Second Shadow Cabinet of Harriet Harman

Last updated

Second Harman Shadow Cabinet
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom
May 2015September 2015
Official portrait of Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP crop 2.jpg
Date formed8 May 2015
Date dissolved12 September 2015
People and organisations
Monarch Elizabeth II
Leader of the Opposition Harriet Harman
Shadow First Secretary Hilary Benn
Member party
  •   Labour Party
Status in legislature Official Opposition
232 / 650(36%)
History
Election(s) 2015 general election
Outgoing election 2015 Labour Party leadership election
Legislature term(s) 56th UK Parliament
Predecessor Shadow Cabinet of Ed Miliband
Successor Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn

Harriet Harman's second Shadow Cabinet was formed by Harriet Harman in 2015 during her second period as Acting Leader of the Labour Party. She assumed this role after Ed Miliband resigned as party leader (and Leader of the Opposition) and announced she would continue until a new leader was elected on 12 September 2015. [1] Miliband's resignation followed the party's defeat at the 2015 general election.

Contents

Creation

On 11 May 2015, Harman announced the make-up of her Shadow Cabinet. [2] Most members of Miliband's last shadow cabinet continued in their roles with the following exceptions:

Additionally, Benn was given responsibility for the despatch box during deputy PMQs against George Osborne in his role as First Secretary of State. [3]

Harman's first shadow cabinet had been formed during a similar period as pro tempore leader following Gordon Brown's resignation following the 2010 general election.

Changes

On 13 May 2015, Baroness Royall of Blaisdon announced that she would be stepping down as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords. [4] Baroness Smith of Basildon was elected unopposed as her successor by Labour peers on 27 May 2015, and thus took her place in the shadow cabinet. [5]

In May 2015, Rachel Reeves went on maternity leave ahead of the birth of her second child. Stephen Timms became Acting Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.

Members of the Shadow Cabinet

PortfolioShadow Minister
Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition
Acting Leader of the Labour Party
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party
Chair of the Labour Party
The Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP
Shadow First Secretary of State
Shadow Foreign Secretary
The Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Chris Leslie MP
Shadow Home Secretary The Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Shadow Lord Chancellor
The Rt Hon The Lord Falconer of Thoroton PC QC
Shadow Chief Whip in the House of Commons The Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Health The Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Chuka Umunna MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Rachel Reeves MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Education Tristram Hunt MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence Vernon Coaker MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Emma Reynolds MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change The Rt Hon Caroline Flint MP
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Angela Eagle MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Michael Dugher MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Ivan Lewis MP
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development Mary Creagh MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland Ian Murray MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Owen Smith MP
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Maria Eagle MP
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office Lucy Powell MP
Shadow Minister without Portfolio
Deputy Chair of the Labour Party
Jon Trickett MP
Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities Gloria De Piero MP
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Shabana Mahmood MP
Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords The Rt Hon The Baroness Royall of Blaisdon PC (to 27 May)
The Rt Hon The Baroness Smith of Basildon PC (from 27 May)
Shadow Chief Whip in the House of Lords The Rt Hon The Lord Bassam of Brighton PC
Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Chris Bryant MP
Also attends Shadow Cabinet meetings
Shadow Minister for Care and Older People Liz Kendall MP
Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales The Rt Hon The Lord Bach PC

Sources: Parliament.uk Labour Shadow Cabinet

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilary Benn</span> British Labour politician (born 1953)

Hilary James Wedgwood Benn is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since he was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet of Keir Starmer on 4 September 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harriet Harman</span> British Labour politician

Harriet Ruth Harman 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 Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet positions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvette Cooper</span> Shadow Home Secretary

Yvette Cooper is a British politician serving as Shadow Home Secretary under Keir Starmer since 2021, having also served in the position under Ed Miliband from 2011 to 2015. She previously served in Gordon Brown's Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2008 to 2009 and Work and Pensions Secretary from 2009 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford, previously Pontefract and Castleford, since 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Leslie</span> British politician

Christopher Michael Leslie is a debt collection executive and a former British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley from 1997 to 2005 and Nottingham East from 2010 to 2019. A former member of the Labour Party, he defected to form Change UK and later became an independent politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angela Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon</span> Shadow Leader of the House of Lords

Angela Evans Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon is a British politician and life peer serving as Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords since 2015. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, she was Member of Parliament (MP) for Basildon from 1997 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Miliband</span> British politician (born 1969)

Edward Samuel Miliband is a British politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Doncaster North since 2005. Miliband was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition between 2010 and 2015. Alongside his brother, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, he served in the Cabinet from 2007 to 2010 under Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat McFadden</span> British Labour politician

Patrick Bosco McFadden is a British politician serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Labour National Campaign Coordinator since September 2023. He served as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury between 2021 and 2023. A member of the Labour Party, he has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton South East since 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Dromey</span> British politician and trade unionist (1948–2022)

John Eugene Joseph Dromey was a British politician and trade unionist who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Erdington from 2010 until his death in 2022. A member of the Labour Party, he was deputy general secretary of Unite from 2003 to 2010.

The 2007 Labour Party deputy leadership election was a British political party election for the position of deputy leader of the Labour Party. John Prescott, the previous deputy leader, announced on 10 May 2007 that he was standing down from that position and that he would be leaving as deputy prime minister about the same time that Tony Blair tendered his resignation as prime minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown ministry</span> 2007-2010 Government of the United Kingdom

Gordon Brown formed the Brown ministry after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to form a new administration following the resignation of the previous Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair, on 27 June 2007. Brown formed his government over the course of the next day, with Jacqui Smith being appointed the United Kingdom's first female Home Secretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Reynolds</span> British Labour politician

Emma Elizabeth Reynolds is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Wolverhampton North East from 2010 to 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she attended the shadow cabinets of Miliband and Harman from 2013 to 2015.

The 2010 Labour Party leadership election was triggered on 10 May 2010 by incumbent leader Gordon Brown's resignation following the 2010 general election which resulted in a hung parliament; the first since 1974. Brown resigned as Leader of the Labour Party on 10 May and as Prime Minister on 11 May, following the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats forming a coalition government. The National Executive Committee decided the timetable for the election the result of which would be announced at the annual party conference. On 25 September 2010, Ed Miliband became the new Leader of the Labour Party, narrowly defeating his older brother, David.

The Commons members of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) elected 19 members of the Shadow Cabinet from among their number in 2010. This follows the Labour Party's defeat at the 2010 general election, after which the party formed the Official Opposition in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Ed Miliband</span> Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015

Ed Miliband became Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition upon being elected to the former post on 25 September 2010. The election was triggered by Gordon Brown'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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Ashworth</span> British politician

Jonathan Michael Graham Ashworth is a British politician who has served as Shadow Paymaster General since September 2023. A member of the Labour and Co-operative parties, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leicester South since 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Tony Blair</span> Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom from 1994 to 1997

Tony Blair was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from his election as Leader on 21 July 1994 until he became Prime Minister on 2 May 1997. Blair became leader upon the death of John Smith. Under Blair, the Labour Party was rebranded as New Labour to distance itself from previous Labour politics and the traditional idea of socialism. Despite opposition from Labour's left-wing, he abolished Clause IV, the party's formal commitment to the nationalisation of the economy, weakened trade union influence in the party, and committed to the free market and the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Michael Foot</span>

Michael Foot was Leader of the Opposition from 4 November 1980, following his victory in the 1980 leadership election, to 2 October 1983, when he was replaced by Neil Kinnock at the 1983 leadership election. The 1980 leadership contest was triggered by James Callaghan's loss at the 1979 general election, and the 1983 contest by Foot's own disastrous defeat in the 1983 general election.

The 2015 Labour Party deputy leadership election was triggered on 8 May 2015 by the resignation of Harriet Harman as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party of the United Kingdom following the party's defeat at the 2015 General Election. Harman, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, became Acting Leader following Leader Ed Miliband's resignation. Harman announced on the same day that she would step down as Deputy Leader, with her resignation taking effect when the new Leader and Deputy Leader are elected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn</span> Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom from 2015 to 2020

Jeremy Corbyn assumed the position of Leader of the Opposition after being elected as leader of the Labour Party on 12 September 2015; the election was triggered by Ed Miliband's resignation following the Labour Party's electoral defeat at the 2015 general election when David Cameron formed a majority Conservative government. The usual number of junior shadow ministers were also appointed.

The frontbench of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the Shadow Cabinet and other official shadow ministers of the political party currently serving as the Official Opposition. The Opposition front bench provide Parliamentary opposition to the British Government front bench, and is currently the Labour Party led by Keir Starmer since April 2020.

References

  1. "Labour leadership: Cooper and Burnham bids ahead of September election". BBC. 13 May 2015.
  2. "Labour shadow cabinet reshuffle: Leslie replaces Ed Balls". BBC. 11 May 2015.
  3. "George Osborne makes Prime Minister's Questions debut". BBC. 17 June 2015.
  4. "Baroness Royall to step down as Labour leader in the Lords – LabourList". 13 May 2015.
  5. "Baroness Smith of Basildon". UK Parliament.