LONDON: Britain’s opposition Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer on Monday made a sweeping reshuffle of his shadow cabinet in preparation for next year’s general election, demoting Indian-origin shadow ministers Lisa Nandy and Preet Kaur Gill. .
Lisa Nandy was moved from the key role of Shadow Leveling Up Secretary to Minister for International Development, a role previously held by Preet Kaur Gill – the first British Sikh female Member of Parliament to sit in the House of Commons.
Ms Nandy, Member of Parliament for Wigan and daughter of Deepak Nandy – a Kolkata-born academic best known for his work in the field of race relations in Britain, progressed from a shadow secretary of state to a shadow minister of the department Are increasing. The Department for International Development (DFID) falls under the purview of the Foreign Office under the Conservative Party government.
“There is so much potential across our country. But to make it happen, we need a government that will spread power and opportunity more widely,” Lisa Nandy tweeted without directly addressing the reshuffle.
“This is what the next Labor government will do and that’s what ‘All In’ is about,” he said, referring to the paperback edition of his political book ‘All In’ released this month.
The 44-year-old was one of the leadership contenders who went up against Mr Starmer in the wake of Labour’s poor performance in the 2019 general election under Jeremy Corbyn, which was won by the Boris Johnson-led Tories.
Ms Nandy now makes way for an expanded role as shadow level secretary for Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner, in a sign the opposition is preparing its top team for campaign mode ahead of the annual party conference in October. Is seen in.
Meanwhile, Preet Kaur Gill took to social media to sign off on the shadow cabinet and reiterate her support for Mr Starmer’s leadership.
“It has been a great privilege to serve as Shadow Secretary of State for International Development through some tumultuous years: a global pandemic that has set back years of progress, the UK’s disastrous exit from Afghanistan, and Putin’s crackdown in Ukraine. Disgusting war, tweeted the Birmingham Edgbaston MP.
“I am proud of the work we have done holding the government to account: over its disastrous decision to dismantle DFID and its mismanaged aid cuts, which have cost so many lives… This could not be clearer than that. We need to move past this rotten, zombie government and put a mission-driven Labor government in power. It is as clear today as it was three years ago when I supported his campaign to become leader, that Keir Starmer is the Prime Minister Britain needs,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Labor leader promoted Pakistani-born Birmingham Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood, who is taking over as the new shadow justice secretary, and Sri Lankan-born Thangam Debonaire as the new shadow culture secretary.
Pat McFadden has been appointed Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator, and Liz Kendall becomes Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary. Leeds MP Hilary Benn returns to the Labor frontbench as the new Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
However, the most senior roles in Starmer’s shadow cabinet remain unchanged, with Rachel Reeves remaining Shadow Chancellor, Yvette Cooper Shadow Home Secretary, Wes Streeting Shadow Health Secretary and David Lammy Shadow Foreign Secretary.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Parliamentary Affairs staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
