Tony Blair was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from his election as Leader on 21 July 1994 until he became Prime Minister on 2 May 1997. Blair became leader upon the death of John Smith. Prior to being Leader of the Opposition, Blair served as the Shadow Minister for Trade (1987-1988), the Shadow Secretary of State for Energy (1988-1989), the Shadow Secretary of State for Employment (1989-1992), and the Shadow Home Secretary (1992-1994). After the sudden death of John Smith, the Labour Party held a leadership election, which Blair ran for alongside John Prescott and Margaret Beckett, and won, receiving 57.0% votes. Under Blair, the Labour Party used the phrase "New Labour" to distance itself from previous Labour politics and the traditional idea of socialism. Despite opposition from Labour's left-wing, he abolished Clause IV, the party's formal commitment to the nationalisation of the economy, weakened trade union influence in the party, and committed to the free market and the European Union. Blair's Shadow Cabinet ceased to exist upon him becoming Prime Minister following the 1997 general election. Shadow Cabinet list Initial Shadow Cabinet On 20 October 1994, following the 1994 Shadow Cabinet elections, Blair announced his first Shadow Cabinet. Tony Blair – Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party John Prescott – Deputy Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Lord Richard – Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords Derek Foster – Labour Chief Whip in the House of Commons Lord Graham of Edmonton – Labour Chief Whip in the House of Lords Lord Irvine of Lairg – Shadow Lord Chancellor Gordon Brown – Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Robin Cook – Shadow Foreign Secretary Jack Straw – Shadow Home Secretary David Clark – Shadow Secretary of State for Defence David Blunkett – Shadow Secretary of State for Education Harriet Harman – Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Frank Dobson – Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment Margaret Beckett – Shadow Secretary of State for Health Ann Taylor – Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and Shadow Minister for the Citizen's Charter Donald Dewar – Shadow Secretary of State for Social Security Chris Smith – Shadow Secretary of State for National Heritage and Shadow Minister with special responsibility for the Information Superhighway Jack Cunningham – Shadow Secretary