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
