Mandelson and Adonis stand down
By Tobias Benedetto
Former business secretary Lord Mandelson and former transport secretary Lord Adonis have stood down from the shadow Cabinet to enable Labour MPs to take their roles.
Their deputies, Pat McFadden and Sadiq Khan, will be taking their places in the shadow cabinet.
In line with party rules, Cabinet members temporarily shadow their previous role following the loss of their position as a result of a change of government.
However, because it is “very difficult” to act as a lead opposition member from the House of Lords, it is expedient that Mandelson and Adonis be succeeded by the MPs, a spokesperson confirmed.
In addition, Rosie Winterton has been appointed shadow leader of the House of Commons in place of acting Labour leader Harriet Harman.
Labour MPs will elect some of the shadow Cabinet following the unveiling of their new leader at the annual conference in September.
Although the new leader will select some of the shadow Cabinet members, others will be elected by the party before the leader takes the final step of allocating specific roles.
The process contrasts sharply with that undertaken when the party is in government, when the prime minister is solely responsible for selecting the Cabinet.
These rules differ from those of the Conservatives, as the Tory leader can still hire and fire all the members of the shadow cabinet when the party are in opposition.
