Frontbench Team of Ed Davey

Ed Davey was appointed as Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats following the resignation of Jo Swinson. Davey announced his first frontbench team as Acting Leader in January 2020.^[1]

Davey was elected permanent Leader on 27 August 2020 and assembled a new frontbench team in the following days. After the 2024 general election, Davey's frontbench team became the second largest opposition party to the governing Labour Party, behind the Sunak shadow cabinet.

On 18 September 2024, following the party conference, Davey announced a new 33-member frontbench team, with new members taking frontbench roles. This left 39 backbench MPs, more than twice the number of Liberal Democrat MPs prior to the election. This was also subsequent to former frontbench members Layla Moran, Alistair Carmichael, and Jamie Stone standing down from the frontbench after being elected to chair parliamentary select committees.^[2]

The frontbench was reshuffled in September 2025 following the Liberal Democrat Conference in Bournemouth.^[3]

^[6]

Changes from Swinson's final Team

• Chuka Umunna (Foreign Affairs and International Trade) lost his seat and was replaced by Alistair Carmichael in the former and Sarah Olney in the latter
• Sam Gyimah (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) lost his seat and was replaced by Wera Hobhouse (Climate Emergency, Energy and the Environment) and Sarah Olney (Business and Trade)
• Angela Smith (International Development) lost her seat and was replaced by replaced by Wendy Chamberlain
• Phillip Lee (Justice) lost his seat and was replaced by Daisy Cooper
• Tom Brake (Brexit and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster) lost his seat and was replaced in the former by Alistair Carmichael, the latter remained vacant
• Luciana Berger (Health and Social Care) lost her seat and was replaced by Munira Wilson
• Sir Vince Cable (Cabinet Office) retired from the commons and was not replaced, although Wendy Chamberlain took on a similar role called Political & Constitutional Reform spokesperson
• Jane Dodds (Wales and Food and Rural Affairs) lost her seat and was succeeded in the former by Wendy Chamberlain and by Tim Farron in the latter.
• In addition to Justice, Daisy Cooper also took over as Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson from Layla Moran who continued as Education spokesperson
• In addition to International Development and Wales, Wendy Chamberlain also took over Northern Ireland from Alistair Carmichael

Following Davey's election as party leader, he reshuffled his frontbench team.^[7][8]

Changes

• Christine Jardine took over as Treasury spokesperson from Davey
• Alistair Carmichael took over Jardine's role as Home Affairs spokesperson and also took back Northern Ireland from Chamberlain.
• Layla Moran took over Foreign Affairs from Carmichael and International Development from Chamberlain
• Daisy Cooper took over Education from Moran, she also became Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats
• Sarah Olney took over transport from Munira Wilson while remaining business spokesperson
• Wera Hobhouse took over Justice from Cooper and Women and Equalities from Jardine
• Jamie Stone took over Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from Cooper while remaining Defence spokesperson
• Wendy Chamberlain took over as Chief Whip from Carmichael, while remaining Scotland and Wales spokesperson and becoming Work and Pensions spokesperson.

Later changes

• In October 2021, Munira Wilson (Health and Social Care) and Daisy Cooper (Education) swapped portfolios^[9][10]

Following several by-election victories, Davey reshuffled his frontbench team to include the party's new MPs.^[11]

Changes

• Sarah Olney took over Treasury from Christine Jardine, while remaining Business spokesperson
• Alistair Carmichael took over Justice from Wera Hobhouse, while remaining Home Affairs and Northern Ireland spokesperson
• Helen Morgan took over Housing, Communities and Local Government from Tim Farron while the latter remained Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson
• Christine Jardine took over Women and Equalities from Hobhouse and Scotland from Chamberlain while also becoming Cabinet Office spokesperson
• Sarah Green took over Wales from Chamberlain and International Trade from Olney
• Wera Hobhouse took over Transport from Olney and became Energy and Climate Change and Leader of the House of Commons spokesperson
• Richard Foord took over Defence from Jamie Stone while the latter remained Culture, Media and Sport spokesperson.

Following significant gains at the 2024 general election, Davey reshuffled his frontbench team to "champion the people’s priorities". It included the departures of Layla Moran (Foreign Affairs), Alistair Carmichael (Home Affairs) and Jamie Stone (Culture, Media and Sport) who became Select Committee Chairs.^[12]

Changes

• Daisy Cooper took over Treasury from Sarah Olney
• Helen Morgan took over Health and Social Care from Cooper
• Sarah Olney took over Cabinet Office from Christine Jardine while the latter remained Women and Equalities and Scotland spokesperson
• Calum Miller took over Foreign Affairs from Layla Moran, who now chairs the Health and Social Care Select Committee
• Lisa Smart took over Home Affairs from Alistair Carmichael, who now chairs the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee
• Josh Babarinde took over Justice from Carmichael
• Sarah Gibson took over Business from Olney
• Pippa Heylings took over Energy Security and Net Zero from Wera Hobhouse
• Vikki Slade took over Housing, Communities and Local Government from Morgan
• Paul Kohler took over Transport from Hobhouse
• Victoria Collins became Science, Innovation and Technology Spokesperson
• Max Wilkinson took over Culture, Media and Sport from Jamie Stone who now chairs the Petitions Committee
• Helen Maguire took over Defence from Richard Foord
• Steve Darling took over Work and Pensions from Wendy Chamberlain while the latter remained Chief Whip
• David Chadwick took over Wales from Sarah Green
• Al Pinkerton took over Northern Ireland from Carmichael
• Luke Taylor became London Spokesperson
• Jess Brown-Fuller became Hospitals and Primary Care Spokesperson
• Alison Bennett became Mental Health Spokesperson
• Ian Sollom became Universities and Skills Spokesperson
• Clive Jones took over Trade from Green
• Monica Harding took over International Development from Moran
• James MacCleary became Europe Spokesperson
• Gideon Amos became Housing and Planning Spokesperson
• Marie Goldman became Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
• Ben Maguire became Shadow Attorney General
• Tom Morrison became Deputy Chief Whip

Changes^[13]

• Lisa Smart took over Cabinet Office from Sarah Olney
• Max Wilkinson took over Home Affairs from Smart
• Sarah Olney took over Business from Sarah Gibson
• Jess Brown-Fuller took over Justice from Josh Babarinde who later became President of the Liberal Democrats
• Gideon Amos took over Housing and Communities from Vikki Slade
• Marie Goldman took over Women and Equalities from Christine Jardine
• Olly Glover took over Transport from Paul Kohler
• Anna Sabine took over Culture, Media and Sport from Max Wilkinson
• James MacCleary took over Defence from Helen Maguire
• Susan Murray took over Scotland from Jardine
• Paul Kohler took over Northern Ireland from Al Pinkerton
• Helen Maguire took over Primary Care and Cancer from Jess Brown-Fuller
• Caroline Voaden became Schools Spokesperson
• Will Forster became Immigration Spokesperson
• Joshua Reynolds took over Trade from Clive Jones
• Al Pinkerton took over Europe from James MacCleary
• Zöe Franklin took over Local Government from Vikki Slade
• Sarah Dyke became Rural Affairs spokesperson alongside Tim Farron
• Charlie Maynard became Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
• Bobby Dean took over Shadow Leader of the House of Commons from Marie Goldman

• Cabinet of the United Kingdom
• Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom)

• Liberal Democrats: Spokespeople