Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer

Starmer Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom
2020–present
Date formed	4 April 2020
People and organisations
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Leader of the Opposition	Keir Starmer
Shadow First Secretary	Angela Rayner
Member party	Labour Party
Status in legislature	Official Opposition 199 / 650 (31%)
History
Legislature term(s)	58th UK Parliament
Incoming formation	2020 leadership election
Predecessor	Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn

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] Starmer 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 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.

Shadow Cabinet[]

November 2021 – present[]

Key

	Sits in the House of Commons
	Sits in the House of Lords

Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom^[3][4][5] []

Portfolio	Shadow Minister			Constituency	Term
Shadow cabinet ministers
Leader of the Opposition Leader of the Labour Party			Keir Starmer[a]	Holborn and St Pancras	Apr 2020–present
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Deputy Leader of the Opposition Shadow First Secretary of State			Angela Rayner[a]	Ashton-under-Lyne	Apr 2020–present
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work					May 2021–present
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer			Rachel Reeves	Leeds West	May 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs			David Lammy[a]	Tottenham	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department			Yvette Cooper[a]	Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Lord Chancellor Shadow Secretary of State for Justice			Steve Reed	Croydon North	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence			John Healey[a]	Wentworth and Dearne	Apr 2020–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero			Ed Miliband[a]	Doncaster North	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy			Jonathan Reynolds	Stalybridge and Hyde	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade			Nick Thomas-Symonds[a]	Torfaen	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions			Jonathan Ashworth[a]	Leicester South	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care			Wes Streeting	Ilford North	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Education			Bridget Phillipson	Houghton and Sunderland South	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport			Lucy Powell	Manchester Central	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs			Jim McMahon	Oldham West and Royton	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities			Lisa Nandy	Wigan	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport			Louise Haigh	Sheffield Heeley	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland			Peter Kyle	Hove	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland			Ian Murray	Edinburgh South	Apr 2020–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales			Jo Stevens[6]	Cardiff Central	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities			Anneliese Dodds	Oxford East	Sept 2021–present
Chair of the Labour Party					May 2021–present
Shadow Minister of State at the Cabinet Office			Baroness Chapman of Darlington	N/A	Jun 2021–present
Also attending shadow cabinet meetings
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury			Pat McFadden[a]	Wolverhampton South East	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development			Preet Gill	Birmingham Edgbaston	Apr 2020–present
Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health			Rosena Allin-Khan	Tooting	Apr 2020–present
Labour Party National Campaign Coordinator			Shabana Mahmood	Birmingham Ladywood	May 2021–present
Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales			Emily Thornberry[a]	Islington South and Finsbury	Nov 2021–present
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons			Thangam Debbonaire	Bristol West	May 2021–present
Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons			Alan Campbell[a]	Tynemouth	May 2021–present
Shadow Leader of the House of Lords			Baroness Smith of Basildon[a]	N/A	May 2015–present
Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords			Lord Kennedy of Southwark	N/A	Jun 2021–present

May 2021 – November 2021[]

Key

	Sits in the House of Commons
	Sits in the House of Lords

Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom^[7][4][8] []

Portfolio	Shadow Minister			Constituency	Term
Shadow cabinet ministers
Leader of the Opposition Leader of the Labour Party			Keir Starmer[a]	Holborn and St Pancras	Apr 2020–present
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Deputy Leader of the Opposition Shadow First Secretary of State			Angela Rayner[a]	Ashton-under-Lyne	Apr 2020–present
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work					May 2021–present
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer			Rachel Reeves	Leeds West	May 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs			Lisa Nandy	Wigan	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department			Nick Thomas-Symonds[a]	Torfaen	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Lord Chancellor Shadow Secretary of State for Justice			David Lammy[a]	Tottenham	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence			John Healey[a]	Wentworth and Dearne	Apr 2020–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy			Ed Miliband[a]	Doncaster North	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade			Emily Thornberry[a]	Islington South and Finsbury	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions			Jonathan Reynolds	Stalybridge and Hyde	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care			Jonathan Ashworth[a]	Leicester South	Oct 2016 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Education			Kate Green	Stretford and Urmston	Jun 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport			Jo Stevens	Cardiff Central	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs			Luke Pollard	Plymouth Sutton and Devonport	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government			Steve Reed	Croydon North	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Housing			Lucy Powell	Manchester Central	May 2021 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport			Jim McMahon	Oldham West and Royton	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development			Preet Gill	Birmingham Edgbaston	Apr 2020–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland			Louise Haigh	Sheffield Heeley	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland			Ian Murray	Edinburgh South	Apr 2020–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales			Nia Griffith	Llanelli	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities			Anneliese Dodds	Oxford East	Sept 2021–present
Chair of the Labour Party					May 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights and Protections			Andy McDonald	Middlesbrough	Apr 2020 – Sep 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Mental Health[b]			Rosena Allin-Khan	Tooting	Apr 2020–present[b]
Shadow Secretary of State for Young People and Democracy[b]			Cat Smith	Lancaster and Fleetwood	Jun 2016 – Nov 2021[b]
Shadow Secretary of State for Child Poverty			Wes Streeting	Ilford North	May 2021 – Nov 2021
Shadow Minister of State at the Cabinet Office			Jenny Chapman	N/A	Jun 2021–present
Also attending shadow cabinet meetings
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury			Bridget Phillipson	Houghton and Sunderland South	Apr 2020–present
Labour Party National Campaign Coordinator			Shabana Mahmood	Birmingham Ladywood	May 2021–present
Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales			Charlie Falconer[a]	N/A	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons			Thangam Debbonaire	Bristol West	May 2021–present
Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons			Alan Campbell[a]	Tynemouth	May 2021–present
Shadow Leader of the House of Lords			Angela Smith[a]	N/A	May 2015–present
Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords			Roy Kennedy	N/A	Jun 2021–present

April 2020 – May 2021[]

Key

	Sits in the House of Commons
	Sits in the House of Lords

Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom^[9][10][11][]

Portfolio	Shadow Minister			Constituency	Term
Shadow cabinet ministers
Leader of the Opposition Leader of the Labour Party			Keir Starmer[a]	Holborn and St Pancras	Apr 2020–present
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Shadow First Secretary of State Chair of the Labour Party			Angela Rayner[a]	Ashton-under-Lyne	Apr 2020–present
Chair of the Labour Party					Apr 2020 – May 2021
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer			Anneliese Dodds	Oxford East	Apr 2020 – May 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs			Lisa Nandy	Wigan	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department			Nick Thomas-Symonds[a]	Torfaen	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office			Rachel Reeves	Leeds West	Apr 2020 – May 2021
Shadow Lord Chancellor Shadow Secretary of State for Justice			David Lammy[a]	Tottenham	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence			John Healey[a]	Wentworth and Dearne	Apr 2020–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy			Ed Miliband[a]	Doncaster North	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade			Emily Thornberry[a]	Islington South and Finsbury	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions			Jonathan Reynolds	Stalybridge and Hyde	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care			Jonathan Ashworth[a]	Leicester South	Oct 2016 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Education			Kate Green	Stretford and Urmston	Jun 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport			Jo Stevens	Cardiff Central	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury			Bridget Phillipson	Houghton and Sunderland South	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs			Luke Pollard	Plymouth Sutton and Devonport	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government			Steve Reed	Croydon North	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Housing			Thangam Debbonaire	Bristol West	Apr 2020 – May 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport			Jim McMahon	Oldham West and Royton	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development			Preet Gill	Birmingham Edgbaston	Apr 2020–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland			Louise Haigh	Sheffield Heeley	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland			Ian Murray	Edinburgh South	Apr 2020–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales			Nia Griffith	Llanelli	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities			Anneliese Dodds	Oxford East	Sep 2021–present
Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights and Protections			Andy McDonald	Middlesbrough	Apr 2020–present
Also attending shadow cabinet meetings
Shadow Minister for Mental Health			Rosena Allin-Khan	Tooting	Apr 2020–present
Shadow Minister for Young People and Voter Engagement			Cat Smith	Lancaster and Fleetwood	Jun 2016 – Nov 2021
Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales			Charlie Falconer[a]	Not applicable	Apr 2020 – Nov 2021
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons			Valerie Vaz[a]	Walsall South	Oct 2016 – May 2021
Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons			Nick Brown[a]	Newcastle upon Tyne East	Oct 2016 – May 2021
Shadow Leader of the House of Lords			Angela Smith[a]	Not applicable	May 2015–present
Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords			Tommy McAvoy[a]	Not applicable	Jan 2018 – Jun 2021

Shadow Ministers by department[]

Other Shadow Ministers were appointed on 9 April 2020.^[10]

Shadow C-19 Committee[]

Seven Shadow Cabinet members are also part of a Shadow COVID-19 committee, created in 2020 and tasked with responding to the current coronavirus outbreak. Chaired by party leader Keir Starmer, the committee includes:^[12]

Name	Position
Keir Starmer	Leader of the Opposition Leader of the Labour Party
Angela Rayner	Shadow First Secretary of State Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
Wes Streeting	Shadow Health Secretary
Rachel Reeves	Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
David Lammy	Shadow Foreign Secretary
Yvette Cooper	Shadow Home Secretary

Reshuffles[]

June 2020[]

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 that killed George Floyd, described by the Labour leader as "anti-Semitic conspiracy theories".^[13] She was replaced by Kate Green,^[14] 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.^[15]

May 2021[]

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 May 9, 2021. Also on May 9, 2021, Anneliese Dodds replaced Rayner as Chair^[16] and removed from the role of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. In turn, Rachel Reeves replaced Dodds as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer,^[17] 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.^[18]

June 2021[]

on 22 June 2021, former MP and Starmer's political secretary Jenny Chapman, Baroness Chapman of Darlington, was made Shadow Minister of State, sitting in the shadow cabinet, to shadow Lord Frost,

November 2021[]

In a Shadow Cabinet reshuffle on 29 November 2021, Yvette Cooper returned to the frontbench as Shadow Home Secretary.^[19] 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. Lord 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 Secretary of States for Mental Health and 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.

See also[]

• Official Opposition frontbench
• Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom)
• Her 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[]

References[]