Labour’s new leader unveils senior shadow cabinet appointments
● Starmer pledges to work with the government over coronavirus – but will ‘speak for those who have been ignored’
Sir Keir Starmer has announced the senior members of his new shadow cabinet after his landslide victory in the Labour leadership race.
Former Treasury minister Anneliese Dodds has been made shadow chancellor, his leadership rival Lisa Nandy has been appointed shadow foreign secretary and Nick Thomas-symonds will be shadow home secretary.
Rachel Reeves will be shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, while Jonathan Ashworth will remain shadow health secretary.
Nick Brown has been reappointed chief whip and Angela Smith remains shadow leader of the Lords.
John Mcdonnell and Diane Abbott, who served under Jeremy Corbyn, are out of the shadow cabinet, but former shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry is expected to remain – albeit in a different role.
Sir Keir said: “We are living through a national emergency. Under my leadership, the Labour Party will always act in the country’s interest to save lives and protect livelihoods. That will be the number one priority of my shadow cabinet.
“We will be a responsible opposition that supports the government where we believe they are right and challenge them when we believe mistakes are being made.”
Barry Gardiner, Jon Trickett and Ian Lavery have left the shadow cabinet, while appointments are set to be finalised today.
Ms Nandy, who finished third in the Labour leadership race, said it was a “real honour” to be given the task of leading the party’s foreign policy response “in these difficult times”.
Mr Thomas-symonds said he too was “honoured” by his appointment.
Sir Keir pledged earlier yesterday to create a “balanced” team from across the country and party, with people who “want to serve towards the future aim of winning that next general election”.
He has vowed to make it his “mission” to reconnect the party with the public, saying Labour needs to change so trust can be regained.
Sir Keir secured 56 per cent of the 490,731 votes cast in the three-month contest – beating his rivals Rebecca Long-bailey and Lisa Nandy to replace Jeremy Corbyn.
“I will have in my shadow cabinet those that want to serve towards the future aim of winning that next general election,” he told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show.
“It will be a talented, balanced shadow cabinet.”
Sir Keir has vowed to engage constructively with the government amid the coronavirus crisis, saying he will not seek to score party political points – nor demand the impossible.
In a newspaper article yesterday, he accused the government of making “serious mistakes”initsresponsetothecrisis and criticised ministers for being too slow at explaining why the UK is “so far behind” on testing.
He also called for “blockages in the system” which are delaying the delivery of protective equipment – known as PPE – to front-line workers to be “addressed quickly”.
Sir Keir said: “There will be many times when, and there are many issues upon which,
New Labour leader
I will fundamentally disagree with the Prime Minister.
“However, there will also be times when Labour can – and must – engage constructively with the government.
“Now is such a time. Coronavirus is a national emergency. It is also a global emergency. Everyone is anxious about what the next few months will bring, but we know we must be resolute in our determination to see this virus defeated, as it will be.
“I want to see the government succeed in this: to save lives and protect livelihoods. This is a national effort and all of us should be asking what more we can do.”
He said Labour would “do our bit to offer solutions” but would also “speak for those who have been ignored”, and expose mistakes where they are found “to ensure that they are rectified as soon as possible”.
On Brexit, Sir Keir said the government “should extend” the transition period “if it’s necessary to do so” because of the pandemic.
Angela Rayner won the deputy leadership with 52.6 per cent of the vote in the third round, and promised to “do everything” to repay her supporters’ trust.
She acknowledged the party had “let down” the Jewish community and also has to win back the respect of voters who had left the party to vote Conservative.
“There will be many times when, and there are many issues upon which, I will disagree with the Prime Minister”
SIR KEIR STARMER