Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
The Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, previously Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Shadow Secretary of State for National Heritage, is a post in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet. The Shadow Secretary helps hold the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and junior ministers to account and is the lead spokesperson for his or her party on culture, media and sport issues, including obvious ones, such as art funding, and more unexpected ones, like keeping up the Royal Estate. Should the relevant party take office, the Shadow Secretary would be a likely candidate to become Culture Secretary.
The post became necessary when John Major created the Department of National Heritage in 1992. When the Coalition Government took office, they merged the office of Culture Secretary with that of Minister for the Olympics. Labour retained as its Olympics spokesperson Tessa Jowell, who had been Olympics Minister from the inception of the office.! colspan=2|Shadow Secretary
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! colspan=6|Shadow Secretaries of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
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