title: Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
text: # Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union
  
  In British politics, the Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, or informally Shadow Brexit Secretary, was a position within the opposition's shadow cabinet that dealt with issues surrounding the UK's withdrawal from the European Union. The position was only ever a part of Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet. If a Labour government (the party Corbyn led) had been elected, the Shadow Secretary of State would have been a likely choice to serve as the new Secretary of State.
  
  Keir Starmer held the position between October 2016 and April 2020, although the position became unusual, as the Department for Exiting the European Union was abolished on 31 January 2020, so there was no Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to be shadowed. The position was formally abolished on 4 April 2020, once the incumbent Shadow Brexit Secretary was elected leader.
  
  During the period when this position existed, several Shadow Ministers for Brexit also served in the opposition's shadow cabinet and often deputised for the Shadow Secretary of State.
  
  ## List of Shadow Secretaries of State for Exiting the European Union
  
  | Name | Name | Portrait | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Leader |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Emily Thornberry | | 20 July 2016 | 6 October 2016 | Labour | Jeremy Corbyn |
  | | Keir Starmer | | 6 October 2016 | 4 April 2020 | Labour | Jeremy Corbyn |
  
  ## List of Shadow Ministers for Exiting the European Union
  
  Three shadow ministers were appointed by Jeremy Corbyn in October 2016. Matthew Pennycook resigned in September 2019 in order to attempt to stop Brexit. Jenny Chapman was one of the Red Wall MPs to be defeated in Boris Johnson's landslide victory in the 2019 general election, losing her seat of Darlington, County Durham to the Conservative candidate Peter Gibson. Chapman was replaced by Thangam Debbonaire in January 2020. The position was abolished when Keir Starmer was elected Labour Leader in April 2020.
  
  | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Leader |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Jenny Chapman | 9 October 2016 | 6 November 2019 | Labour | Jeremy Corbyn |
  | Matthew Pennycook | 9 October 2016 | 25 September 2019 | Labour | Jeremy Corbyn |
  | Paul Blomfield | 9 October 2016 | 4 April 2020 | Labour | Jeremy Corbyn |
  | Thangam Debbonaire | 7 January 2020 | 4 April 2020 | Labour | Jeremy Corbyn |
  