Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment was a position with the opposition

Opposition (parliamentary)

Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...

's Shadow cabinet

Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (UK)

The Official Loyal Opposition Shadow Cabinet are, in British parliamentary practice, senior members of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition who scrutinise their corresponding office holders in the Government, develop alternative policies, and hold the Government to account for its actions and responses...

 that deals with issues surrounding the environment

Environmentalism

Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...

 if elected, the designated person is slated to become the new Secretary of State for the Environment

Secretary of State for the Environment

The Secretary of State for the Environment was a UK cabinet position, responsible for the Department of the Environment . This was created by Edward Heath as a combination of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Public Building and Works on 15...

. After winning the 1997 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1997

The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...

, Tony Blair

Tony Blair

Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...

 replaced the Environment Department with the Department for Environment, Transport and the Regions, and named Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott

John Prescott

John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...

 to lead it. During John Major

John Major

Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...

's brief stint as Leader of the Opposition, John Gummer

John Gummer

John Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, PC is a British Conservative Party politician, formerly Member of Parliament for Suffolk Coastal, now a member of the House of Lords. He is Chairman of the environmental consultancy company Sancroft International and Chairman of Veolia Water...

 served as Shadow Environment Secretary while Sir George Young, Bt

Sir George Young, 6th Baronet

Sir George Samuel Knatchbull Young, 6th Baronet is a British politician. He is currently the Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal, and has served as a Conservative Party Member of Parliament since 1974, having represented North West Hampshire since 1997, and Ealing Acton before...

 continued to serve as Shadow Transport Secretary. William Hague

William Hague

William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...

 named a Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions in his first Shadow Cabinet.

Shadow Secretaries of State for the Environment

A list of previous shadow secretaries:

• Timothy Raison
  Timothy Raison
  Sir Timothy Hugh Francis Raison , was a British Conservative politician who began his career as a journalist, first working on Picture Post , then New Scientist...
  
   1975–76
• Michael Heseltine
  Michael Heseltine
  Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
  
   1976–79
• 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:...
  
   1979–80
• Gerald Kaufman
  Gerald Kaufman
  Sir Gerald Bernard Kaufman is a British Labour Party politician, who has been a Member of Parliament since 1970, first for Manchester Ardwick, and then subsequently for Manchester Gorton...
  
   1980–83
• Jack Cunningham 1983–89
• Bryan Gould
  Bryan Gould
  Bryan Charles Gould, CNZM is a former United Kingdom politician. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1974–79, and again from 1983–94...
  
   1989-92
• Chris Smith
  Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury
  Christopher "Chris" Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury PC is a British Labour Party politician, and a former Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister...
  
   1992–94
• Frank Dobson
  Frank Dobson
  Frank Gordon Dobson, is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Holborn and St. Pancras since 1979...
  
   1994–97
• John Gummer
  John Gummer
  John Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, PC is a British Conservative Party politician, formerly Member of Parliament for Suffolk Coastal, now a member of the House of Lords. He is Chairman of the environmental consultancy company Sancroft International and Chairman of Veolia Water...
  
  1992