Deputy Leader of the Labour Party (UK) of the Party until a new leader is elected. If a vacancy in the leadership occurs while the Labour Party is in government, then the Cabinet, in consultation with the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party, chooses a new leader, who serves until a new leader is elected. To date, the only Deputy Leaders who have gone on to become the elected leader of the Labour Party are Clement Attlee and Michael Foot. Margaret Beckett briefly served as Labour leader following the unexpected death of John Smith in 1994. Harriet Harman was leader after Gordon Brown resigned in 2010
Shadow First Secretary of State The current holder is Emily Thornberry who was appointed on 14 June 2017. Shadow First Secretary of State The Shadow First Secretary of State is a position in the United Kingdom's Shadow Cabinet that was created on 11 May 2015 by the Leader of the Opposition, Harriet Harman for her interim shadow cabinet. Prior to 2015, the office was known as Shadow Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Even though the role has no specific responsibilities attached to it, the holder of the position shadows the First Secretary of State and deputises for the Leader of the Opposition in