1996 Labour Party Shadow Cabinet election

none April 2022 February 2026 Elections to the Labour Party's Shadow Cabinet took place in July 1996. Under the rules then in effect, the Commons members of the Parliamentary Labour Party elected 19 members of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet, who were then assigned portfolios by the leader. The Labour peers elected the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords. In addition, the Leader of the Labour Party and Deputy Leader (Tony Blair and John Prescott, respectively) were members by virtue of those offices. The 19 elected members of the Shadow Cabinet were the ones with the largest number of votes. MPs were required to vote for at least four women, but women were not necessarily guaranteed places in the Shadow Cabinet. Colourkey Retained in the Shadow Cabinet Joined the Shadow Cabinet Voted out of the Shadow Cabinet Rank Candidate Constituency Votes 1 Margaret Beckett Derby South 251 2 Ann Taylor Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton Dewsbury 250 3 Clare Short Birmingham Ladywood 218 4 Gavin Strang Edinburgh East 217 5 Robin Cook Livingston 215 6 Donald Dewar Glasgow Garscadden 212 7 Frank Dobson Holborn and St Pancras 211 8 Mo Mowlam Redcar 206 9† David Clark David Clark, Baron Clark of Windermere South Shields 205 9† Michael Meacher Oldham West 205 11 Ron Davies Ron Davies (Welsh politician) Caerphilly 201 12 Jack Cunningham Jack Cunningham, Baron Cunningham of Felling Copeland 190 13 Jack Straw Blackburn 189 14† Gordon Brown Dunfermline East 188 14† Chris Smith Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury Islington South and Finsbury 148 16 George Robertson George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen Hamilton 182 17† David Blunkett Sheffield Brightside 175 17† Tom Clarke Tom Clarke (politician) Monklands West 175 19 Harriet Harman Peckham 149 20 Ann Clwyd Cynon Valley 94 21† Lynne Jones Birmingham Selly Oak 66 21† Chris Mullin Chris Mullin (politician) Sunderland South 66 23 Paul Flynn Newport West 61 24 Tony Banks Tony Banks, Baron Stratford Newham North West 47 25 Dennis Canavan Falkirk West 42 26 Jeremy Corbyn Islington North 37 † Multiple candidates tied for position. References http://www.election.demon.co.uk/shadow.html Shadow Cabinet Elections in the 1992 Parliament 2010-05-24 2010-07-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20100714134916/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/shadow.html dead 1996 Labour Party Shadow Cabinet election Labour Party Shadow Cabinet election