Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer used interchangeably with "economic spokesperson" by the Liberal Democrats as well as the main opposition party. This was a source of humour for one time Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, who in 2005 played the two off against one another in Parliament, saying, "I, too, have a great deal of time for the shadow Chancellor who resides in Twickenham [<nowiki></nowiki>Vince Cable<nowiki></nowiki>], rather than the shadow Chancellor for the Conservative Party." The position of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer is currently held by John McDonnell. Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary
Politics of the United Kingdom to Kinnock's negative media image, Labour was defeated at the 1987 and 1992 general elections, and he was succeeded by Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Smith . Shadow Home Secretary Tony Blair became Leader of the Labour Party after John Smith's sudden death from a heart attack in 1994. He continued to move the Labour Party towards the "centre" by loosening links with the unions and continuing many of Margaret Thatcher's neoliberal policies. This coupled with the professionalising of the party machine's approach to the media, helped Labour win a historic landslide at the 1997 general election, after eighteen