Commission meeting with Rt Hon John McDonnell MP, 12 March 2025

As part of its inquiry into the working of the Cabinet, the Commission met with John McDonnell who had been Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and a leading member of the Shadow Cabinet from 2015 to 2020 and a Labour MP since 1997.

The key issue that arose was how Shadow Cabinets are supported and what their relationship should be with the government of the day and the civil service. 

There should be an understanding in government that it has a responsibility to the Opposition throughout. This could be through the Treasury team that could have more access to the treasury structure whilst it is in Opposition which would contribute to a more informed debate and perhaps influence better decision making in government. 

Opposition Cabinet members should have the right to better access to senior civil service advisors who could check policy ideas being proposed and look at resource needs. There could be clear lines of confidentiality to protect both Shadow and government. Longer term relations and support would help transition which otherwise is very abrupt.

The UK is unusual in Western democracies in having an immediate change of government. In the USA the election is in November and the new President takes over in January. The various proportional voting systems across Europe often mean a period of haggling to form coalitions. Whereas in the UK the winner takes all (apart from the coalition in 2010) means an immediate transition from one government to another with no period of adjustment or formal preparation.

Opposition Cabinet members usually know the weaknesses of the government and may be clear in its own strategic objectives but may also be less clear about how to implement its vision.

It has happened on rare occasions that when there is a particularly contentious issue, a secretary of state and top civil servants have brought in shadow ministers privately to debate the best way forward, but this does not happen enough. It would be especially helpful in the year or so run up to an election.

Whilst the civil service does interact with the Opposition Cabinet just before an election, it tends to be very last minute. The Opposition is meanwhile operating on the assumption that it is going to win the election and form a government (no matter what the polls say, politicians facing an election usually believe they stand a good chance of winning). The Opposition Shadow Cabinet gets little or no support from inside the civil service prior to the immediate election period.

A newly formed Shadow Cabinet has to work on team building, particularly if it has just lost an election and includes people who are blaming each other for the loss. Most shadow ministers will bring in experts from outside to help develop policies and create a political narrative.