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Labour's new frontbench team under Ed Miliband will be unveiled tonight as the winners of the shadow cabinet election are announced.
The ballot closes at 5pm and by 9pm the 49 Labour MPs who have sought election will find out the results. Only 19 will obtain places in the shadow cabinet.
In Opposition, the party's top team is voted in by its MPs, with the leader deciding who is suited to each portfolio.
Under rules agreed by Labour MPs, at least six places must go to women. Labour's 258 MPs are able to cast a maximum of 19 votes each.
Former leadership candidates Ed Balls and Andy Burnham are likely to be given prominent roles, with Balls keen to serve as shadow chancellor.
In a poll for Left Foot Forward, Yvette Cooper topped the readers' choice of shadow cabinet candidates with 93 per cent of the vote.
Former ministers Caroline Flint and sisters Angela and Maria Eagle are also among the women nominated.
Deputy party leader Harriet Harman has automatically gained a place in the frontbench team, alongside Rosie Winterton who was elected unopposed as chief whip last week.
Former foreign secretary David Miliband announced he would not stand for the shadow cabinet, after being defeated in his bid to be leader by his brother.
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