Keir Starmer
Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras ...
became
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
in the United Kingdom after being elected as
Leader of the Labour Party on 4 April 2020. He appointed his
Shadow Cabinet on 5 and 6 April.
Background
Following the
Labour Party's defeat in the
2019 general election, its leader
Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
stepped down and triggered a leadership election that would elect a new party leader and a new
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
. Six candidates declared for the election, with three receiving sufficient nominations to advance to the ballot.
Keir Starmer
Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras ...
, MP for
Holborn and St Pancras
Holborn and St Pancras () is a parliamentary constituency in Greater London that was created in 1983. It has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Sir Keir Starmer, the current Leade ...
and
Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
In British politics, the Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, or informally Shadow Brexit Secretary, was a position within the opposition's shadow cabinet that dealt with issues surrounding the UK withdrawal from the EU. T ...
, was elected over
Rebecca Long-Bailey
Rebecca Roseanne Long-Bailey (' Long; born 22 September 1979), is a British politician and former solicitor serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Salford and Eccles since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, Long-Bailey served in the Shadow ...
and
Lisa Nandy
Lisa Eva Nandy (born 9 August 1979) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Wigan since 2010.
N ...
.
Shadow Cabinet
November 2021 – present
May 2021 – November 2021
April 2020 – May 2021
Shadow Ministers by department
Other Shadow Ministers were appointed on 9 April 2020.
Shadow C-19 Committee
Six Shadow Cabinet members are also part of a Shadow
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
committee, created in 2020 and tasked with responding to the
current coronavirus outbreak. Chaired by party leader Keir Starmer, the committee includes:
Reshuffles
June 2020
On 25 June 2020,
Rebecca Long-Bailey
Rebecca Roseanne Long-Bailey (' Long; born 22 September 1979), is a British politician and former solicitor serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Salford and Eccles since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, Long-Bailey served in the Shadow ...
was sacked as
Shadow Secretary of State for Education
The Shadow Secretary of State for Education, also called the Shadow Education Secretary, is an office in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for Opposition policy on education and for holding the Secretary of State for Education, ...
for sharing an interview with
Maxine Peake
Maxine Peake (born 14 July 1974) is an English actress and narrator. She is known for her roles as Twinkle in the BBC One sitcom ''dinnerladies'' (1998–2000), Veronica Ball in the hit Channel 4 comedy drama '' Shameless'' (2004–2007), Marth ...
containing an allegation that
Mossad
Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...
had trained the US police to use the knee-on-neck restraint technique that was used in the murder of
George Floyd
George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...
, described by the Labour leader as "antisemitic
conspiracy theories
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
*
*
*
* The term has a nega ...
". She was replaced by
Kate Green
Katherine Anne Green OBE (born 2 May 1960) is a British politician, serving as Greater Manchester's Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime from January 2023. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford and Urmston between 2010 and 2022. A me ...
, who in turn was replaced by
Karen Buck
Karen Patricia Buck (born 30 August 1958) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Westminster North, previously Regent's Park and Kensington North, since 1997. A member of the Labour Party, she was Parliamentary Unde ...
in her previous role of
Shadow Minister for Social Security, renamed from Shadow Minister for Child Poverty Strategy.
May 2021
On 8 May 2021,
Angela Rayner
Angela Rayner (' Bowen; born 28 March 1980) is a British politician serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work since 2021. She has been Shad ...
was sacked as
Chair of the Labour Party
The Chair of the Labour Party is a position in the Labour Party of the United Kingdom. The Chair is responsible for administration of the party and overseeing general election campaigns, and is typically held concurrently with another position ...
and National Campaign Coordinator after the party's poor performance in the
2021 United Kingdom local elections
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
. She was later moved to Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office on 9 May 2021. Also on 9 May 2021,
Anneliese Dodds
Anneliese Jane Dodds (born 16 March 1978) is a British Labour and Co-operative politician and public policy analyst serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, and Chair of the Labour Party since 2021. She was Shadow Chancel ...
replaced Rayner as Chair and removed from the role of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. In turn,
Rachel Reeves
Rachel Jane Reeves (born 13 February 1979) is a British politician and economist serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010.
Born in Lewis ...
replaced Dodds as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, and so left the role she held, the Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, open for Rayner to be appointed to. Along with this, Opposition Chief Whip
Nick Brown
Nicholas Hugh Brown (born 13 June 1950) is a British Independent politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newcastle upon Tyne East since 1983, making him the fifth longest serving MP in the House of Commons. He is the longes ...
, left the Shadow Cabinet and was replaced with Opposition Deputy Chief Whip
Alan Campbell.
June 2021
on 22 June 2021, former MP and Starmer's political secretary
Jenny Chapman
Jennifer Chapman, Baroness Chapman of Darlington (born 25 September 1973) is a British politician and life peer attending shadow cabinet as a Shadow Minister of State at the Cabinet Office since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she served ...
(ennobled in 2020 as Baroness Chapman of Darlington), was made Shadow Minister of State, sitting in the shadow cabinet, to shadow
David Frost, Lord Frost.
November 2021
In a Shadow Cabinet reshuffle on 29 November 2021,
Yvette Cooper
Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department, Shadow Home Secretary since 2021, and previously from 2011 to 2015. She served in Gordon Brown's Brown ministry, Cabinet as ...
returned to the frontbench as
Shadow Home Secretary
In British politics, the Shadow Home Secretary (formally known as the Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department) is the person within the shadow cabinet who shadows the Home Secretary; this effectively means scrutinising government polic ...
.
Pat McFadden
Patrick Bosco McFadden (born 26 March 1965) is a British politician serving as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South East since 20 ...
joined the shadow cabinet as
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury is the most junior member of the Shadow Cabinet, and is the deputy to the Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury acts as the primary opposition to the equivalent G ...
as did
Peter Kyle
Peter Kyle (born 9 September 1970) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since 2021. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parl ...
who became
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), British Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and their department, th ...
.
Charlie Falconer,
Kate Green
Katherine Anne Green OBE (born 2 May 1960) is a British politician, serving as Greater Manchester's Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime from January 2023. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Stretford and Urmston between 2010 and 2022. A me ...
,
Luke Pollard
Luke Pollard (born 10 April 1980) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport since 2017. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, he has been Shadow Minister for the Armed For ...
and
Nia Griffith
Dame Nia Rhiannon Griffith (born 4 December 1956) is a Welsh politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Llanelli since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she has been a Shadow Minister for International Trade since 2021. Grif ...
all left.
Most members of the Shadow Cabinet had their portfolios changed, with
Lisa Nandy
Lisa Eva Nandy (born 9 August 1979) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Wigan since 2010.
N ...
moving from Foreign Affairs to
(A combination of Housing and Communities and Local Government).
Ed Miliband
Edward Samuel "Ed" Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband ...
became the revived portfolio of
Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero
The Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero is a post in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet. The Shadow Secretary originally helped hold the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and junior ministers to account ...
, with the Business and Industrial Strategy part of his former portfolio going to
Jonathan Reynolds
Jonathan Neil Reynolds (born 28 August 1980) is a British politician.
He has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy since 2021. A member of the Labour and Co-operative, Labour and Co-operative parties, he has ...
.
David Lammy
David Lindon Lammy (born 19 July 1972) is an English politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenh ...
took on Foreign Affairs and was replaced as
Shadow Lord Chancellor
The Shadow Lord Chancellor is the member of the British Shadow Cabinet who shadows the Lord Chancellor, an office which has existed since the Norman Conquest. Since 2010, the officeholder has jointly held the title Shadow Secretary of State for ...
by
Steve Reed.
Nick Thomas-Symonds
Nicklaus Thomas-Symonds (born 26 May 1980) is a British academic, barrister and politician who has been Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tor ...
became
Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade
In British politics, the Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade is a position within the opposition's shadow cabinet that deals with issues surrounding UK trade negotiations. If elected, the person designated as Shadow Secretary of St ...
, replacing
Emily Thornberry
Emily Anne Thornberry (born 27 July 1960) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington South and Finsbury since 2005. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wale ...
who became
Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales
The Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales is an office within British politics held by a member of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The duty of the office holder is to scrutinise the actions of the Attorney General for England and Wales a ...
.
Bridget Phillipson
Bridget Maeve Phillipson (born 19 December 1983) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Education since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament for Houghton and Sunderland South since ...
became
Shadow Secretary of State for Education
The Shadow Secretary of State for Education, also called the Shadow Education Secretary, is an office in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for Opposition policy on education and for holding the Secretary of State for Education, ...
,
Wes Streeting
Wesley Paul William Streeting (; born 21 January 1983) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since 2021, and Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford North since 2015.
He serv ...
became
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is an office within British politics held by a member of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The duty of the office holder is to scrutinise the actions of the government's Secretary of State f ...
,
Jonathan Ashworth
Jonathan Michael Graham Ashworth (born 14 October 1978) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions since 2021. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) f ...
became
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is an office within British politics held by a member of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition. The duty of the office holder is to scrutinise the actions of the government's Secretary of State for W ...
,
Lucy Powell
Lucy Maria Powell (born 10 October 1974) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport since 2021. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for ...
became
and
Jim McMahon
James Robert McMahon Jr. (born August 21, 1959) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. McMahon played college football at BYU, where he wa ...
became
,
Louise Haigh
Louise Margaret Haigh () (born 22 July 1987) is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sheffield Heeley at the 201 ...
was made
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
The Shadow Secretary of State for Transport is a political post in the United Kingdom. It has been consistently held by a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet since May 1979. The Shadow Secretary helps hold the Transport Secretary
...
and
Jo Stevens
Joanna Meriel Stevens (born 6 September 1966) is a Welsh politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales since 2021, and previously from 2016 to 2017. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Cardiff ...
was made
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
The Shadow Secretary of State for Wales or Shadow Welsh Secretary is a member of the UK Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Wales and his/her department, the Wales Office
, agency_type = Ministerial ...
.
The Shadow Secretaries of State for Mental Health and for International Development were demoted to shadow ministers, but still sitting in the shadow cabinet, at a rank similar to Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
Preet Gill
Preet Kaur Gill ( Punjabi: ਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਕੌਰ ਗਿੱਲ, born 21 November 1972) is a British politician serving as Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development since 2020. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, she ...
became
Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development
The shadow cabinet minister for international development is the lead spokesperson for the United Kingdom's Official Opposition on issues related to international aid, most notably to the third world. The shadow cabinet minister holds the Ministe ...
under the Shadow Foreign Secretary and
Rosena Allin-Khan
Rosena Chantelle Allin-Khan (born 10 May 1978) is a British doctor and politician serving as Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health since 2020. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting since the 2016 ...
became
Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health under the Shadow Health Secretary.
The position of
Shadow Secretary of State for Housing
The Shadow Secretary of State for Housing was a position in the United Kingdom's Shadow Cabinet that was created on 7 October 2016 by the Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn during a cabinet reshuffle. This position succeeds the position of ...
was combined with Communities and Local Government to become the
, to shadow the government department of the same name. The positions of
Shadow Secretary of State for Young People and Democracy
The Shadow Secretary of State for Young People and Democracy was a position in the Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
The role was established as Shadow Minister for Young People and Voter Registration by the Leader of the Opposition, Jer ...
,
Shadow Secretary of State for Child Poverty
The Shadow Secretary of State for Child Poverty was a position in the United Kingdom's Shadow Cabinet that was created on 9 May 2021 by the Leader of the Opposition, Keir Starmer during a cabinet reshuffle
A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle oc ...
and
were all abolished. The Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy role was split into
Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero
The Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero is a post in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet. The Shadow Secretary originally helped hold the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and junior ministers to account ...
and
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy
The Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy is an office within British politics held by a member of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition. The duty of the office holder is to scrutinise the actions of the government's Secre ...
.
See also
*
Frontbench Team of Stephen Flynn
The Frontbench Team of Stephen Flynn is the team of Scottish National Party Spokespersons in the House of Commons since 2022. The frontbench was appointed on 10 December 2022.
Flynn was elected leader of the SNP Westminster Group on 6 December ...
*
Official Opposition frontbench
The frontbench of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow Cabinet and other official shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. The Opposition front ...
*
Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom)
In British parliamentary practice, the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (usually known simply as the shadow cabinet) consists of senior members of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition who scrutinise their corresponding government ministers, devel ...
*
His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition (United Kingdom)
His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition, commonly known as the Official Opposition in the United Kingdom, is the main political opposition to His Majesty's Government. This is usually the political party with the second-largest number of seats in ...
*
List of British shadow cabinets
This is a list of the shadow cabinets of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the con ...
*
List of shadow holders of the Great Offices of State
This is a list shadow holders of the Great Offices of State in the United Kingdom's Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet since Hugh Gaitskell's Shadow Cabinet of 1955. The purpose of the Shadow Cabinet is to scrutinise the opposing ministers, dev ...
*
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of His Majesty's Government. A committee of the Privy Council, it is chaired by the prime minister and its members include secretaries of state and other senior ministers.
T ...
*
British Government frontbench
The Government frontbench in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, also known as the Treasury Bench, consists of the Cabinet and all other ministers.
Parliamentary opposition to the Government frontbench is provided by the Official Opposition f ...
Notes
References
{{UK Labour Party
2020 establishments in the United Kingdom
2020 in British politics
British shadow cabinets
Labour Party (UK) shadow cabinets
Official Opposition (United Kingdom)
Keir Starmer