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The Welsh Shadow Cabinet (Welsh: Cabinet Cysgodol Cymru) is formed from members of the official opposition in the Senedd, the largest party not part of the Welsh Government, to scrutinise ministers in the Welsh Cabinet. It is led by the Leader of the Opposition, who typically appoints members of the Senedd (MSs) from their party as shadow ministers with portfolios which mirror ministerial posts in the Cabinet who scrutinise ministers and can propose their own alternative policies. Other opposition parties in the Senedd also appoint frontbench teams of spokespeople who perform the same function. These are also sometimes styled as "shadow cabinets" by their parties, though unlike the Shadow Cabinet they have no official recognition. Since 2021, the Shadow Cabinet has been formed from members of the Welsh Conservatives led by Andrew RT Davies, who have alternated with Plaid Cymru as the official opposition in the Senedd since its establishment as the National Assembly for Wales in 1999.

The first shadow cabinet of Wales was formed by Plaid Cymru's Dafydd Wigley in 1999. Its members were elected to shadow portfolios by members of the Plaid Cymru Group in the National Assembly for Wales. In 2000, Plaid Cymru's Ieuan Wyn Jones succeeded Wigley as Leader of the Opposition and formed a new shadow cabinet, this time personally appointing its members; since then, members of the Shadow Cabinet have usually been appointed by the Leader of the Opposition. Leaders may reshuffle their shadow cabinet, swapping members' portfolios and appointing new members to the Shadow Cabinet. The official opposition can also appoint party staff and spokespeople to the Shadow Cabinet who have no shadow ministerial portfolio.

The Shadow Cabinet presents itself as an alternative government-in-waiting. It is tasked with scrutinising government ministers, and its members are meant to lead the official opposition in challenging members of the Welsh Government and taking them to account. As party group spokespeople in the Senedd, shadow ministers are able to speak for their respective party and question their relevant ministerial counterparts at plenary sessions of the Senedd.

Conservative Shadow Cabinet


Portfolio		Constituency	Term
Leader of the Opposition Leader of the Welsh Conservatives	Darren Millar MS	Clwyd West	December 2024 -
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Chief Whip	Paul Davies MS	Preseli Pembrokeshire	December 2024 -
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance	Sam Rowlands MS	North Wales	December 2024 -
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Welsh Language	Samuel Kurtz MS	Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire	December 2024 -
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care	James Evans MS	Brecon and Radnorshire	December 2024 -
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education	Natasha Asghar MS	South Wales East	December 2024 -
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Rural Affairs	Peter Fox MS	Monmouth	December 2024 -
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change	Janet Finch-Saunders MS	Aberconwy	March 2021 -
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Local Government, Housing and Armed Forces	Laura Anne Jones MS	South Wales East	December 2024 -
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Equalities and Social Justice	Altaf Hussain MS	South Wales West	December 2024 -
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Sport and North Wales	Gareth Davies MS	Vale of Clwyd	December 2024 -
Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Children, Young People, Mental Health and Wellbeing	Joel James MS	South Wales Central	December 2024 -

Plaid Cymru Shadow Cabinet

Rhun ap Iorwerth was announced as a new leader of Plaid Cymru on the 16 June 2023.^[1] He announced his shadow cabinet on the 27 June.^[2]

Plaid Cymru shadow cabinet (as of June 2024)
Portfolio		Constituency or electoral region	Term
Leader of Plaid Cymru Shadow Minister for the Constitution and International Affairs	Rhun ap Iorwerth MS	Ynys Môn	2023–
Deputy Leader and Shadow Minister for Climate Change	Delyth Jewell MS	South Wales East	2023–
Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Rural Affairs Chair of the Senedd Group	Llyr Huws Gruffydd MS	North Wales	2023–
Shadow Minister for Finance, Welsh Language and Culture Business Manager	Heledd Fychan MS	South Wales Central	2023–
Shadow Minister for Health and Social Care Chief Whip	Mabon ap Gwynfor MS	Dwyfor Meirionnydd	2023–
Shadow Minister for Justice and European Affairs Senedd Commissioner	Adam Price MS	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr	2023–
Shadow Minister for Local Government and Transport	Peredur Owen Griffiths MS	South Wales East	2023–
Shadow Minister for Social Justice and Early Years Deputy Whip	Sioned Williams MS	South Wales West	2023–
Shadow Minister for the Economy and Energy	Luke Fletcher MS	South Wales West	2023–
Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning	Siân Gwenllian MS	Arfon	2023–
Shadow Minister for Education	Cefin Campbell MS	Mid and West Wales	2023–

2016 Plaid-Conservative Shadow Cabinets

At the 2016 election, Plaid Cymru, led by Leanne Wood, won 12 seats to the Welsh Conservatives' 11, and thus became the largest party not in government. On 14 October 2016 Dafydd Elis-Thomas left Plaid Cymru to sit as an independent, so that Plaid Cymru and the Welsh Conservatives both held 11 seats. During this period, Wood was not referred to as Leader of the Opposition, but merely as leader of Plaid Cymru.^[3] The Conservative group grew to 12 when Mark Reckless defected from UKIP to the Conservative group on 6 April 2017, and the Welsh Conservative leader, Andrew RT Davies at the time, was referred to as Leader of the Opposition once more.^[4]