Monday 11 May 2015 9:34 am

General Election 2015 reshuffle: Chris Leslie is the new Ed Balls as Labour’s shadow chancellor in Harriet Harman’s shadow Cabinet

It's not just David Cameron putting his cabinet together today.

The Labour party may have had an utterly disastrous election, but a shadow cabinet still needs to be formed by the acting leader Harriet Harman – and that's just what she's been up to this morning.

Harman has opted to keep the shadow cabinet largely unchanged – except where shadow ministers have failed to return to parliament as MPs.

That means Ed Balls, spectacularly sacked in his Morley and Outwood constituency on Friday, has been replaced by a new shadow chancellor.

Step in Chris Leslie as the new Ed Balls.

The former shadow chief secretary to the treasury (number two to the chancellor) and MP for Nottingham East, was the youngest in parliament when he entered as MP for Shipley in 1997, aged just 25 and worked as a parliamentary secretary for Lord Falconer among others.

He lost his seat between 2005 and 2010, but returned as MP for Nottingham and was a shadow treasury minister under Ed Balls.

He was also campaign manager for Gordon Brown during the former PM's run to succeed Tony Blair.

Here's Leslie on the campaign trail in the run up to election.

The election's getting nearer – and a great response on #labourdoorstep from residents of Westminster Close St Ann's! pic.twitter.com/2rKHVx3Xoz

— Chris Leslie (@ChrisLeslieUK) April 25, 2015

Only a week to go until polling day and good local response in Coalville on #labourdoorstep with @JamieSMcMahon pic.twitter.com/bPty2Bp8cf

— Chris Leslie (@ChrisLeslieUK) April 30, 2015

At @Stonebridgecit1 family fun day this morning – not sure that lamb was a Tory after all, David! pic.twitter.com/fTJku42FmW

— Chris Leslie (@ChrisLeslieUK) April 11, 2015

Meanwhile, Douglas Alexander is replaced by Hilary Benn as shadow foreign secretary and Sadiq Khan (thought to be preparing a mayor of London bid) has stepped down as shadow justice minister to be replaced by Lord Falconer.

Harman, who was shadow deputy prime minister and shadow culture secretary before Miliband's exit, has named Chris Bryant shadow culture secretary. He was foreign minister and deputy leader of the house of commons under Gordon Brown.

The leadership challengers hoping to replace Ed Miliband at the reins of the party are remaining in their pre-election posts – Chuka Umunna as shadow business secretary, Andy Burnham as shadow health secretary, and Yvette Cooper as home secretary.