The region lost its voice at the top of the Labour Party tonight, when all four North-East candidates for Ed Miliband's Shadow Cabinet lost out in a dramatic election.

Kevan Jones (Durham North), Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland), Iain Wright(Hartlepool) and Roberta Blackman-Woods (Durham City) all failed to land one of 19 available places.

The new Labour leader will allocate the portfolios tomorrow, with all eyes on the Shadow Chancellor's post - thought to be a straight husband-and-wife tussle between Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper.

Meanwhile, the North-East will be coming to terms with its astonishing slide in influence within the Labour Party in comparison with the heady days of Tony Blair's leadership.

In autumn 1999, six MPs from the region sat in the Cabinet.

The prime minister was joined by Alan Milburn (Darlington), Mo Mowlem (Redcar), Peter Mandelson (Hartlepool), Stephen Byers (North Tyneside) and Nick Brown (Newcastle East).

But Mr Brown was forced out of the chief whip's post last week and David Miliband (South Shields) chose to step down from the Shadow Cabinet after losing the leadership election to his brother.

But the North-East's loss is Yorkshire's gain - an extraordinary nine MPs with constituencies in that region will sit at Labour's top table, led by Ed Miliband (Doncaster North) himself. Wales also missed out.