Ed Miliband became Leader of the Labour Party and

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 ...

upon being elected to the former post on 25 September 2010. The election was triggered by Gordon Brown's resignation following the party's fall from power at the 2010 general election, which yielded a Conservative – Liberal Democrat Coalition. Miliband appointed his first Shadow Cabinet in October 2010, following the

Labour Party Shadow Cabinet elections Until they were abolished in 2011 it had been the tradition for the British Labour Party to hold elections to the Shadow Cabinet whenever the Party was in Opposition. Cabinet members would be elected by the MPs within the Parliamentary Labour Par ...

. These elections were the last such elections before they were abolished in 2011. Miliband conducted two major reshuffles in 2011 and 2013, with a number of minor changes throughout his term. Following the 2015 general election and Miliband's resignation, acting leader Harriet Harman announced a new shadow cabinet to last until the election of a new party leader in September 2015.

Shadow Cabinet from 2010 to 2015

Initial Shadow Cabinet

Miliband announced his first Shadow Cabinet on 8 October 2010 following the 2010 Shadow Cabinet elections. Under the party rules, as amended in 2010, the Shadow Cabinet comprised the Leader, the Deputy Leader, the Leader of the Labour Peers, the Chief Whips in both houses, and 19 MPs elected by the Parliamentary Labour Party. * Ed Miliband – Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party * Harriet Harman – Shadow Deputy Prime Minister,

Deputy 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 ...

, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and

Shadow Secretary of State 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 ...

* Alan Johnson – Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer * Yvette Cooper – Shadow Foreign Secretary and Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities * Ed Balls – Shadow Home Secretary *

Rosie Winterton Dame Rosalie Winterton, (born 10 August 1958) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster Central since 1997. In June 2017, Winterton became one of three Deputy Speakers in the House of Comm ...

– Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons *

Andy Burnham Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British politician who has served as Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. He served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2007 to 2008, Culture Secretary from 2008 ...

– Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Election Coordinator * Sadiq Khan –

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 ...

and Shadow Secretary of State for Justice (with responsibility for political and constitutional reform) * Liam Byrne – Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions *

John Denham John Denham may refer to: * John Denham (died 1556 or later), English MP for Shaftesbury * John Denham (judge), (1559–1639), father of the poet below, and one of the Ship Money judges * John Denham (poet) (1615–1669), English poet * John Denham ...

– Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills * John Healey –

Shadow Secretary of State for Health 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 ...

* Caroline Flint –

Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government The Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is a position with the UK Opposition's Shadow Cabinet; if the opposition party forms a new government, the designated person is a likely choice to become the new Levelli ...

Jim Murphy James Francis Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2014 to 2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2008 to 2010. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Ren ...

– Shadow Secretary of State for Defence * Meg Hillier – Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change * Hilary Benn –

Shadow Leader of the House of Commons The Shadow Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for working with the Leader of the House of Commons, Leader of the House in arrangin ...

and Shadow Lord Privy Seal * Maria Eagle – Shadow Secretary of State for Transport *

Mary Creagh Mary Helen Creagh (born 2 December 1967) is a British politician who served as chair of the Environmental Audit Select Committee from 2016 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Wakefield from 2005 to 201 ...

–

Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is a position with the UK Opposition's Shadow Cabinet that deals with issues surrounding the environment and food and rural affairs; if the opposition party is elected to govern ...

Angela Eagle Dame Angela Eagle DBE (born 17 February 1961) is a British Labour Party politician serving as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wallasey since 1992. Eagle was born in Yorkshire and studied PPE at the University of Oxford, before working for t ...

– Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury * Shaun Woodward –

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 ...

Ann McKechin Ann McKechin (born 22 April 1961) is a former British Labour Party politician and was Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Maryhill from 2001 until 2005 and Glasgow North from 2005 to 2015. She was a junior minister under Gordon Brown before b ...

– Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland * Peter Hain –

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 ...

* Ivan Lewis –

Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), previously Shadow Secretary of State for National Heritage and Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, is a position in the Official Opposition Shadow Ca ...

* Janet Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords * Liam Byrne – Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office * Tessa Jowell – Shadow Minister for the Olympics * Steve Lord Bassam of Brighton – Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords * Patricia Scotland –

Shadow Attorney General 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 ...

Also attending Shadow Cabinet meetings: *

Jon Trickett Jon Hedley Trickett (born 2 July 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hemsworth in West Yorkshire since a 1996 by-election. He was Shadow Lord President of the Council from 2016 to 2020 and s ...

– Shadow Minister of State for the Cabinet Office

Subsequent changes

* 20 January 2011: Johnson resigned as Shadow Chancellor and was replaced by Ed Balls, who was replaced by Cooper as Shadow Home Secretary. She (while remaining Shadow Equalities Minister) was succeeded as Shadow Foreign Secretary by Alexander, whom Byrne replaced as Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary. Jowell took Byrne's role as Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, while retaining her role as Shadow Olympics Minister.

2011 reshuffle

On 7 October 2011, Miliband conducted a major reshuffle of his Shadow Cabinet. This followed the Labour Party Conference at which delegates voted to allow the party leader to choose the membership of the Shadow Cabinet, eliminating elections by MPs. Healey chose to stand down from frontline politics and was replaced as Shadow Health Secretary by

, whose Education portfolio went to Stephen Twigg, a newcomer to the Shadow Cabinet, and whose responsibilities as Election Co-ordinator went to Tom Watson, also new to the Shadow Cabinet and who also was given the title "Deputy Chair of the Labour Party". Denham chose to stand down from the Business portfolio, becoming Miliband's

Parliamentary Private Secretary A Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) is a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom who acts as an unpaid assistant to a minister or shadow minister. They are selected from backbench MPs as the 'eyes and ears' of the minister in the H ...

. He was replaced by new Shadow Minister of State for Small Business, Chuka Umunna. Harman and Lewis swapped substantive portfolios (International Development to Lewis and Culture to Harman). Trickett took primary responsibility for shadowing the Cabinet Office from Jowell. The latter retained her position in the Shadow Cabinet as well as her roles as Shadow Minister for London and for the Olympics. Woodward (Northern Ireland) and McKechin (Scotland) were both left out of the Shadow Cabinet, being replaced by newcomers: Vernon Coaker and

Margaret Curran Margaret Patricia Curran (born 24 November 1958) is a Scottish Labour Party politician. She served in the British House of Commons as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow East from 2010 to 2015 and was Shadow Secretary of State for Scotl ...

, respectively. Hillier left the Shadow Cabinet, and was replaced at the Energy portfolio by Flint. She was in turn replaced at Communities and Local Government by Benn, whose role as Shadow Leader of the House went to Angela Eagle. She was replaced as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury by Rachel Reeves, who was new to the Shadow Cabinet. Hain retained his responsibilities and was named Chair of the National Policy Forum. Byrne likewise retained his portfolio and added "Policy Review Co-ordinator", reflecting work he had already taken on. Additionally, Emily Thornberry replaced Patricia Scotland as Shadow Attorney General, with the right to attend Shadow Cabinet, but not full membership. Three others obtained the right to attend Shadow Cabinet: Stewart Lord Wood of Anfield retained his role as a

Shadow Minister without Portfolio The Shadow Minister without Portfolio is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet. The postholder shadows the Minister without portfolio. The position was last held by Conor McGinn Conor Patrick McGinn (born 31 July 1984) is a Br ...

on the Shadow Cabinet Office team (i.e., the Opposition equivalent of the

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet. It is composed of various units that support Cabinet committees and which co-ordinate the delivery of government objecti ...

). Michael Dugher also became a Shadow Minister without Portfolio with the right to attend Shadow Cabinet meetings. Liz Kendall was appointed Shadow Minister for Care and Older People with the right to attend Shadow Cabinet. Finally, the Shadow Cabinet list announced on the day of the reshuffle did not note Khan, the Shadow Justice Secretary, as having "responsibility for political and constitutional reform" as it previously had. It is not clear whether he retained this responsibility or it transferred to Harman, whose title has been listed as "Shadow Deputy Prime Minister" instead of "Deputy Leader of the Opposition"; Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, was the Government minister with responsibility for political and constitutional reform. * Ed Miliband – Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party * Harriet Harman – Shadow Deputy Prime Minister,

, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Labour Party Chair * Ed Balls – Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer * Douglas Alexander – Shadow Foreign Secretary * Yvette Cooper – Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities * Sadiq Khan –

and Shadow Secretary of State for Justice *

– Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons *

–

* Stephen Twigg – Shadow Secretary of State for Education * Chuka Umunna – Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills *

– Shadow Secretary of State for Defence * Hilary Benn –

–

* Rachel Reeves – Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury * Caroline Flint – Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change * Tessa Jowell –

Shadow Minister for London The Minister for London is a United Kingdom Government ministerial post in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The officeholder is responsible for policy relating to London including informing Members of Parliament in the ...

and Shadow Minister for the Olympics * Maria Eagle – Shadow Secretary of State for Transport * Liam Byrne – Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Policy Review Co-ordinator * Ivan Lewis –

–

– Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office * Tom Watson – Deputy Chair of the Labour Party and Campaign Coordinator * Vernon Coaker –

– Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland * Peter Hain –

and Chair of the National Policy Forum * Janet Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords * Steve Lord Bassam of Brighton – Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords Also attending Shadow Cabinet meetings: * Liz Kendall – Shadow Minister for Care and Older People * Michael Dugher –

* Emily Thornberry –

* Stewart Lord Wood of Anfield –

Subsequent changes

* On 15 May 2012, following the resignation of Peter Hain as Shadow Welsh Secretary, Miliband conducted a mini-reshuffle: Owen Smith was appointed to replace Hain, while

Jon Cruddas Jonathan Cruddas (born 7 April 1962) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dagenham and Rainham since 2010, and formerly for Dagenham between 2001 and 2010. A graduate of the University of Warw ...

replaced Liam Byrne as Policy Review Co-ordinator. * On 11 September 2012, Dame Tessa Jowell left the shadow cabinet, after saying she planned to retire from frontline politics.

2013 reshuffle

On 7 October 2013, Ed Miliband carried out a reshuffle of his front bench team. The moves included demotions of prominent Blairites including

, who went from Defence to International Development, and Ivan Lewis who moved from International Development to the shadow Northern Ireland portfolio. Also, Liam Byrne and Stephen Twigg moved respectively from Work and Pensions and from Education to junior shadow ministerial positions at Business and Education. Prominent promotions included Tristram Hunt to Education, Rachel Reeves to Work and Pensions, Vernon Coaker to Defence, and Chris Leslie to Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Douglas Alexander was appointed Chair of General Election Strategy and Planning. * Ed Miliband – Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party * Harriet Harman – Shadow Deputy Prime Minister,

, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Labour Party Chair * Ed Balls – Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer * Douglas Alexander – Shadow Foreign Secretary and Chair of the General Election Strategy and Planning * Yvette Cooper – Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities * Sadiq Khan –

and Shadow Secretary of State for Justice *

– Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons *

–

* Tristram Hunt – Shadow Secretary of State for Education * Chuka Umunna – Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills * Vernon Coaker – Shadow Secretary of State for Defence *

–

* Hilary Benn –

–

* Rachel Reeves – Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions * Caroline Flint – Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change *

– Shadow Secretary of State for Transport * Maria Eagle –

* Chris Leslie – Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury *

– Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland * Ivan Lewis –

* Owen Smith –

* Gloria De Piero – Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities * Michael Dugher – Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Head of Communications *

–

and Deputy Party Chair * Janet Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – Shadow Leader of the House of Lords Also attending Shadow Cabinet meetings: *

Emma Reynolds Emma Elizabeth Reynolds (born 2 November 1977) is a British Labour politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton North East from 2010 to 2019, and the Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in ...

– Shadow Minister for Housing * Liz Kendall – Shadow Minister for Care and Older People * Emily Thornberry –

– Chair of the Labour Party Policy Review * Stewart Lord Wood of Anfield –

* Steve Lord Bassam of Brighton – Labour Chief Whip in the House of Lords *

Glenis Willmott Dame Glenis Willmott, ('' née'' Scott; born 4 March 1951) is a retired British Labour Party politician who served as leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP) and Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands. Ea ...

- Leader of the

EPLP The European Parliamentary Labour Party (EPLP) was the parliamentary party of the British Labour Party in the European Parliament. The EPLP was part of the pan-European Group of Socialists and Democrats (S&D), (with MEPs from sister parties such as ...

Subsequent changes

* On 2 November 2014,

resigned as Shadow International Development Secretary to campaign for the leadership of the

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak o ...

. Subsequently, on 5 November, a number of changes to the composition of the shadow cabinet were announced: Shadow Transport Secretary

replaced Murphy at International Development, who was replaced by Michael Dugher, hitherto the Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office; he was in turn replaced by Lucy Powell. * On 20 November 2014, Emily Thornberry resigned as Shadow Attorney General following a backlash resulting from her sending of a controversial tweet. Willy Lord Bach was named as her replacement on 3 December.

References

External links

* {{UK Labour Party Ed Miliband Miliband Official Opposition (United Kingdom) 2010 establishments in the United Kingdom British shadow cabinets 2010 in British politics 2015 disestablishments in the United Kingdom

Shadow Cabinet from 2010 to 2015

Initial Shadow Cabinet

Subsequent changes

2011 reshuffle

Subsequent changes

2013 reshuffle

Subsequent changes

See also

References

External links