Labour has a new top team. Many of you will have seen in the news over the last few days that Keir Starmer has made changes to his Shadow Cabinet ahead of the upcoming general election, which could come at any time in the next year. This reshuffle now sees Labour directly shadow the Departmental changes initiated by the Prime Minister earlier this year.
I am pleased to say that I have now joined the brilliant team in the Opposition’s Whips Office. This is another first for me, and I am excited to get my feet under the desk and start my new role.
A whip in the House of Commons helps organise their party’s contribution to parliamentary business. In short, we make sure MPs from our respective parties are where they should be, at the right time. This may sound simple in practice but with the hectic business of the House, things can change at the drop of a hat.
Accepting my new role meant leaving my position as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Rachel and the Shadow Treasury Team and I can say with full confidence that Rachel is absolutely the right person to deliver the economic change this country desperately needs. I now look forward to what my new role will bring.
Some of the key appointments in the Shadow Cabinet included Angela Rayner become the Shadow Secretary of State for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Also joining her team is Chester’s neighbouring MP Mike Amesbury, as the Shadow Minister for Building Safety and Homelessness. Fellow North West MP Lisa Nandy has now taken the role as Shadow Cabinet Minister for International Development and I’m really pleased that colleague Justin Madders continues in his crucial role as Shadow Minister for Business, Employment Rights and Levelling Up in the Shadow Business and Trade team, a department I will be working with closely in my new role.
These are just a few of the changes to Labour’s Shadow Cabinet. For the full list of appointments and responsibilities, please take a look on Labour’s website https://labour.org.uk/people/shadow-cabinet/
From daily conversations and correspondence from the residents of Chester, I know people are crying out for change. This Government have had thirteen years and what do they have to show for it? Crumbling schools, polluted rivers, a crashed economy and people struggling to make ends meet.
Labour’s Shadow Cabinet is full of the talent, ideas and experience, and crucially, the hunger to deliver the change our country needs. We must take on the challenges we face and improve the lives of hard-working people.