secretaries of State

Shadow Secretaries of State for National Heritage (1992–97)

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Party	Shadow Cabinet
	Bryan Gould		18 July 1992	29 September 1992	Labour	Smith
	Ann Clwyd		29 September 1992	21 October 1993
	Mo Mowlam		21 October 1993	21 July 1994
						Beckett
	Chris Smith		21 July 1994	19 October 1995		Blair
	Jack Cunningham		19 October 1995	2 May 1997
	Virginia Bottomley		2 May 1997	11 June 1997	Conservative	Major

Shadow Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1997–2017)

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Party	Shadow Cabinet
	Francis Maude		11 June 1997	1 June 1998	Conservative	Hague
	Peter Ainsworth		1 June 1998	18 September 2001
	Tim Yeo		18 September 2001	23 July 2002		Duncan Smith
	John Whittingdale		23 July 2002	6 November 2003
	Julie Kirkbride		6 November 2003	19 June 2004		Howard
	John Whittingdale		19 June 2004	6 May 2005
	Theresa May		6 May 2005	8 December 2005
	Hugo Swire		8 December 2005	2 July 2007		Cameron
	Jeremy Hunt		2 July 2007	11 May 2010
	Ben Bradshaw		11 May 2010	8 October 2010	Labour	Harman I
	Ivan Lewis		8 October 2010	7 October 2011		Miliband
	Harriet Harman		7 October 2011	11 May 2015
	Chris Bryant		11 May 2015	13 September 2015		Harman II
	Michael Dugher		13 September 2015	5 January 2016		Corbyn
	Maria Eagle		6 January 2016	27 June 2016
	Kelvin Hopkins		28 June 2016	7 October 2016
	Tom Watson		7 October 2016	3 July 2017

Shadow Secretaries of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (2017–2023)

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Party	Shadow Cabinet
	Tom Watson		3 July 2017	12 December 2019	Labour	Corbyn
	Tracy Brabin		7 January 2020	6 April 2020
	Jo Stevens		6 April 2020	29 November 2021		Starmer
	Lucy Powell		29 November 2021	4 September 2023

Shadow Secretaries of State for Culture, Media and Sport (2023-)

Name		Portrait	Term of office		Party	Shadow Cabinet
	Thangam Debbonaire		4 September 2023	Incumbent	Labour	Starmer

See also

• Official Opposition frontbench
• Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
• Department for Culture, Media and Sport