Keir Starmer became Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom after being elected as Leader of the Labour Party on 4 April 2020.[1] He appointed his Shadow Cabinet on 5 and 6 April. Starmer has reshuffled his Shadow Cabinet five times: in June 2020, May 2021, June 2021, November 2021 and September 2023.
Starmer Shadow Cabinet | |
|---|---|
 Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom | |
| 2020–present | |
 | |
| Date formed | 4 April 2020 |
| People and organisations | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II Charles III |
| Leader of the Opposition | Keir Starmer |
| Shadow Deputy PM | Angela Rayner |
| Member party | |
| Status in legislature | Official Opposition 200 / 650 (31%) |
| History | |
| Legislature term(s) | 58th UK Parliament |
| Incoming formation | 2020 leadership election |
| Predecessor | Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn |
Background edit
Following the Labour Party's defeat in the 2019 general election, its leader Jeremy Corbyn stepped down and triggered a leadership election that would elect a new party leader and a new Leader of the Opposition.[2] Six candidates declared for the election, with three receiving sufficient nominations to advance to the ballot. Keir Starmer, MP for Holborn and St Pancras and Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, was elected over Rebecca Long-Bailey and Lisa Nandy.[3]
The Shadow Cabinet has been described as being dominated by Blairites since the last reshuffle in 2023.[4][5]
Shadow Cabinet edit
September 2023 – Present edit
.jpg)
November 2021 – September 2023 edit
| Sits in the House of Commons | |
| Sits in the House of Lords |
May 2021 – November 2021 edit
| Sits in the House of Commons | |
| Sits in the House of Lords |
April 2020 – May 2021 edit
| Sits in the House of Commons | |
| Sits in the House of Lords |
Shadow Ministers by department edit
Other Shadow Ministers were appointed on 9 April 2020.[7]
Reshuffles edit
June 2020 edit
On 25 June 2020, Rebecca Long-Bailey was sacked as Shadow Secretary of State for Education for sharing an interview with Maxine Peake containing an allegation that Mossad had trained the US police to use the knee-on-neck restraint technique that was used in the murder of George Floyd, described by the Labour leader as "antisemitic conspiracy theories".[10] She was replaced by Kate Green,[11] who in turn was replaced by Karen Buck in her previous role of Shadow Minister for Social Security, renamed from Shadow Minister for Child Poverty Strategy.[12]
May 2021 edit
On 8 May 2021, Angela Rayner was sacked as Chair of the Labour Party and National Campaign Coordinator after the party's poor performance in the 2021 United Kingdom local elections. 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 replaced Rayner as Chair[13] and removed from the role of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. In turn, Rachel Reeves replaced Dodds as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer,[14] 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, left the Shadow Cabinet and was replaced with Opposition Deputy Chief Whip Alan Campbell.[15]
June 2021 edit
On 22 June 2021, former MP and Starmer's political secretary Jenny Chapman (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 edit
In a Shadow Cabinet reshuffle on 29 November 2021, Yvette Cooper returned to the frontbench as Shadow Home Secretary.[16] Pat McFadden joined the shadow cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury as did Peter Kyle who became Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. Charlie Falconer, Kate Green, Luke Pollard and Nia Griffith all left.
Most members of the Shadow Cabinet had their portfolios changed, with Lisa Nandy moving from Foreign Affairs to Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (A combination of Housing and Communities and Local Government). Ed Miliband became the revived portfolio of Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero, with the Business and Industrial Strategy part of his former portfolio going to Jonathan Reynolds. David Lammy took on Foreign Affairs and was replaced as Shadow Lord Chancellor by Steve Reed. Nick Thomas-Symonds became Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade, replacing Emily Thornberry who became Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales. Bridget Phillipson became Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Wes Streeting became Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Jonathan Ashworth became Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Lucy Powell became Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Jim McMahon became Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Louise Haigh was made Shadow Secretary of State for Transport and Jo Stevens was made Shadow Secretary of State for Wales.
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 became Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development under the Shadow Foreign Secretary and Rosena Allin-Khan became Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health under the Shadow Health Secretary.
The position of Shadow Secretary of State for Housing was combined with Communities and Local Government to become the Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to shadow the government department of the same name. The positions of Shadow Secretary of State for Young People and Democracy, Shadow Secretary of State for Child Poverty and Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights and Protections 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 and Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy.
2023 edit
Starmer reshuffled his shadow cabinet the same week that Members of Parliament return to Westminster following their summer break.[17] The reshuffle was described as a promotion of those politically on the right of the party and giving the political right "complete control".[18][19]
See also edit
- Labour Party leadership of Keir Starmer
- Frontbench Team of Stephen Flynn
- Official Opposition frontbench
- Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom)
- His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition (United Kingdom)
- List of British shadow cabinets
- List of shadow holders of the Great Offices of State
- Cabinet of the United Kingdom
- British Government frontbench
Notes edit
References edit
- ^ "Keir Starmer elected as new Labour leader". BBC News. 4 April 2020. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ Watson, Iain (13 December 2019). "General election 2019: Does Labour need a new direction after Corbyn?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ Rowena Mason (4 April 2020). "Keir Starmer wins Labour leadership election". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ Jones, Owen (4 September 2023). "After the reshuffle, Blairites dominate Starmer's shadow cabinet. That's bad news for the rest of us". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ Chaplain, Chloe (4 September 2023). "Keir Starmer purges soft left and surrounds himself with Blairites for General Election push". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ a b c "Keir Starmer appoints Shadow Cabinet". The Labour Party. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Keir Starmer appoints Labour frontbench". The Labour Party. Archived from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ a b c "Our Shadow Cabinet". The Labour Party. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- ^ https://twitter.com/JoStevensLabour
- ^ Walker, Peter (25 June 2020). "Keir Starmer sacks Rebecca Long-Bailey from shadow cabinet". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ "Labour party: Kate Green appointed as shadow education secretary". BBC News. 27 June 2020. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- ^ Karen Buck [@KarenPBuckMP] (5 July 2020). "Looking forward to working with @jreynoldsMP @LabourDWP" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Starmer faces backlash over sacking of Angela Rayner after election losses". The Guardian. 9 May 2021. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "Rachel Reeves replaces Anneliese Dodds as Starmer begins Labour reshuffle". The Independent. 9 May 2021. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "Sir Keir Starmer reshuffles Labour frontbench amid poll recriminations". Sky News. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
- ^ "Labour reshuffle: Yvette Cooper becomes shadow home secretary". BBC News. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ Scott, Geraldine (3 September 2023). "Big guns safe as Sir Keir Starmer reshuffles Labour pack". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
- ^ Dawson, Bethany; Honeycombe-Foster, Matt (4 September 2023). "Keir Starmer bolsters UK Labour's right flank in sweeping reshuffle". Politico. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ Brown, Alexander (4 September 2023). "Labour reshuffle: Sir Keir Starmer's reshuffle purges left with right in complete control as Lisa Nandy suffers demotion". The Scotsman. Retrieved 28 September 2023.