Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Incumbent Mel Stride since 8 July 2024
Appointer	Leader of the Opposition
Inaugural holder	Michael Meacher
Formation	2 November 1989
Website	[1]

The Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is an office within British politics held by a member of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The duty of the office holder is to scrutinise the actions of the government's Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and develop alternative policies. The office holder, currently Mel Stride, is a member of the Shadow Cabinet.

Shadow Secretary of State for Social Security
Name			Entered office	Left office	Political party	Shadow Cabinet
	Michael Meacher 1939–2015		2 November 1989	18 July 1992	Labour	Kinnock
	Donald Dewar 1937–2000		18 July 1992	19 October 1995	Labour	Smith
						Beckett
						Blair
	Chris Smith born 1951		19 October 1995	1 July 1996	Labour
	Harriet Harman born 1950		1 July 1996	2 May 1997	Labour
	Peter Lilley born 1943		2 May 1997	19 June 1997	Conservative	Major
	Iain Duncan Smith born 1954		19 June 1997	15 June 1999	Conservative	Hague
	David Willetts born 1956		15 June 1999	14 September 2001	Conservative
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
	David Willetts born 1956		14 September 2001	6 May 2005	Conservative	Duncan Smith
						Howard
	Malcolm Rifkind born 1946		6 May 2005	6 December 2005	Conservative
	Philip Hammond born 1955		6 December 2005	2 July 2007	Conservative	Cameron
	Chris Grayling born 1962		2 July 2007	19 January 2009	Conservative
	Theresa May born 1956		19 January 2009	11 May 2010	Conservative
	Yvette Cooper born 1969		11 May 2010	8 October 2010	Labour	Harman I
	Douglas Alexander born 1967		8 October 2010	20 January 2011	Labour	Miliband
	Liam Byrne born 1970		20 January 2011	7 October 2013	Labour
	Rachel Reeves born 1979		7 October 2013	8 June 2015	Labour
	Stephen Timms Acting born 1955		8 June 2015	13 September 2015	Labour	Harman II
	Owen Smith born 1970		14 September 2015	27 June 2016	Labour	Corbyn
	Debbie Abrahams born 1960		27 June 2016	11 March 2018	Labour
	Margaret Greenwood born 1959		11 March 2018	6 April 2020	Labour
	Jonathan Reynolds born 1980		6 April 2020	29 November 2021	Labour & Co-op	Starmer
	Jonathan Ashworth born 1978		29 November 2021	4 September 2023	Labour & Co-op
	Liz Kendall born 1971		4 September 2023	5 July 2024	Labour
	Mel Stride born 1961		8 July 2024	Incumbent	Conservative	Sunak