shadow cabinets
Alternative government teams
A shadow cabinet is a group of senior opposition politicians in a parliamentary system who each monitor and critique a specific government minister or department.
The opposition leader assigns these roles to prepare the party for governing, with each shadow minister becoming the likely replacement for their counterpart if power changes hands.
The shadow cabinet met to discuss their response to the budget.
The term is most associated with British and Commonwealth political systems.
Senior governing politicians
- backbenchersOrdinary members of parliament
- whipsFlexible striking instruments
- portfolioCollected works or assets
- dispatch boxGovernment document case
select committee · question time · parliamentary debate · commons · lords · spokesperson · briefings · ministerial
Substitute plan in negotiations
- holding to accountDemanding responsibility for actions
- opposition leaderHead of non-governing party
- questioningSeeking answers through inquiry
- challengingHard to accomplish
rebuttal · dissent · parliamentary opposition · loyal opposition · adversarial · watchdog · accountability
frontbenchers
Senior governing politicians
- backbenchersOrdinary members of parliament
- whipsFlexible striking instruments
- portfolioCollected works or assets
dispatch box · select committee · question time · parliamentary debate · commons · lords · spokesperson · briefings · ministerial
counterproposal
Substitute plan in negotiations
- holding to accountDemanding responsibility for actions
- opposition leaderHead of non-governing party
- questioningSeeking answers through inquiry
challenging · rebuttal · dissent · parliamentary opposition · loyal opposition · adversarial · watchdog · accountability
shadow cabinetscabinets
Enclosed storage furniture
executive branch · cabinet ministers · cabinet · government ministries · ministry
shadow, cabinet, shadows, shadowy, shadowed, shadowing, cabinets, shade, shades