Jeremy Corbyn assumed the position of Leader of the Opposition after being elected as Leader of the Labour Party on 12 September 2015; the election was triggered by Ed Miliband's resignation following the Labour Party's electoral defeat at the 2015 general election when David Cameron formed a majority Conservative government.
Corbyn appointed his first Shadow Cabinet in September 2015. A small reshuffle occurred on 5 January 2016, with one further resignation on 11 January 2016. Dozens of further resignations occurred on 26 and 27 June 2016.
Corbyn named his first Shadow Cabinet appointments on 13 September and announced its full composition on 14 September. One of Labour's largest reshuffles, the announcement was further delayed by a large number of previous Shadow Cabinet members publicly announcing they would not participate under Corbyn, even if called to do so. The following members declined to serve:
The remaining changes are as follows:
On 6 January 2016, Corbyn replaced Shadow Culture Secretary Michael Dugher with Shadow Defence Secretary Maria Eagle (who was in turn replaced by Shadow Employment Minister Emily Thornberry). He also replaced Shadow Europe Minister (not attending Shadow Cabinet) Pat McFadden with Pat Glass. The reshuffle prompted three junior shadow ministers to resign in solidarity with McFadden: Shadow Rail Minister Jonathan Reynolds, Shadow Defence Minister Kevan Jones and Shadow Foreign Minister Stephen Doughty. On 7 January, Reynolds was replaced by Andy McDonald, Doughty by Fabian Hamilton, Jones by Kate Hollern and Thornberry by Angela Rayner; as well as appointing Jenny Chapman to the education team and Jo Stevens to the justice team.