Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 11:33 am on 22 February 2024.
Penny Mordaunt
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
11:33,
22 February 2024
I refer my hon. Friend to the response I gave to the Shadow Leader of the House, Lucy Powell. I think that the Leader of the Opposition needs to reflect on what he did yesterday, as well as what everyone else will have been doing.
The "Leader of the Opposition" is head of "Her Majesty's Official Opposition". This position is taken by the Leader of the party with the 2nd largest number of MPs in the Commons.
The shadow cabinet is the name given to the group of senior members from the chief opposition party who would form the cabinet if they were to come to power after a General Election. Each member of the shadow cabinet is allocated responsibility for `shadowing' the work of one of the members of the real cabinet.
The Party Leader assigns specific portfolios according to the ability, seniority and popularity of the shadow cabinet's members.
