Yes, exactly. The job of shadow ministers is to shadow their government counterparts and to challenge them in the HoC while having no executive power. For Farage to call his motley crew a shadow cabinet is an exercise in hubris, an assumption that Reform will form the next government.
The Institute of Government is an excellent source of information about government ministers.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/government-ministers
There are 146 positions altogether held by 122 people. A maximum of 109 can be paid.
If you look at the chart as of January 2026, you will see who is appointed to assist each cabinet minister. Check out these names and who will find that most bring a wealth of political experience.
This is something which Reform does not have.
The notion that Zia Yusuf could be Home Secretary is ludicrous. He is unelected and therefore cannot sit, speak, or vote as a Member of Parliament. He would have to be appointed to the Lords. How would his work I practice? It is one of the key positions in the Cabinet. How would he make statements and answer questions in the HoC?
Of course, it isn’t unprecedented. Cameron was appointed Foreign Secretary during the dying embers of Sunak’s Premiership but it complicates the process of conducting government business and flies in the face of democracy.
