List of Shadow Secretaries of State for Exiting the European Union
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Political party | Leader | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Thornberry |  | 20 July 2016 | 6 October 2016 | Labour | Jeremy Corbyn | |
| Keir Starmer |  | 6 October 2016 | 4 April 2020 | |||
| Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union | |
|---|---|
Incumbent Abolished since 4 April 2020 | |
| Appointer | Leader of the Opposition |
| Inaugural holder | Emily Thornberry |
| Formation | 20 July 2016 |
| Final holder | Keir Starmer |
| Abolished | 4 April 2020 |
| Website | The Shadow Cabinet |
In British politics, the Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, or informally Shadow Brexit Secretary, [1] was a position within the opposition's shadow cabinet that dealt with issues surrounding the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. The position was only ever a part of Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet between 2016 and 2020. If Corbyn had led Labour to an electoral victory, the shadow Secretary of State would have been a likely choice to serve as the new Secretary of State.
Keir Starmer held the position between October 2016 and April 2020, although the position became unusual, as the Department for Exiting the European Union was abolished on 31 January 2020, so there was no Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to shadow. The shadow Brexit secretary's position was formally abolished on 4 April 2020, following Starmer's election as leader of the Labour Party.
During the period when this position existed, several shadow ministers for Brexit also served in the opposition's shadow cabinet and often deputised for the Shadow Secretary of State.
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Political party | Leader | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Thornberry | | 20 July 2016 | 6 October 2016 | Labour | Jeremy Corbyn | |
| Keir Starmer | | 6 October 2016 | 4 April 2020 | |||
Three shadow ministers were appointed by Jeremy Corbyn in October 2016. Matthew Pennycook resigned in September 2019 in order to attempt to stop Brexit. [2] Jenny Chapman was one of the Red Wall MPs to be defeated in Boris Johnson's landslide victory in the 2019 general election, losing her seat of Darlington, County Durham to the Conservative candidate Peter Gibson. [3] Chapman was replaced by Thangam Debbonaire in January 2020. The position was abolished when Keir Starmer was elected Labour Leader in April 2020.
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Political party | Leader | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jenny Chapman |  | 9 October 2016 [4] | 6 November 2019 | Labour | Jeremy Corbyn | |
| Matthew Pennycook |  | 9 October 2016 [4] | 25 September 2019 [2] | |||
| Paul Blomfield |  | 9 October 2016 [4] | 4 April 2020 | |||
| Thangam Debbonaire |  | 7 January 2020 [5] | 4 April 2020 | |||
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