The frontbench team is divided into departmental sub-units, the principal ones being the economy, foreign policy, and home affairs.
Under Charles Kennedy's leadership, and with the number of Liberal Democrat MPs growing after the 1997 general election, the senior members of the frontbench team began referring to themselves as a Shadow Cabinet.
[3] In 2001, Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said the following in the House of Commons: The House of Commons is in the unique position of having two shadow Chancellors: one [Conservative Michael Howard] sits in Folkestone and the other [Liberal Democrat Matthew Taylor] in Truro.
Thus, the Liberal Democrats entered the Cabinet for the first time since the all-party War Government led by Winston Churchill in the early 1940s.
Previous team key-members in summary: (Deputy Prime Minister: May 2010 – May 2015) Member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee