 For his role as Director of Public Prosecutions, Starmer was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2014 New Year Honours.Elected to the House of Commons in the 2015 general election, Starmer was appointed to the Shadow Cabinet in October 2016 as Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, after the vote to leave the European Union.Starmer was a vocal advocate for a second referendum, stating he would have voted to remain.