Shadow Cabinet of James Callaghan

James Callaghan became Leader of the Opposition on 4 May 1979 after losing the 1979 election and remained in that office until Michael Foot was elected Leader of the Labour Party on 2 October 1980. Callaghan named his Shadow Cabinet in June 1979, with Foot (the Deputy Leader) and the 12 elected members of the Shadow Cabinet assigned portfolios on 14 June^[1] and further appointments made on 18 June.^[2] From the opening of Parliament until that date, Callaghan's Cabinet, with a few exceptions, stayed on to shadow their former positions.

Callaghan Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Cabinet of the United Kingdom
1979 – 1980
Date formed	4 May 1979
Date dissolved	10 November 1980
People and organisations
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Leader of the Opposition	James Callaghan
Deputy Leader of the Opposition	Michael Foot
Member party	Labour Party
Status in legislature	Official Opposition 269 / 635 (42%)
History
Election	1979 United Kingdom general election
Legislature terms	48th UK Parliament
Predecessor	Shadow Cabinet of Margaret Thatcher
Successor	Shadow Cabinet of Michael Foot

Shadow Cabinet list

Callaghan assigned portfolios in June 1979 to the Deputy Leader and the 12 winners in the 1979 Shadow Cabinet elections.^{[n 1]}

Portfolio	Shadow Minister
Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition Leader of the Labour Party	The Rt Hon. James Callaghan
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Shadow Leader of the House of Commons	The Rt Hon. Michael Foot
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer	The Rt Hon. Denis Healey
Shadow Foreign Secretary	The Rt Hon. Peter Shore
Shadow Home Secretary Shadow Minister responsible for House of Commons procedural reform	The Rt Hon. Merlyn Rees
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence	The Rt Hon. William Rodgers
Shadow Secretary of State for Energy	The Rt Hon. David Owen
Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Science	Neil Kinnock
Shadow Secretary of State for Employment	The Rt Hon. Eric Varley
Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment	The Rt Hon. Roy Hattersley
Shadow Secretary of State for Industry	The Rt Hon. John Silkin
Shadow Minister for Overseas Development	The Rt Hon. Judith Hart
Shadow Secretary of State for Trade	The Rt Hon. John Smith
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport	The Rt Hon. Albert Booth
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland	The Rt Hon. Bruce Millan
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland	Brynmor John
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales	The Rt Hon. Alec Jones
Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food	The Rt Hon. Roy Mason
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Services	The Rt Hon. Stan Orme
Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords	The Rt Hon. The Lord Peart PC
Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons	The Rt Hon. Michael Cocks
Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Lords	The Rt Hon. Baroness Llewelyn-Davies of Hastoe PC
Shadow Lord Chancellor	The Rt Hon. The Lord Elwyn-Jones PC

Notes

1. The twelve Shadow Cabinet election winners were Healey, Silkin, Shore, Smith, Owen, Hattersley, Varley, Orme, Booth, Rodgers, Rees, and Mason;^[1] the others were Millan, Kinnock, Hart, Jones, and Brynmor John.^[2]