Keir Starmer waited for the football to finish before announcing his latest tranche of ministerial appointments. A few of them are confirmations of the roles held by shadow ministers in opposition: Matthew Pennycook is housing minister, Jim McMahon is in the same department as local government minister, and Dan Jarvis remains in the Home Office brief. Other announcements involve moves: Ellie Reeves has gone from justice to the Cabinet Office. Then there’s a new/old face: Douglas Alexander, back as an MP and tipped during the campaign to take over as foreign secretary from David Lammy. That didn’t happen and Alexander is instead a minister of state in the Business and Trade department. And a surprise: Jacqui Smith will be an education minister, meaning the ex-MP will be in the Lords.
Starmer is leaning very heavily on experienced hands here, trying to avoid the impression that this government is stuffed full of people who only know opposition. Smith is best known for being a former Labour home secretary, but she also had two spells in the education department, describing it as the best experience she had in government. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who was elected as Smith lost her seat in the 2010 election, has had a very different experience of parliamentary life, and now she has a junior colleague who knows very well how to get a department to work.
Starmer made very clear in his press conference earlier that he was focused on delivery and would be monitoring departments through his ‘mission delivery boards’, which he will chair, to ensure they are getting on with their jobs. It seems he will be bringing in other experienced figures to help with the delivery too: there are a lot more appointments to go.
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