2010 Labour Party Shadow Cabinet election
The Commons members of the Parliamentary Labour Party elected 19 members of the Shadow Cabinet from among their number in 2010. This follows the Labour Party's defeat in the 2010 general election, after which the party formed the Official Opposition in the United Kingdom.
A separate election for Opposition Chief Whip, an ex officio member of the Shadow Cabinet, happened at the same time. Rosie Winterton was unopposed in that election, and she would serve for the remainder of the Parliament. The results of the Shadow Cabinet election were announced on 7 October 2010, hours after the balloting closed.
The PLP voted to abolish Shadow Cabinet elections at a meeting on 5 July 2011, and the National Executive Committee and the Party Conference followed suit. As a result, the 2010 Shadow Cabinet election was the last.
Background
Shadow Cabinet elections typically happen near the beginning of a session, but were delayed until after the leadership election, which ended with the announcement of Ed Miliband as winner on 25 September. Nominations were open from 26 to 29 September, and voting occurred from 4 to 7 October. The leader may choose to assign Shadow Cabinet portfolios to non-members, who are considered to "attend" Shadow Cabinet.Rules changes
On 8 September 2010, the PLP voted to continue electing the Shadow Cabinet and made various changes to the rules for such elections:- Shadow Cabinet elections will be held every two years, rather than every year.
- The Chief Whip will once again be separately elected, reversing a change made before the 1995 Shadow Cabinet election that allowed the Leader of the Labour Party to hand out the position as with any other Shadow Cabinet portfolio. Now, the Chief Whip will be elected by the PLP for the duration of a Parliament.
- For a PLP member's ballot to be valid, it must contain votes for at least six women and six men, up from four.
- The Shadow Cabinet will no longer be the Parliamentary Committee when the party is in opposition. Instead, the latter will be a backbench group just as when the party is in government.
Ex officio members
- Leader of the Labour Party
- Deputy Leader
- Opposition Chief Whip in the Commons
- Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords
- Opposition Chief Whip in the Lords
Candidates
Forty-nine Labour MPs stood for election, and the results were as follows:
| Colour key | Retained in the Shadow Cabinet |
| Colour key | Joined the Shadow Cabinet |
| Colour key | Voted out of the Shadow Cabinet |
| Rank | Candidate | Constituency | Votes | Subsequent Portfolio |
| 1 | Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford | 232 | Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs | |
| 2 | Wentworth and Dearne | 192 | Shadow Secretary of State for Health | |
| 3 | Morley and Outwood | 179 | Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department | |
| 4† | Leigh | 165 | Shadow Secretary of State for Education; Election Co-ordinator | |
| 4† | Wallasey | 165 | Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury | |
| 6 | Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle | 163 | Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer | |
| 7† | Paisley and Renfrewshire South | 160 | Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions | |
| 7† | East Renfrewshire | 160 | Shadow Secretary of State for Defence | |
| 9 | Dulwich and West Norwood | 152 | Shadow Minister for the Olympics | |
| 10 | Don Valley | 139 | Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government | |
| 11 | Southampton Itchen | 129 | Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills | |
| 12† | Leeds Central | 128 | Shadow Leader of the House of Commons | |
| 12† | Tooting | 128 | Shadow Secretary of State for Justice; Shadow Lord Chancellor | |
| 14 | Wakefield | 119 | Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | |
| 15 | Glasgow North | 117 | Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland | |
| 16 | Garston and Halewood | 107 | Shadow Secretary of State for Transport | |
| 17 | Hackney South and Shoreditch | 106 | Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change | |
| 18 | Bury South | 104 | Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport | |
| 19 | Birmingham Hodge Hill | 100 | Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office | |
| 20 | Islington South and Finsbury | 99 | ||
| 21 | Neath | 97 | Shadow Secretary of State for Wales | |
| 22 | Slough | 88 | ||
| 23 | Worsley and Eccles South | 87 | ||
| 24 | Gedling | 85 | ||
| 25 | Wolverhampton South East | 84 | ||
| 26† | Bishop Auckland | 80 | ||
| 26† | Tottenham | 80 | ||
| 28 | East Ham | 79 | - | |
| 29 | Rhondda | 77 | ||
| 30 | St Helens South and Whiston | 72 | Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |
| 31 | Harrow West | 71 | ||
| 32 | North Durham | 68 | ||
| 33 | Cardiff West | 64 | ||
| 34 | City of Durham | 63 | ||
| 35 | Hackney North and Stoke Newington | 59 | ||
| 36 | Liverpool West Derby | 55 | ||
| 37 | Glasgow South | 54 | ||
| 38 | Exeter | 53 | ||
| 39 | Hartlepool | 43 | ||
| 40 | Brent North | 41 | ||
| 41 | Delyn | 38 | ||
| 42 | Wrexham | 34 | ||
| 43 | Caerphilly | 30 | ||
| 44 | Ogmore | 28 | ||
| 45 | Nottingham East | 26 | ||
| 46 | Stoke-on-Trent South | 15 | ||
| 47 | Ilford South | 12 | ||
| 48 | Cardiff South and Penarth | 11 | ||
| 49 | Falkirk | 10 |
;Notes