Ed Miliband | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 25 September 2010 – 8 May 2015 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Deputy | Harriet Harman |
| Preceded by | Harriet Harman1 |
| Succeeded by | Harriet Harman |
| Leader of the Labour Party | |
| In office 25 September 2010 – 8 May 2015 | |
| Deputy | Harriet Harman |
| Preceded by | Gordon Brown |
| Succeeded by | Jeremy Corbyn |
Ed Miliband was elected as Leader of the Opposition in September 2010, following the resignation of Gordon Brown after the formation of David Cameron and Nick Clegg's Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government in the aftermath of the 2010 general election.
Miliband's tenure as Leader of the Labour Party was characterised by a leftward shift in his party's policies under the "One Nation Labour" branding which replaced the New Labour branding, and by opposition to the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government's cuts to the public sector. Miliband also abolished the electoral college system to elect the leader and deputy leader of the Labour Party, and replaced it with a "one member, one vote" system in 2014. He led his party into several elections, including the 2014 European Parliament election. Miliband appointed his first Shadow Cabinet in October 2010, following the Labour Party Shadow Cabinet elections. These elections were the last such elections before they were abolished in 2011. Miliband conducted two major reshuffles in 2011 and 2013, with a number of minor changes throughout his term.
Miliband was portrayed during Labour's 2015 general election campaign as being genuine in his desire to improve the lives of working people and to display progression from New Labour, but was unable to defeat interpretations of him as being ineffectual, or even cartoonish in nature. Various images circulated in the press and online media of Miliband performing day-to-day activities such as eating a bacon sandwich, donating money to a beggar, and giving a kiss to his wife, all while displaying apparently awkward facial expressions. Following Cameron's success in forming a majority Conservative government at the 2015 general election, Miliband resigned as leader on 8 May 2015. He was succeeded after a leadership election by Jeremy Corbyn.