国际英语新闻：Britain's opposition Labor party chooses its new shadow Cabinet

Both Balls and Cooper were firmly on the Brown side of the Brown/Tony Blair split, as was new leader Miliband. Their success in the shadow Cabinet election further underlines the eclipse of Blair's New Labor.

Other senior Labor MPs who made the top 19 in the poll included former Cabinet ministers Andy Burnham and Jim Murphy, and former home secretary Alan Johnson.

Labor rules stipulated that there must be at least six women in the shadow Cabinet, and eight made the top 19 including twin sisters Angela and Maria Eagle, and former Cabinet ministers Tessa Jowell and Caroline Flint, who quit Brown's Cabinet in 2008 saying he did not take women in politics seriously.

Former high flyers who failed to make the short list include ex-Cabinet ministers Peter Hain, Ben Bradshaw, and Shaun Woodward. Hain's failure was close, he fell short by only a few votes, but is surprising as he was the deputy chair of Miliband's successful leadership campaign.