Senior Labour figures in line to be appointed to Cabinet
After installing himself in 10 Downing Street as Britain’s 58th prime minister, one of Sir Keir Starmer‘s first tasks will be to appoint his Cabinet.
Few surprises are expected when he names his top team in government, with the Labour leader set to stick with those who served him as shadow ministers.
Rachel Reeves, a self-confessed ‘geek’ and schoolgirl chess champion, is near certain to be Britain’s first female Chancellor, while Yvette Cooper will be home secretary.
David Lammy, an ardent Remainer who once compared Tory Brexiteers to Nazis, will likely be named as foreign secretary.
And Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner – dubbed ‘Grangela’ after she became a grandmother in 2017 at the age of 37 – is set to become deputy PM.
She could also take on a powerful portfolio in Whitehall overseeing Labour’s planned housbuilding blitz.
But Sir Keir has been left with at least one decision to make, after shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire failed to be re-elected to the House of Commons.
She was among the few seats Labour failed to successfully defend at the general election as they swept to a landslide win and ended 14 years of Conservative rule.
Ms Debbonaire was beaten by Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer in Bristol Central.
After becoming Britain’s 58th prime minister, one of the first tasks for Sir Keir Starmer (pictured at Buckingham Palace this morning) will be to appoint his Cabinet
Rachel Reeves, a self-confessed ‘geek’ and schoolgirl chess champion, is near certain to be Britain’s first female Chancellor
David Lammy, an ardent Remainer who once compared Tory Brexiteers to Nazis, will likely be named as foreign secretary
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner – dubbed ‘Grangela’ after she became a grandmother in 2017 at the age of 37 – is set to become deputy PM
Yvette Cooper is set to be named as the new Home Secretary and will be tasked with stopping the Channel migrant crisis
Sir Keir has been left with at least one decision to make, after shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire failed to be re-elected to the House of Commons
Another Labour casualty was Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general, who had been a key figure in Labour’s general election campaign.
He was defeated in Leicester South by an independent candidate as Labour suffered a backlash in some constituencies over the party’s stance on the Gaza conflict.
Mr Ashworth, a former shadow health secretary, had been expected to be promoted after polling day.
Among those who could replace either Ms Debbonaire or Mr Ashworth as members of Sir Keir’s top team are Douglas Alexander or Ellie Reeves, the sister of Rachel.
Mr Alexander is returning to Parliament as Lothian East MP after having previously been MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South from 1997 until 2015.
The 56-year-old served in a series of Cabinet roles under former Labour PMs Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and will be among only a few Labour MPs with past ministerial experience.
Ellie Reeves is likely to be rewarded with a government job after playing a key role in Labour’s election victory as deputy national campaign coordinator.
Her sister Rachel is one of Sir Keir’s closest allies and will be the first woman to lead the Treasury in its 1,000-year history.
Before entering Parliament the incoming Chancellor worked as an economist at the Bank of England and then moved into the private sector.
‘I’ve wanted to be Chancellor ever since I went into politics,’ she told the Daily Mail last month.
‘I just think: I can do this job well, because of my background as an economist and working in financial services. I’m really qualified for it.’
Ms Reeves is expected to be joined at the Cabinet table by a familiar team, almost identical to Sir Keir’s shadow cabinet.
Senior Labour figures have said the party’s so-called ‘mission leads’ are safe from a reshuffle.
They are Ms Reeves, Ed Miliband, Ms Cooper, Bridget Phillipson and Wes Streeting.
Ms Cooper leads on Labour’s plan to ‘take back our streets’ by halving serious violent crime and raising confidence in the police and criminal justice system.
Ms Phillipson will bid to ‘break down barriers to opportunity’ as Education Secretary, Mr Streeting will focus on building an NHS ‘fit for the future’ as Health Secretary, Mr Miliband will try to ‘make Britain a clean energy superpower’ as Energy Secretary, and Ms Reeves will focus on economic growth.
Other senior Cabinet jobs will not be changed, with Mr Lammy also set to keep his brief despite some Labour insiders believing him to be ‘a liability’ who has been noticeably absent from the campaign trail – considered odd given the multiple security challenges facing Britain and the world.
Sir Keir has previously confirmed that Ms Rayner, who has the housing brief, would also be his Deputy PM.