1996 Labour Party Shadow Cabinet election

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.

Colour
key 		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 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 South Shields 205
9† Michael Meacher Oldham West 205
11 Ron Davies Caerphilly 201
12 Jack Cunningham Copeland 190
13 Jack Straw Blackburn 189
14† Gordon Brown Dunfermline East 188
14† Chris Smith Islington South and Finsbury 148
16 George Robertson Hamilton 182
17† David Blunkett Sheffield Brightside 175
17† Tom Clarke Monklands West 175
19 Harriet Harman Peckham 149
20 Ann Clwyd Cynon Valley 94
21† Lynne Jones Birmingham Selly Oak 66
21† Chris Mullin Sunderland South 66
23 Paul Flynn Newport West 61
24 Tony Banks Newham North West 47
25 Dennis Canavan Falkirk West 42
26 Jeremy Corbyn Islington North 37

† Multiple candidates tied for position.

References

  • "Shadow Cabinet Elections in the 1992 Parliament". Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2010.