Shadow cabinet reshuffle: Cooper returns as Lammy, Streeting and Powell are promoted

Published by Scott Challinor on November 30th 2021, 1:01pm

In a reshuffling of his shadow cabinet, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has appointed Yvette Cooper as shadow home secretary, with her predecessor Nick Thomas-Symonds moving to the role of shadow trade secretary.

First elected as an MP in 1997, Cooper went on to serve in several ministerial roles under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and served as shadow home secretary under Ed Miliband's leadership of the party.

Elsewhere in the reshuffle, David Lammy moves up from his shadow justice secretary role to shadow foreign secretary, in place of Lisa Nandy.

Nandy, the Labour MP for Wigan, will now assume the new role of shadow levelling up secretary and become the opposite number to Michael Gove.

Wes Streeting has been promoted to shadow health secretary, where he will take a lead in scrutinising the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. Streeting’s predecessor, Jonathan Ashworth, will remain on the shadow cabinet as shadow work and pensions secretary.

Jonathan Reynolds has been appointed shadow business secretary, taking on half of the job held previously by Ed Miliband, who will now serve solely as shadow climate change and net zero secretary.

Former shadow housing secretary Lucy Powell has been named the new shadow digital, culture, media and sport secretary, while Peter Kyle replaces Louise Haigh as shadow secretary for Northern Ireland.

Haigh meanwhile moves into the role of shadow transport secretary in place of Jim McMahon, and McMahon has replaced Luke Pollard as shadow environment secretary.

In other moves, Bridget Phillipson has replaced Kate Green as shadow education secretary, with Green returning to the backbenches. Emily Thornberry moves from her shadow international trade secretary role into the position of shadow attorney general, and Jo Stevens has vacated the shadow culture secretary role to become shadow Welsh secretary in lieu of Nia Griffith.

Sir Keir said that the reshuffle - his second shakeup of the shadow cabinet since being voted into the Labour hot-seat last year - would make the shadow cabinet “smaller” and “more focused”, and one that “mirrors the shape of the government.”

He said: “I look forward to working with the new team to show we are once again a serious party of government.”

The news of the reshuffle emerged as the party’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, was delivering a speech in the House of Commons. It is believed that she was aware the reshuffle would be taking place but was without knowledge of the details or exact timing, the BBC reports.

Former shadow chancellor and staunch Jeremy Corbyn supporter, John McDonnell, has been critical of the reshuffle and of Sir Keir's decision to bring Cooper back into the shadow cabinet.

He said that “reviving the careers of former Blairite ministers and simply reappointing existing shadow cabinet ministers” did not signal that the Labour Party was looking to the future, but backwards.

The full Labour shadow cabinet following the reshuffle is as follows:

Deputy leader: Angela Rayner

Shadow chancellor: Rachel Reeves

Shadow business secretary: Jonathan Reynolds

Shadow climate change secretary: Ed Miliband

Shadow cabinet secretary: Jenny Chapman

Shadow defence secretary: John Healey

Shadow culture secretary: Lucy Powell

Shadow education secretary: Bridget Phillipson

Shadow environment secretary: Jim McMahon

Shadow foreign secretary: David Lammy

Shadow health secretary: Wes Streeting

Shadow home secretary: Yvette Cooper

Shadow international trade secretary: Nick Thomas-Symonds

Shadow justice secretary: Steve Reed

Shadow levelling up secretary: Lisa Nandy

Shadow transport secretary: Louise Haigh

Shadow women and equalities secretary: Anneliese Dodds

Shadow work and pensions secretary: Jonathan Ashworth

Shadow attorney general: Emily Thornberry

Shadow minister for mental health: Rosena Allin-Khan

Shadow minister for international development: Preet Gill

Shadow Treasury chief secretary: Pat McFadden

Shadow Northern Ireland secretary: Peter Kyle

Shadow Scotland secretary: Ian Murray

Shadow Wales secretary: Jo Stevens

National campaign coordinator: Shabana Mahmood

Shadow leader of the Commons: Thangam Debbonaire

Shadow leader of the Lords: Angela Smith

Shadow chief whip: Alan Campbell

Opposition chief whip in the House: Roy Kennedy

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

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Authored By

Scott Challinor
Business Editor
November 30th 2021, 1:01pm

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