Who are the shadow ministers now sitting on Keir Starmer’s frontbench?

Sienna Rodgers
© UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor

Shadow ministers were first appointed to Keir Starmer’s Labour frontbench on April 9th last year. Nine months later, a number of the names have changed due to resignations, sackings and reshuffles.

The only shadow cabinet member who has been swapped out for a new face is Rebecca Long-Bailey, who was sacked from her post in June and replaced as Shadow Education Secretary by Kate Green.

No longer shadow ministers are Lloyd Russell-Moyle (cited a media campaign against him), Dan Carden (over ‘spycops’ bill), Margaret Greenwood (ditto), Janet Daby (same-sex marriage comments) and Tracy Brabin (to focus on mayoral bid).

Rosie Duffield quit as an opposition whip (after breaking lockdown rules), and a number of private parliamentary secretaries also resigned for a variety of reasons, but PPSs are not included on this list.

2019 general election intake Labour MPs James Murray, Abena Oppong-Asare, Fleur Anderson and Sam Tarry are all new names on the shadow ministerial list, plus Ruth Jones who was first elected in a 2019 by-election.

While the news story from April on Starmer’s initial appointments still proves useful, we at LabourList thought it would be good idea to compile a fresh comprehensive list of MPs now in the frontbench shadow ministerial roles. Enjoy…

Leader: Keir Starmer

PPS: Carolyn Harris

Deputy leader, national campaign co-ordinator, party chair, Shadow First Secretary of State: Angela Rayner

Treasury

Shadow Chancellor: Anneliese Dodds
Shadow Chief Secretary: Bridget Phillipson

Ministers:

  • James Murray (Financial secretary)
  • Pat McFadden (Economic secretary)
  • Abena Oppong-Asare (Exchequer secretary)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Shadow Foreign Secretary: Lisa Nandy

Ministers:

  • Wayne David (Middle East and North Africa)
  • Stephen Doughty (Africa – joint with DfID)
  • Stephen Kinnock (Asia and Pacific)
  • Catherine West (Europe & Americas)
  • Fabian Hamilton (Peace and disarmament)

Home Office

Shadow Home Secretary: Nick Thomas-Symonds

Ministers:

  • Bambos Charalambous (Crime reduction and courts)
  • Sarah Jones (Policing and the fire service)
  • Holly Lynch (Immigration)
  • Conor McGinn (Security)
  • Jess Phillips (Domestic violence and safeguarding)

Cabinet Office

Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster: Rachel Reeves
Young People and Voter Engagement: Cat Smith

Ministers:

  • Paul Blomfield (Brexit and EU negotiations, joint with international trade)
  • Jack Dromey (Cabinet Office)
  • Fleur Anderson (Cabinet Office)

Ministry of Justice

Shadow Justice Secretary: David Lammy

Ministers:

  • Lyn Brown (Prisons and probation)
  • Alex Cunningham (Courts and sentencing)
  • Peter Kyle (Victims and youth justice)
  • Karl Turner (Legal aid)

Ministry of Defence

Shadow Secretary of State for Defence: John Healey

Ministers:

  • Sharon Hodgson (Veterans)
  • Stephen Morgan (Armed forces)
  • Khalid Mahmood (Procurement)

Health and Social Care

Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care: Jonathan Ashworth

Mental Health: Rosena Allin-Khan

Ministers:

  • Liz Kendall (Social care)
  • Justin Madders (Public health and prevention)
  • Alex Norris (Public health and patient safety)

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Shadow Secretary of State for BEIS: Ed Miliband

Ministers:

  • Chi Onwurah (Science, research and digital – joint with DCMS)
  • Matthew Pennycook (Climate change)
  • Lucy Powell (Business and consumers)
  • Alan Whitehead (Green New Deal and energy)

Work and Pensions

Shadow Secretary of State for Work & Pensions: Jonathan Reynolds

Ministers:

  • Matt Rodda (Pensions)
  • Vicky Foxcroft (Disability)
  • Seema Malhotra (Employment) 

International Trade

Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade: Emily Thornberry

Ministers:

  • Paul Blomfield (Joint with CDL)
  • Bill Esterson
  • Gareth Thomas

Education

Shadow Education Secretary: Kate Green

Ministers:

  • Wes Streeting (Schools)
  • Emma Hardy (FE and universities)
  • Toby Perkins (Apprenticeships and life-long learning)
  • Tulip Siddiq (Children and early years)

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

Shadow Secretary of State for DCMS: Jo Stevens

Ministers:

  • Rachael Maskell (Voluntary sector and charities)
  • Chris Matheson (Media)
  • Alison McGovern (Sport and cultural industries)
  • Chi Onwurah (Digital, joint with BEIS)
  • Alex Sobel (Tourism and heritage)

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Shadow DEFRA Secretary: Luke Pollard

Ministers:

  • Steph Peacock (Flooding)
  • Ruth Jones (Natural environment and air quality)
  • Daniel Zeichner (Food, farming and fisheries)

Communities and Local Government (CLG)

Shadow CLG Secretary: Steve Reed
Shadow Housing Secretary: Thangam Debbonaire

Ministers:

  • Mike Amesbury (Housing and planning)
  • Kate Hollern (Local government)
  • Naz Shah (Community cohesion)

Transport

Shadow Transport Secretary: Jim McMahon

Ministers:

  • Tan Dhesi (Railways)
  • Mike Kane (Aviation and maritime)
  • Kerry McCarthy (Green transport, including cycling and walking)
  • Sam Tarry

International Development (DfID)

Shadow DfID Secretary: Preet Gill

Ministers:

  • Stephen Doughty (Joint with FCO)
  • Anna McMorrin
  • Yasmin Qureshi

Northern Ireland

Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary: Louise Haigh

Ministers: Karin Smyth

Wales

Shadow Wales Secretary: Nia Griffith

Ministers: Gerald Jones

Scotland

Shadow Scotland Secretary: Ian Murray

Ministers: Chris Elmore (joint with whips office)

Women & Equalities

Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary: Marsha de Cordova

Ministers: Gill Furniss

Employment Rights and Protections

Shadow Employment Rights and Protections Secretary: Andy McDonald

Ministers: Imran Hussain

Leader of the House of Commons

Shadow Leader of the House of Commons: Valerie Vaz

Deputy Leader of the House of Commons: Afzal Khan

House of Lords:

Shadow Leader of the House of Lords: Baroness Smith
Lords’ Opposition Chief Whip: Lord McAvoy 
Attorney General: Lord Falconer

Solicitor General: Ellie Reeves

Whips Office

Chief Whip: Nick Brown

  • Deputy Chief Whip: Alan Campbell
  • Pairing Whip: Mark Tami
  • Senior Whip: Jessica Morden

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