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  1. Politics
11 May 2015

Labour reshuffle: Who’s in Harriet Harman’s new shadow cabinet?

A strange new world.

By Stephen Bush

Harriet Harman has reshuffled the Shadow Cabinet following the defeats of Douglas Alexander, Ed Balls and Margaret Curran, and the resignations of Jon Cruddas and Sadiq Khan.

At the Shadow Treasury team, Chris Leslie, previously the Shadow Chief Secretary for the Treasury, moves up to be Shadow Chancellor. Shabana Mahmood, previously a shadow minister at the Treasury, takes his place. Lord Falconer, who was the first Secretary of State for Justice following Tony Blair’s modernisation of that department, replaces Sadiq Khan at the head of the Justice team. The Shadow Foreign team springs a surprise as Hilary Benn takes the role of Shadow Foreign Secretary, with Emma Reynolds moving up from the shadow housing brief to Shadow Communities and Local Government. Ian Murray, Labour’s sole remaining Scottish MP, will serve as Shadow Scotland Secretary.

It means, among other things, that Dan Jarvis will be facing off against Michael Gove in the House of Commons. Khan’s resignation allows him to focus on his run for Labour’s mayoral nomination, while Cruddas will chair an independent inquiry into Labour’s defeat. 

The party’s frontbenches are still left depleted by the defeats in Scotland and elsewhere. Depending on the timeframe agreed by Labour’s National Executive Committee, Harman may conduct a wider reshuffle of the lower tiers of the Opposition frontbench. 

The full list of appointments is below. 

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Leader of the Opposition and Acting Leader of the Labour Party
Harriet Harman MP

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Chris Leslie MP

Shadow Foreign Secretary
Hilary Benn MP

Shadow Home Secretary
Yvette Cooper MP

Shadow Lord Chancellor, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Lord Falconer of Thoroton

Opposition Chief Whip
Rosie Winterton MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Health
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
Caroline Flint MP

Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and Chair of the National Policy Forum
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 and Deputy Party Chair
Jon Trickett MP

Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities
Gloria De Piero MP

 

Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Chris Bryant MP

Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Shabana Mahmood MP

Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon

Lords Chief Whip
Lord Bassam of Brighton

Also attending Shadow Cabinet:

Shadow Minister for Care and Older People
Liz Kendall MP

Shadow Attorney General
Lord Bach

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Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
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