Shadow Cabinet of William Hague

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The Shadow Cabinet appointed by Conservative Party leader William Hague was the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet from 1997 to 2001. Following his initial appointments in June 1997, Hague reshuffled the Shadow Cabinet five times before his resignation as leader following defeat in the 2001 general election.

Initial Shadow Cabinet

June 1998 reshuffle

Hague first reshuffled the Shadow Cabinet on 1 June 1998.

Rt Hon. William Hague MP — Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition and Leader of the Conservative Party
Rt Hon. Peter Lilley MP — Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party
Rt Hon. Francis Maude MP — Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Rt Hon. Michael Howard QC MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Rt Hon. Sir Norman Fowler MP — Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department
Rt Hon. Lord Parkinson PC — Chairman of the Conservative Party
Rt Hon. Michael Ancram MP — Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party
David Willetts MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Employment
Rt Hon. Sir George Young Bt MP — Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Rt Hon. Viscount Cranborne PC — Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords
John Maples MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Rt Hon. John Redwood MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
Rt Hon. Gillian Shephard MP — Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Dr Liam Fox MP — Constitutional Affairs spokesman
Tim Yeo MP — Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Gary Streeter MP — Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
Rt Hon. David Heathcoat-Amory MP — Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Peter Ainsworth MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Rt Hon. Andrew Mackay MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Rt Hon. Ann Widdecombe MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Health
Rt Hon. Iain Duncan Smith MP — Shadow Secretary of State for Social Security
Rt Hon. James Arbuthnot MP — Opposition Chief Whip
Rt Hon. Lord Strathclyde PC — Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords

Junior Shadow Ministers

Changes from June 1997

Peter Lilley moves from Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer to Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party
Francis Maude moves from Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Sir Brian Mawhinney leaves the Shadow Cabinet
Sir Norman Fowler moves from Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions to Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department
Gillian Shephard moves from Shadow Leader of the House of Commons to Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions
Sir George Young moves from Shadow Secretary of State for Defence to Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
John Maples moves from Shadow Secretary of State for Health to Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Ann Widdecombe enters the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Health
Alastair Goodlad leaves the Shadow Cabinet
Peter Ainsworth enters the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Liam Fox enters the Shadow Cabinet as Constitutional Affairs spokesman
Gary Streeter enters the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for International Development
David Curry leaves the Shadow Cabinet
Tim Yeo enters the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Michael Ancram becomes Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party. A few months later he succeeded Parkinson with his own successor not sitting in the Shadow Cabinet.

December 1998

A minor Shadow Cabinet reshuffle was required on 2 December 1998due to the sacking of Viscount Cranborne over the House of Lords Act 1999. Cranborne had been engaged in secret negotiations with the Labour Government over the issue of hereditary peers, without informing William Hague. This amendment (proposed by Bernard Weatherill for issues of formality, known as the Weatherill Amendment) allowed 92 hereditary peers to remain. The sacking of Cranborne led to a leadership crisis, with some Conservative peers resigning the party whip.