Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer
Starmer Shadow Cabinet | |
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 Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom | |
| 2020–present | |
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| 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 203 / 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] 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.
The Shadow Cabinet has been described as being dominated by Blairites since the last reshuffle in 2023.[2][3]
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Elections
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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.[4] 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.[5]
Shadow Cabinet[edit]
September 2023 – present[edit]
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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]
In April 2020, Starmer's shadow cabinet was appointed over the course of the week following the leadership election, which included former leader Ed Miliband, as well as both of the candidates he defeated in the contest. He also appointed Anneliese Dodds as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, making her the first woman to serve in that position in either a ministerial or shadow ministerial capacity.[10]
On 25 June 2020, Starmer dismissed his former leadership rival Rebecca Long-Bailey from her post as Shadow Secretary of State for Education. Long-Bailey had refused to delete a tweet calling the actress Maxine Peake an "absolute diamond" and linking to an interview in The Independent in which Peake said that the practice of kneeling on someone's neck by US police, as used in the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, was "learnt from seminars with Israeli secret services". The original article stated that "the Israeli police has denied this."[11] Starmer said that because the article "contained anti-Semitic conspiracy theories" it should not have been shared by Long-Bailey.[12][13] The decision to dismiss Long-Bailey was criticised by the Socialist Campaign Group, whose members met with Starmer about the decision.[14] The decision was welcomed by some Jewish groups including the Board of Deputies and the Jewish Labour Movement. Starmer said that "restoring trust with the Jewish community is a number one priority. Antisemitism takes many different forms and it is important that we all are vigilant against it."[15][16] On 27 June, he replaced her with Kate Green.[17]
On 23 September 2020, three frontbenchers (Olivia Blake, Nadia Whittome, and Beth Winter) rebelled against Labour's position of abstention on the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill and voted against the bill; all three lost their frontbench roles over the issue. This move was seen as an indication of the firm discipline Starmer intended to exert over his party.[18]
In the third reading of the Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill on 15 October 2020, the Labour Party stance was to abstain yet 34 Labour MPs rebelled, including shadow ministers Dan Carden and Margaret Greenwood, and five parliamentary private secretaries who all resigned from their frontbench roles. These 34 were penalised the next day by being put on probation for going against the one-line whip to abstain.[19]
In April 2023, after writing an article in The Observer, former Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott was suspended as a Labour MP pending an investigation.[20][21] In the article, Abbott claimed that although "many types of white people with points of difference" such as Jewish, Irish or Traveller people can experience prejudice, they are not subject to racism "all their lives".[21][20] Abbott later apologised for the article, saying that she had erroneously sent an early draft of her article.[20] A Labour Party statement said that the comments were "deeply offensive and wrong".[21] Starmer said that she was suspended due to anti-Semitism.[20]
In June 2023, Neal Lawson, the chair of the centre-left think tank, Compass, faced possible expulsion from the Labour Party after 44 years of membership due to tweeting in 2021 in favour of other political parties working together with Labour against the Tories.[22] In response to being notified of his possible expulsion, Lawson said that the party had become obsessed with "petty tyranny" and under the leadership of Keir Starmer the party had been captured by a clique who are "behaving like playground bullies".[22] Labour MP Jon Cruddas accused the party under Starmer of being right-wing, illiberal and of enacting a "witch-hunt", calling the decision regarding Lawson a "disgrace".[23]
Reshuffles[edit]
May 2021 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle[edit]
In the aftermath of relatively poor results in the 2021 local elections, Starmer carried out a May 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle. Starmer dismissed Angela Rayner as Chair of the Labour Party and National Campaign Coordinator following the elections.[24][25] The move was criticised by John McDonnell, former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester.[26][27] The major outcome of the reshuffle was the demotion of the Shadow Chancellor, Anneliese Dodds.[28] Rachel Reeves was appointed as the new Shadow Chancellor and Angela Rayner succeeded Reeves as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Nick Brown was dismissed as Chief Whip and replaced by his deputy, Alan Campbell. Valerie Vaz departed as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and was replaced by Thangam Debbonaire, who in turn was succeeded as Shadow Secretary of State for Housing by Lucy Powell. On 11 May 2021, Starmer's Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) Carolyn Harris resigned, which The Times reported was after allegedly spreading false rumours about the private life of Angela Rayner prior to her dismissal.[29][30] Sharon Hodgson was appointed as Starmer's new PPS.[31]
November 2021 Shadow Cabinet reshuffle[edit]
The November 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle, which was considered a surprise,[32] included the promotion of Yvette Cooper and David Lammy to Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Foreign Secretary, respectively, while Miliband was moved from Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy to Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero. The appointment of Cooper in particular was described by some commentators as a sign of Labour further splitting from the Corbyn leadership and moving to the right.[33] The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg and Robert Peston of ITV News said that the reshuffle aimed to "combine experience and youth" and end "the fatuous project of trying to ... placate Labour's warring factions", and instead chose "shadow ministers for their perceived ability".[34][35] In the New Statesman, journalist Stephen Bush suggested that Starmer had "removed underperforming shadow cabinet ministers and rewarded his biggest hitters – but the resulting shadow cabinet looks to be less than the sum of its parts."[36]
2023[edit]
In September 2023, Starmer reshuffled his shadow cabinet for the third time since taking over as leader.[37][38] Writers from The Guardian and Politico said that the Blairite wing of the party had prospered in the reshuffle to the detriment of the soft left of the party.[39][40] One shadow minister, said of the reshuffle, "It's all the Blairites" and called it "an entirely factional takeover".[41] Starmer said that he was putting his "strongest possible players on the pitch" ahead of the upcoming general election.[42] Tom Belger writing for LabourList described the reshuffle as a continuing of "Labour’s right-ward march".[43]
Starmer's deputy Angela Rayner received the shadow levelling up post, replacing Lisa Nandy who was demoted to the shadow minister for international development.[42] The most senior members of the shadow cabinet remained in their positions.[42] Rosena Allin-Khan, who was the shadow minister for mental health before the reshuffle, resigned from the Shadow Cabinet, criticising shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting's advocacy for outsourcing the NHS to the private sector.[44] She also said that Starmer did "not see a space for a mental health portfolio in a Labour cabinet".[45][46][47] The reshuffle coincided with the start of the tenure of Sue Gray as Starmer's new chief of staff.[48]
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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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 "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
- ^ "Ed Miliband returns to Labour top team". BBC News. 6 April 2020. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ^ Pollard, Alexandra (25 June 2020). "We are being ruled by capitalist, fascist dictators". Independent. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020 – via Pressreader.com.
- ^ "Long-Bailey sacked for sharing 'anti-Semitic article'". BBC News. 25 June 2020. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
- ^ "Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer sacks Rebecca Long-Bailey over 'antisemitic conspiracy theory' article". Sky News. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ Heather Stewart (26 June 2020). "Starmer faces backlash from leftwing MPs over Long-Bailey sacking". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Pollard, Alexandra (25 June 2020). "Maxine Peake: 'People who couldn't vote Labour because of Corbyn? They voted Tory as far as I'm concerned'". Independent. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
- ^ "Kate Green appointed as shadow education secretary". BBC News. 27 June 2020. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ^ "Three Labour MPs lose roles after voting against overseas operations bill". The Guardian. 23 September 2020. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ Heffer, Greg (16 October 2020). "Sir Keir Starmer hit by series of Labour resignations over Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill". Sky News. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d Sam Francis & David Wallace Lockhart (28 April 2023). "Keir Starmer denies targeting Labour left-wingers after Abbott suspended". BBC News. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ a b c Jemma Crew & Helen Catt (23 April 2023). "Diane Abbott suspended as Labour MP after racism letter". BBC News. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
- ^ a b Allegretti, Aubrey (30 June 2023). "Compass chief says he faces Labour expulsion and attacks party 'tyranny'". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ Helm, Toby (1 July 2023). "'Rightwing, illiberal': Labour MP Jon Cruddas condemns Keir Starmer's 'witch-hunt'". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ "Angela Rayner sacked as Labour Party chair by Sir Keir Starmer, Sky News understands". Sky News. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ Bush, Stephen (8 May 2021). "Keir Starmer's sacking of Angela Rayner is self-destructive, stupid and wrong". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ Casalicchio, Emilio (8 May 2021). "UK Labour descends into civil war after dismal election results". Politico. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ^ Britton, Paul (9 May 2021). "Andy Burnham 'can't support' the sacking of Angela Rayner as Labour chairman". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ^ Bush, Stephen (10 May 2021). "Keir Starmer's first shadow cabinet reshuffle is a bigger gamble than many realise". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ Zeffman, Henry; Maguire, Patrick; Courea, Eleni; Wright, Oliver (11 May 2021). "Keir Starmer's aide Carolyn Harris resigns amid accusations of spreading rumours about Angela Rayner". The Times. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ Mosalski, Ruth (11 May 2021). "Carolyn Harris resigns as aide for Labour leader Keir Starmer amid allegations of spreading rumours". Wales Online. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ Stewart, Heather (14 May 2021). "Keir Starmer appoints northern MP to build bridges with backbenchers". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Yvette Cooper returns as Starmer reshuffles his shadow cabinet". The Independent. 29 November 2021. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ "Yvette Cooper Makes Labour Frontbench Comeback After Keir Starmer Reshuffles Top Team". Politics Home. 29 November 2021. Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ Kuenssberg, Laura (29 November 2021). "Labour reshuffle: Starmer aims to combine experience and youth". BBC News. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ Peston, Robert (29 November 2021). "Keir Starmer chooses the Labour team he actually rates". ITV News. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
- ^ Bush, Stephen (29 November 2021). "Keir Starmer's new-look shadow cabinet is less than the sum of its parts". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ "Labour reshuffle: Sir Keir Starmer to shake up shadow cabinet". BBC News. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ Elizabeth Piper (4 September 2023). "UK's opposition Labour leader reshuffles top team before election". Reuters. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ Pippa Crerar and Peter Walker (4 September 2023). "Angela Rayner named shadow levelling up secretary in Labour reshuffle". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ McDonald, Andrew (4 September 2023). "UK Labour reshuffle: The winners and losers in Keir Starmer's shake-up". Politico. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ Crerar, Pippa (4 September 2023). "Starmer promotes Blairites as Labour thoughts turn to governing". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
- ^ a b c Paul Seddon (4 September 2023). "Angela Rayner handed new role as Keir Starmer reshuffles top team". BBC News. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ Belger, Tom (5 September 2023). "'Labour's shadow cabinet reshuffle: Not everything is as clear as it looks'". LabourList. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ Fisher, Andrew (4 September 2023). "The Labour reshuffle leaves Starmer surrounded by yes-men". i. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ Jarvis, Chris (4 September 2023). "'You do not see a space for a mental health portfolio in a Labour cabinet': Rosena Allin-Khan resigns from Labour frontbench". Left Foot Forward. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ Keane, Daniel (4 September 2023). "Shadow mental health minister resigns with swipe at Keir Starmer". Evening Standard. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ Barradale, Greg. "Shadow mental health minister's resignation sends 'worrying message' about Keir Starmer's Labour". The Big Issue. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
- ^ Ione Wells (4 September 2023). "Labour reshuffle: Sir Keir Starmer to shake up shadow cabinet". BBC News. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
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