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. Miliba ...

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 James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony ...

'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. 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 Harriet Ruth Harman (born 30 July 1950) is a British politician and solicitor who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell and Peckham, formerly Peckham, since 1982. A member of the Labour Party, she has served in various Cabi ...

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 In UK politics, the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) is the parliamentary group of the Labour Party in Parliament, i.e. Labour MPs as a collective body. Commentators on the British Constitution sometimes draw a distinction between the Labour ...

. *

– Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party *

– Shadow Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, 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 Minist ...

Alan Johnson Alan Arthur Johnson (born 17 May 1950) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2006 to 2007, Secretary of State for Health from 2007 to 2009, Home Secretary from 2009 to 2010, and Shadow Chanc ...

–

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is given at the gift of the Leader of the Opposition and ...

Yvette Cooper Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician serving as Shadow Home Secretary since 2021, and previously from 2011 to 2015. She served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2008 to 2009 and Work and Pen ...

– Shadow Foreign Secretary and

Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities The Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities (previously Shadow Minister for Women, Shadow Minister for Women and Equality, Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities) is a position in the United Kingdom's Official Opposition, and sits in ...

Ed Balls Edward Michael Balls (born 25 February 1967) is a British broadcaster, writer, economist, professor and former politician who served as Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from 2007 to 2010, and as Shadow Chancellor of the Ex ...

–

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 poli ...

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 Com ...

– 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 200 ...

–

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, ...

and Election Coordinator *

Sadiq Khan Sadiq Aman Khan (; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's sof ...

–

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 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 ...

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 Den ...

–

Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 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 Secr ...

* 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 ...

Caroline Flint Caroline Louise Flint (born 20 September 1961) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Don Valley from 1997 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she attended the Cabinet of the United Kingdom as Minister for Hous ...

– Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government * Jim Murphy –

Shadow Secretary of State for Defence The Shadow Secretary of State for Defence is a member of the UK Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Defence and the department, the Ministry of Defence. The post is currently held by John Healey. Shadow S ...

Meg Hillier Dame Margaret Olivia Hillier (born 14 February 1969), known as Meg Hillier, is a British Labour and Co-operative politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney South and Shoreditch at the 2005 general election, was a ...

–

Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 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 ...

Hilary Benn Hilary James Wedgwood Benn (born 26 November 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeds Central since a by-election in 1999. He served in the Cabinet from 2003 to 2010, under both Tony Bla ...

–

Shadow Leader of the House of Commons The Shadow Leader of the House of Commons is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for working with the Leader of the House in arranging Commons business and holding the Government to account in its overall management ...

and Shadow Lord Privy Seal * Maria Eagle –

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 ...

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 2 ...

–

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 ...

–

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 ...

* Shaun Woodward –

Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is a member of the British Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and their department, the Northern Ireland Office. The post is currently hel ...

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 ...

–

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland The Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland is a member of the UK Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Scotland and his/her department, the Scotland Office. The incumbent holder of the office is Ian Murray. ...

Peter Hain Peter Gerald Hain, Baron Hain (born 16 February 1950), is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2005 to 2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2007 to 2008 and twice as Secretary of State ...

– Shadow Secretary of State for Wales *

Ivan Lewis Ivan Lewis (born 4 March 1967) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bury South from 1997 to 2019, initially as a member of the Labour Party then as an independent from 2017. After serving in various ministeria ...

– Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport * Janet Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords * Liam Byrne –

Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office The Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office is a position in the British Shadow Cabinet, appointed by the Leader of the Opposition. The post involves holding the Cabinet Office and the Minister for the Cabinet Office to account. The position is ...

Tessa Jowell Tessa Jane Helen Douglas Jowell, Baroness Jowell, (; 18 September 1947 – 12 May 2018) was a British Labour Party politician and life peer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dulwich and West Norwood, previously Dulwich, from ...

–

Shadow Minister for the Olympics The Minister for the Olympics was a position within the United Kingdom Government created on 6 July 2005 as a result of the selection of London to host the 2012 Summer Olympics. It was merged into the position of Secretary of State for Culture, Ol ...

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

Patricia Scotland Patricia Janet Scotland, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, (born 19 August 1955), is a British diplomat, barrister and politician, serving as the sixth secretary-general of the Commonwealth of Nations. She was elected at the 2015 Commonwealth Head ...

–

Shadow Attorney General The Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales is an office within British politics The United Kingdom is a unitary state with devolution that is governed within the framework of a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional mona ...

Also attending Shadow Cabinet meetings: * Jon Trickett – Shadow Minister of State for the Cabinet Office

Subsequent changes

* 20 January 2011: Johnson resigned as Shadow Chancellor and was replaced by

, 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 Stephen Twigg (born 25 December 1966) is a British Labour Co-op politician who was Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate from 1997 to 2005, and for Liverpool West Derby from 2010 to 2019. He came to national prominence in 1997 by winning ...

, 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 ...

. He was replaced by new Shadow Minister of State for Small Business,

Chuka Umunna Chuka Harrison Umunna (; born 17 October 1978) is a British retired politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Streatham from 2010 until 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he was part of the Shadow Cabinet from 2011 to ...

. 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 Scot ...

, 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 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 ...

, 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 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 ...

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 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 object ...

Michael Dugher Michael Vincent Dugher (pronounced ; born 26 April 1975) is a former British Labour politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Barnsley East at the 2010 general election. He has held several senior positions within the par ...

also became a Shadow Minister without Portfolio with the right to attend Shadow Cabinet meetings.

Liz Kendall Elizabeth Louise Kendall (born 11 June 1971) is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester West since 2010. Kendall was educated at Queens' College, Cambridge, where she read history. From 2011 to 2 ...

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 Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicep ...

, the Deputy Prime Minister, was the Government minister with responsibility for political and constitutional reform. *

– Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party *

– Shadow Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Labour Party Chair *

–

Douglas Alexander Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967) is a Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, previously Paisley South, from 1997 until his defeat in 2015. During this time, he served as ...

– Shadow Foreign Secretary *

–

and

–

and Shadow Secretary of State for Justice *

– Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons *

–

* Jim Murphy –

– Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government *

–

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

* Maria Eagle –

* Liam Byrne –

and Policy Review Co-ordinator *

–

* Jon Trickett –

* Tom Watson – Deputy Chair of the Labour Party and Campaign Coordinator * Vernon Coaker –

–

– Shadow Secretary of State for Wales 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: *

– Shadow Minister for Care and Older People *

– Shadow Minister without Portfolio *

–

* Stewart Lord Wood of Anfield – Shadow Minister without Portfolio

Subsequent changes

* On 15 May 2012, following the resignation of Peter Hain as Shadow Welsh Secretary, Miliband conducted a mini-reshuffle:

Owen Smith Owen Smith (born 2 May 1970) is a former Labour Party politician and subsequently a British lobbyist, who has been the UK government relations director for pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb since 2020. Smith was Member of Parliamen ...

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 Warwic ...

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,

carried out a reshuffle of his front bench team. The moves included demotions of prominent Blairites including Jim Murphy, who went from Defence to International Development, and

who moved from International Development to the shadow Northern Ireland portfolio. Also, Liam Byrne and

moved respectively from Work and Pensions and from Education to junior shadow ministerial positions at Business and Education. Prominent promotions included

Tristram Hunt Tristram Julian William Hunt, (born 31 May 1974) is a British historian, broadcast journalist and former politician who has been Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum since 2017. He served as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Sto ...

to Education,

to Work and Pensions, Vernon Coaker to Defence, and Chris Leslie to

was appointed Chair of General Election Strategy and Planning. *

– Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party *

– Shadow Deputy Prime Minister, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and Labour Party Chair *

–

– Shadow Foreign Secretary and Chair of the General Election Strategy and Planning *

–

and

–

and Shadow Secretary of State for Justice *

– Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons *

–

* Vernon Coaker –

* Jim Murphy –

– Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government *

–

* Maria Eagle –

* Chris Leslie –

–

– Shadow Secretary of State for Wales *

Gloria De Piero Gloria De Piero (born 21 December 1972) is a British television and radio presenter, and former Labour Party politician. Prior to her political career, she was the political editor of GMTV. A member of the Labour Party, she was first electe ...

–

and Head of Communications * Jon Trickett – Shadow Minister without Portfolio and Deputy Party Chair * Janet Baroness Royall of Blaisdon –

Shadow Leader of the House of Lords The Shadow Leader of the House of Lords, also referred as the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords, is the person who leads the Official Opposition in the House of Lords. Their job is to work with the Leader, Lord Speaker and other sen ...

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 ...

– Shadow Minister for Housing *

– Shadow Minister for Care and Older People *

–

– Chair of the Labour Party Policy Review * Stewart Lord Wood of Anfield – Shadow Minister without Portfolio * Steve Lord Bassam of Brighton –

Labour Chief Whip The Chief Whip of the Labour Party oversees the whipping system in the party, which is responsible for ensuring that Labour MPs or members of the House of Lords attend and vote in parliament in the desired way of the party leadership. Chief W ...

in the House of Lords * Glenis Willmott - 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 ...

Subsequent changes

* On 2 November 2014, Jim Murphy resigned as Shadow International Development Secretary to campaign for the

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...

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 of ...

. 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

, hitherto the Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office; he was in turn replaced by

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 ...

. * On 20 November 2014,

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