Junior ministers by department

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (April 2021)

Key:

Resignations

On Sunday 26 June and Monday 27 June 2016, a number of members of the shadow cabinet either resigned or were sacked. This process began with Jeremy Corbyn sacking Hilary Benn as Shadow Foreign Secretary in the early hours of Sunday morning after Corbyn informed Benn that he knew Benn had been constructing a coup against the Leadership during the run up to the vote to leave the European Union. Subsequently, the following resigned (in chronological order):

• Heidi Alexander – Shadow Health Secretary^[14][15][16]
• Gloria De Piero – Shadow Minister for Young People and Voter Registration^[15][16]
• Ian Murray – Shadow Scottish Secretary^[15][16]
• Lilian Greenwood – Shadow Transport Secretary^[15][16]
• Lucy Powell – Shadow Education Secretary^[15][16]
• Kerry McCarthy – Shadow Environment Secretary^[15][16]
• Seema Malhotra – Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury^[15][16]
• Vernon Coaker – Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary^[15][16]
• Charles Falconer – Shadow Justice Secretary^[15][16]
• Karl Turner – Shadow Attorney General^[15][16]
• Chris Bryant – Shadow Leader of the House of Commons^[15][16]
• Diana Johnson – Shadow Foreign and Commonwealth Minister^[16]

On 27 June:

• Lisa Nandy – Shadow Energy Secretary^[15][16]
• Owen Smith – Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary^[15][16]
• Angela Eagle – Shadow First Secretary of State and Shadow Business Secretary^[15][16]
• John Healey – Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning^[15][16]
• Nia Griffith – Shadow Welsh Secretary^[15][16]
• Maria Eagle – Shadow Culture Secretary^[15][16]
• Kate Green – Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities^[15][16]
• Luciana Berger – Shadow Minister for Mental Health^[15][16]

On 29 June:

• Pat Glass – new Shadow Education Secretary^[16]

All cited concerns over the EU vote and Corbyn's leadership.^{[14][citation needed]}

Lords leader Angela Smith of Basildon and Lords chief whip Steve Bassam stated they would boycott shadow cabinet meetings while Jeremy Corbyn remained leader. They remained members of the shadow cabinet as these positions are elected by the Labour members of the upper chamber. They returned to attending shadow cabinet four months later.^[17][18]

New appointments

Following the resignations, Corbyn appointed several new MPs to shadow cabinet positions:^[19]

• Emily Thornberry – Shadow Foreign Secretary
• Diane Abbott – Shadow Health Secretary
• Pat Glass – Shadow Education Secretary (resigned on 29 June 2016)
• Andy McDonald – Shadow Transport Secretary
• Clive Lewis – Shadow Defence Secretary
• Rebecca Long-Bailey – Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
• Kate Osamor – Shadow International Development Secretary (resigned on 1 December 2018)
• Rachael Maskell – Shadow Environment Secretary
• Cat Smith – Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs
• Dave Anderson – Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary
• Dave Anderson – Shadow Scottish Secretary
• Richard Burgon – Shadow Justice Secretary
• Debbie Abrahams – Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary
• Grahame Morris – Shadow Communities Secretary
• Barry Gardiner – Shadow Energy Secretary
• Jon Trickett – Shadow Lord President of the Council
• Jon Trickett – Shadow Business Secretary
• Angela Rayner – Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities (later appointed Shadow Education Secretary)
• Angela Rayner – Shadow Education Secretary
• Paul Flynn – Shadow Secretary of State for Wales^[20]
• Paul Flynn – Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
• Kelvin Hopkins – Shadow Culture Secretary
• Emily Thornberry – Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
• Barry Gardiner – Shadow International Trade Secretary

Summary of changes

Owen Smith, who lost to Corbyn in the preceding leadership election, declined to continue in Shadow Cabinet, if offered. Angela Smith and Steve Bassam formally returned to Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Leader of the House of Lords and Shadow Chief Whip of the House of Lords after boycotting following the June reshuffle.

• Tom Watson, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, was moved from Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and replaced by Ian Lavery.
• Andy Burnham resigned as Shadow Home Secretary to focus on his 2017 bid for Mayor of Greater Manchester and was replaced by Diane Abbott. This made the first Labour frontbench where two of the Great Offices of State were held by women.
• Clive Lewis was moved from Shadow Secretary of State for Defence and was replaced by Nia Griffith.
• Lewis was given the newly merged Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to reflect the departmental changes at Whitehall. Jon Trickett, who had been Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, remained Shadow Lord President of the Council and Director of Campaigns and Elections. Barry Gardiner, who had been Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, remained Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade.
• Emily Thornberry remained Shadow Foreign Secretary, but was replaced as Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union by Keir Starmer.
• Abbott was replaced as Shadow Secretary of State for Health by Jon Ashworth.
• Grahame Morris went on leave and was replaced as Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Shadow Minister for the Constitutional Convention by Teresa Pearce.
• Kelvin Hopkins was replaced as Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by Watson.
• John Healey, who had resigned as Shadow Secretary of State for Housing in the previous June reshuffle, returned and was promoted to Shadow Secretary of State for Housing.
• Paul Flynn retired from Shadow Cabinet and was replaced as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons by Valerie Vaz, and as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales by Jo Stevens.
• Shami Chakrabarti was ennobled and appointed as Shadow Attorney General, which had been vacant since Karl Turner's resignation in June.
• Rosie Winterton was replaced as Shadow Chief Whip of the House of Commons by Nick Brown.
• Barbara Keeley was appointed Shadow Minister for Mental Health, which had been vacant since Luciana Berger's resignation in June.
• Dawn Butler was appointed to a new post as Shadow Minister for Black and Minority Ethnic Communities.
• Ashworth was replaced as Shadow Minister without Portfolio by Andrew Gwynne.

Resignations

On Thursday 19 January, Jeremy Corbyn was reported to be preparing to order Labour MPs to vote to support triggering Article 50 in the vote on the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill 2017, in line with a three-line whip.^[22] This triggered the following resignations from the frontbench (in chronological order):

On Thursday 26 January:

• Tulip Siddiq – Shadow Minister for Early Years (not in Shadow Cabinet)^[23]

On Friday 27 January:

• Jo Stevens – Shadow Welsh Secretary^[24]

On Wednesday 1 February:

• Dawn Butler – Shadow Minister for Diverse Communities^[25]
• Rachael Maskell – Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs^[25]

On Wednesday 8 February:

• Clive Lewis – Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy^[26]

Replacements

• Clive Lewis was replaced by Rebecca Long-Bailey as Shadow Business Secretary
  • Rebecca Long-Bailey was replaced by Peter Dowd as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
• Rachael Maskell was replaced by Sue Hayman as Shadow Environment Secretary
• Jo Stevens was replaced by Christina Rees as Shadow Welsh Secretary

2020 post-election cabinet reshuffle

In the 2019 general election, a number of Shadow Ministers lost their seats; mostly to Boris Johnson's Conservatives. The following replacement appointments were made.

• Sue Hayman was replaced as Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by Luke Pollard.
• Laura Pidcock was replaced as Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights by Rachael Maskell.
• Lesley Laird was replaced as Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland by Tony Lloyd.
• Liz McInnes was replaced as Shadow Foreign Office Minister for South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Commonwealth by Afzal Khan.
• Jenny Chapman was replaced as Shadow Brexit Minister by Thangam Debbonaire.
• Jo Platt was replaced as Shadow Minister of State for the Cabinet Office by Cat Smith.

As Tom Watson stood down at the election, he was replaced as Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport by Tracy Brabin.

Newcomer MP Bell Ribeiro-Addy was immediately appointed Shadow Minister for Immigration.

Positions without successors

• Karen Lee was not replaced as Shadow Fire and Rescue Services Minister.
• David Drew was not replaced as Shadow Farming and Rural Communities Minister
• Sandy Martin was not replaced as Shadow Minister for Waste and Recycling.
• Danielle Rowley was not replaced as Shadow Minister for Climate Justice and Green Jobs.
• Paula Sherriff was not replaced as Shadow Minister for Social Care and Mental Health.
• Paul Sweeney was not replaced as Shadow Scotland Minister.