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November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle
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November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle
On 29 November 2021, Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, carried out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet. The slimmed down shadow cabinet, was seen to be Starmer creating a top team in his own image.
Considered a surprise, this reshuffle included the promotion of Yvette Cooper and David Lammy to Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Foreign Secretary, respectively, while Miliband was moved from Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy to Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero. The appointment of Cooper in particular was described by some commentators as a sign of Labour further splitting from the Corbyn leadership and moving to the right.
The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg and Robert Peston of ITV News said that the reshuffle aimed to "combine experience and youth" and end "the fatuous project of trying to ... placate Labour's warring factions", and instead chose "shadow ministers for their perceived ability". In the New Statesman, journalist Stephen Bush suggested that Starmer had "removed underperforming shadow cabinet ministers and rewarded his biggest hitters – but the resulting shadow cabinet looks to be less than the sum of its parts."
On 4 December 2021, LabourList reported the junior changes to the frontbench.
Before the reshuffle was underway, Cat Smith resigned as Shadow Secretary of State for Young People and Democracy, despite Starmer asking her to stay in her position. In her resignation letter, Smith described the ongoing suspension of Jeremy Corbyn as "utterly unsustainable" and voiced her concern that the situation was damaging the party.
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Angela Rayner was not notified of the reshuffle, as it was first reported while she was making a keynote speech on Parliamentary Standards at the Institute for Government. The resignation tweet from Cat Smith was sent out during the Q&A section, so Rayner was caught off guard. Starmer was criticised for not notifying his deputy before announcing the reshuffle. Lisa Nandy dismissed claims that Rayner had been humiliated over the alleged snub, stating that the reshuffle showed "we’re moving north" to a question on Sky News asking about the left–right focus on the reshuffle which had been discussed in the media. A similar rift occurred at the reshuffle in May 2021, in which Rayner was demoted from her position as party chair and national campaign coordinator after Labour's heavy loss in the 2021 Hartlepool by-election.
Yvette Cooper's appointment as Shadow Home Secretary was one of the most significant changes announced by Starmer, as it returned her to the role she had previously occupied in 2015 as a member of the Miliband shadow cabinet. The move was seen as a shift towards the right and a further departure from the Corbyn era. Jon Craig of Sky News described Cooper as "Labour's lost leader" and speculated that her comeback would increase her odds of one day succeeding Starmer.
David Lammy was promoted to Shadow Foreign Secretary. He had served as a minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and in the weeks before the reshuffle had been under scrutiny for his second job. His appointment was criticised in the Daily Telegraph.
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November 2021 British shadow cabinet reshuffle
On 29 November 2021, Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, carried out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet. The slimmed down shadow cabinet, was seen to be Starmer creating a top team in his own image.
Considered a surprise, this reshuffle included the promotion of Yvette Cooper and David Lammy to Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Foreign Secretary, respectively, while Miliband was moved from Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy to Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero. The appointment of Cooper in particular was described by some commentators as a sign of Labour further splitting from the Corbyn leadership and moving to the right.
The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg and Robert Peston of ITV News said that the reshuffle aimed to "combine experience and youth" and end "the fatuous project of trying to ... placate Labour's warring factions", and instead chose "shadow ministers for their perceived ability". In the New Statesman, journalist Stephen Bush suggested that Starmer had "removed underperforming shadow cabinet ministers and rewarded his biggest hitters – but the resulting shadow cabinet looks to be less than the sum of its parts."
On 4 December 2021, LabourList reported the junior changes to the frontbench.
Before the reshuffle was underway, Cat Smith resigned as Shadow Secretary of State for Young People and Democracy, despite Starmer asking her to stay in her position. In her resignation letter, Smith described the ongoing suspension of Jeremy Corbyn as "utterly unsustainable" and voiced her concern that the situation was damaging the party.
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Angela Rayner was not notified of the reshuffle, as it was first reported while she was making a keynote speech on Parliamentary Standards at the Institute for Government. The resignation tweet from Cat Smith was sent out during the Q&A section, so Rayner was caught off guard. Starmer was criticised for not notifying his deputy before announcing the reshuffle. Lisa Nandy dismissed claims that Rayner had been humiliated over the alleged snub, stating that the reshuffle showed "we’re moving north" to a question on Sky News asking about the left–right focus on the reshuffle which had been discussed in the media. A similar rift occurred at the reshuffle in May 2021, in which Rayner was demoted from her position as party chair and national campaign coordinator after Labour's heavy loss in the 2021 Hartlepool by-election.
Yvette Cooper's appointment as Shadow Home Secretary was one of the most significant changes announced by Starmer, as it returned her to the role she had previously occupied in 2015 as a member of the Miliband shadow cabinet. The move was seen as a shift towards the right and a further departure from the Corbyn era. Jon Craig of Sky News described Cooper as "Labour's lost leader" and speculated that her comeback would increase her odds of one day succeeding Starmer.
David Lammy was promoted to Shadow Foreign Secretary. He had served as a minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, and in the weeks before the reshuffle had been under scrutiny for his second job. His appointment was criticised in the Daily Telegraph.