1981 Labour Party (UK) Shadow Cabinet election

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Elections to the Labour Party's Shadow Cabinet (more formally, its "Parliamentary Committee") took place on 19 November 1981. There were 15 posts, rather than 12 as in previous years. In addition to the 15 members elected, the Leader (Michael Foot), Deputy Leader (Denis Healey), Labour Chief Whip (Michael Cocks), Labour Leader in the House of Lords (Lord Peart), and Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party (Jack Dormand) were automatically members.

The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The party's platform emphasises greater state intervention, social justice and strengthening workers' rights.

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Michael Foot British politician

Michael Mackintosh Foot, was a British Labour Party politician, who began his career as a journalist on Tribune and the Evening Standard. He co-wrote the classic 1940 polemic against appeasement of Adolf Hitler, Guilty Men, under a pseudonym.

Of the 12 incumbent members, 10 were re-elected. Tony Benn, who was the top loser in 1980 automatically took the William Rodgers when the latter left the party to create the Social Democratic Party. He lost again in this election. It is unclear whether Roy Mason lost re-election or did not stand. The results of the election, though incomplete, are below [1]

Tony Benn British Labour Party politician

Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn was a British politician, writer, and diarist. He was a Member of Parliament for 47 years between the 1950 and 2001 general elections and a Cabinet minister in the Labour governments of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan in the 1960s and 1970s. Originally a moderate, he was identified as being on the party's hard left from the early-1980s, and was widely seen as a key proponent of democratic socialism within the party.

Social Democratic Party (UK) political party in the United Kingdom (1981-88)

The Social Democratic Party (SDP) was a centrist political party in the United Kingdom. The party supported a mixed economy, electoral reform, European integration and a decentralized state while rejecting the possibility of trade unions being overly influential within the industrial sphere.

Roy Mason British politician

Roy Mason, Baron Mason of Barnsley, was a British Labour politician and Cabinet minister who was Secretary of State for Defence and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the late 1970s.

Colour
key		Retained in the Shadow Cabinet
Joined the Shadow Cabinet
Voted out of the Shadow Cabinet
Rank
Prior
rank
Candidate
Constituency
Votes
14† Peter Shore Stepney and Poplar 147
23 Gerald Kaufman Manchester Ardwick 142
31 Roy Hattersley Birmingham Sparkbrook 135
47 John Silkin Lewisham Deptford 132
52 Eric Varley Chesterfield 131
64† Merlyn Rees Leeds South 128
712 Neil Kinnock Bedwellty 118
88† Albert Booth Barrow and Furness 114
911 John Smith North Lanarkshire 111
1015 Brynmor John Pontypridd 105
116 Stanley Orme Salford West 104
1214 Bruce Millan Glasgow Craigton 92
1316 Eric Heffer Liverpool Walton 84
14? Peter Archer Warley West 83
15? Gwyneth Dunwoody Crewe 82
1618 Norman Buchan West Renfrewshire 80
17? Robin Cook Edinburgh Central 73
?13 Tony Benn Bristol South East 66
?? Giles Radice Chester-le-Street 60
?? Jeremy Bray Motherwell and Wishaw ?
?? James Craigen Glasgow Maryhill ?
?20 Tam Dalyell West Lothian ?
?? Harry Ewing Stirling, Falkirk and Grangemouth ?
?? Robert Hughes Aberdeen North ?

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References

  1. ↑ Geoffrey Parkhouse (20 November 2011). "Size of Benn vote a blow to Foot". The Glasgow Herald. p. 1.
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