The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer

Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...

. The title is in the gift of the Leader of the Opposition but is informal. The Shadow Chancellor has no constitutional role.

The name for the position has a mixed history. It is used to designate the lead economic spokesman for the Opposition, although some Shadow Cabinets have not used the term (the Thatcher Shadow Cabinet in the Conservative Party Campaign of 1979). As a consequence of this and of the rise of the Liberal Democrats (who in opposition prior to being in coalition government used the title themselves) the term is used interchangeably with 'Economic Spokesman' for both parties.

This confusion was a source of humour for one time Chancellor of the Exchequer

Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...

 Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown

James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...

, who in 2005 played the two off against one another in Parliament.

I, too, have a great deal of time for the shadow Chancellor who resides in Twickenham [Vince Cable], rather than the shadow Chancellor for the Conservative party.

The current Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer is Ed Balls.

Shadow Chancellors

Name		Portrait	Entered office	Left office	Political party
	Harold Wilson Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...		14 December 1955	2 November 1961	Labour
	James Callaghan James Callaghan Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...		2 November 1961	15 October 1964	Labour
	Reginald Maudling Reginald Maudling Reginald Maudling was a British politician who held several Cabinet posts, including Chancellor of the Exchequer. He had been spoken of as a prospective Conservative leader since 1955, and was twice seriously considered for the post; he was Edward Heath's chief rival in 1965...		15 October 1964	27 July 1965	Conservative
	Edward Heath Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....		27 July 1965	11 November 1965	Conservative
	Iain Macleod Iain Macleod Iain Norman Macleod was a British Conservative Party politician and government minister.-Early life:...		11 November 1965	20 June 1970	Conservative
	Roy Jenkins Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...		20 June 1970	19 April 1972	Labour
	Denis Healey Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey CH, MBE, PC is a British Labour politician, who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979.-Early life:...		19 April 1972	4 March 1974	Labour
	Robert Carr Robert Carr Leonard Robert Carr, Baron Carr of Hadley, PC is a British Conservative politician.Robert Carr was educated at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge where he read Natural Sciences, graduating in 1938....		4 March 1974	11 February 1975	Conservative
	Geoffrey Howe Geoffrey Howe Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, CH, QC, PC is a former British Conservative politician. He was Margaret Thatcher's longest-serving Cabinet minister, successively holding the posts of Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, and finally Leader of the House of Commons...		11 February 1975	4 May 1979	Conservative
	Denis Healey Denis Healey Denis Winston Healey, Baron Healey CH, MBE, PC is a British Labour politician, who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 1964 to 1970 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1974 to 1979.-Early life:...		4 May 1979	8 December 1980	Labour
	Peter Shore Peter Shore Peter David Shore, Baron Shore of Stepney PC was a British Labour politician and former Cabinet Minister, noted in part for his opposition to the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community. His idiosyncratic left-wing nationalism led to comparison with the French politician...		8 December 1980	31 October 1983	Labour
	Roy Hattersley Roy Hattersley Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley is a British Labour politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. He served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992.-Early life:...		31 October 1983	13 July 1987	Labour
	John Smith John Smith (UK politician) John Smith was a British Labour Party politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his sudden death from a heart attack in May 1994...		13 July 1987	24 July 1992	Labour
	Gordon Brown Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...		24 July 1992	2 May 1997	Labour
	Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke, QC, MP is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. He was first elected to Parliament in 1970; and appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of...		2 May 1997	11 June 1997	Conservative
	Peter Lilley Peter Lilley Peter Bruce Lilley MP is a British Conservative Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament MP since 1983. He currently represents the constituency of Hitchin and Harpenden and, prior to boundary changes, represented St Albans...		11 June 1997	2 June 1998	Conservative
	Francis Maude Francis Maude Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he currently serves as the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, and as a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Horsham...		2 June 1998	1 February 2000	Conservative
	Michael Portillo Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo is a British journalist, broadcaster, and former Conservative Party politician and Cabinet Minister...		1 February 2000	18 September 2001	Conservative
	Michael Howard Michael Howard Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...		18 September 2001	6 November 2003	Conservative
	Oliver Letwin Oliver Letwin Oliver Letwin MP FRSA is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he is currently the Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, and a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of West Dorset...		6 November 2003	5 May 2005	Conservative
	George Osborne George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne, MP is a British Conservative politician. He is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the United Kingdom, a role to which he was appointed in May 2010, and has been the Member of Parliament for Tatton since 2001.Osborne is part of the old Anglo-Irish aristocracy, known in...		5 May 2005	11 May 2010	Conservative
	Alistair Darling Alistair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, currently for Edinburgh South West. He served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2007 to 2010...		11 May 2010	8 October 2010	Labour
	Alan Johnson Alan Johnson Alan Arthur Johnson is a British Labour Party politician who served as Home Secretary from June 2009 to May 2010. Before that, he filled a wide variety of cabinet positions in both the Blair and Brown governments, including Health Secretary and Education Secretary. Until 20 January 2011 he was...		8 October 2010	20 January 2011	Labour
	Ed Balls Ed Balls Edward Michael Balls, known as Ed Balls, is a British Labour politician, who has been a Member of Parliament since 2005, currently for Morley and Outwood, and is the current Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer....		20 January 2011	Incumbent	Labour

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesmen

Name		Title(s)	Tenure
	Malcolm Bruce Malcolm Bruce Malcolm Gray Bruce, MP is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Gordon. He has been the chairman of the International Development Select Committee since 2005.-Early life:...  MP Ed Davey Edward Davey Edward Jonathan "Ed" Davey is a British Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for Kingston and Surbiton since 1997, and in May 2010 was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...  MP Vince Cable MP	Frontbench Spokespeople for the Treasury	May 1997 – August 1999
	Vince Cable MP	Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer	August 1999 – May 2010
	None since May 2010 as the Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the... have been in a government with the Conservatives