Who has Sir Keir Starmer picked to be in his Cabinet?

Angela Rayner – Deputy Prime Minister and Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary

As Labour’s new Red Queen, many will now be looking to Angela Rayner, like John Prescott before her, to serve as custodian of the party’s traditional values in the face of a modernising leadership.

Rachel Reeves – Chancellor

Against the daunting backdrop of a sluggish economy and competing demands for public spending, Britain’s first ever female Chancellor will be responsible for sticking to Labour’s strict fiscal rules while implementing a series of tax hikes – hitting wealthy non-doms, oil and gas giants and private schools – to help fund its plans for improved public services.

Ian Murray – Scottish Secretary

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray has represented Edinburgh South since 2010 – and was the only Scottish Labour MP left in Westminster after the party’s 2019 general election defeat.

A critic of former leader Mr Corbyn, Mr Murray has campaigned against Scottish independence and won the backing of Sir Tony Blair and Mr Brown during an unsuccessful bid for the Labour deputy leadership in 2020.

Yvette Cooper – Home Secretary

A rising star under New Labour, Yvette Cooper was relegated to the back benches during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership before returning to the shadow cabinet with her home affairs brief under Sir Keir.

Her marriage to Ed Balls, Gordon Brown’s close confidant, made them the first couple to sit in Cabinet together.

Pat McFadden – Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

As shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and national campaign co-ordinator since 2023, veteran frontbencher Pat McFadden played a central role in shaping Labour’s direction in the run-up to the election. Born in Glasgow to Irish-speaking parents from Donegal, his Labour roots go back past even the 1990s to his days as an undergraduate at Edinburgh University, where he was chair of Scottish Labour Students before working for Donald Dewar and later John Smith.

David Lammy – Foreign Secretary

Veteran MP David Lammy has risen through the party ranks over the course of a 23-year career in Parliament.

He has spoken of the fear and embarrassment he felt when he was first stopped and searched at the age of just 12, and made his name in politics campaigning against racial injustice and the profiling of black and ethnic minority groups.

Wes Streeting – Health Secretary

One of Labour’s most recognisable faces and never slow to attack the Tory record, Mr Streeting is seen as a confident media performer and has often been touted as a potential leadership contender.

He has been MP for Ilford North since 2015 and as Health Secretary will be responsible for overseeing the party’s mission to rebuild the NHS, including a pledge to create 40,000 new appointments each week.

Bridget Phillipson – Education Secretary

At school in the former mining town of Washington, Bridget Phillipson was a star pupil with an interest in acting that landed her a role as an extra in Byker Grove before winning a place at Oxford University.

Aged just 26, she went on to become MP for Houghton and Sunderland South in 2010.

Ed Miliband – Energy Secretary

Dubbed “Red Ed” by the tabloids during his time as Labour leader, Ed Miliband nonetheless headed a more moderate party than Mr Corbyn, who he called on to resign after the Leave result in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

His more recent guise as “Green Ed” – running Labour’s net zero policy – has seen him champion the pledge to create GB Energy, a publicly owned clean power company.

Liz Kendall – Work and Pensions Secretary

As Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall has been responsible for overseeing the party’s mission to “get Britain working again” following a rise in long-term sickness and inactivity.

She set out a tough stance on welfare in a speech earlier this year, during which she said there would be “no option for a life on benefits” for people who can work under Labour.

Shabana Mahmood – Justice Secretary

Oxford-educated former barrister Shabana Mahmood is the new Justice Secretary, having previously served as national campaign co-ordinator.

John Healey – Defence Secretary

A stalwart of Labour’s frontbench, John Healey served in the Blair-Brown governments as well as the shadow cabinets of Mr Miliband and Mr Corbyn before becoming Sir Keir’s shadow defence secretary.

Jonathan Reynolds – Business Secretary

Alongside Ms Reeves, new Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has been at the forefront of Labour’s efforts to redraw its relationship with the City.

Louise Haigh – Transport Secretary

As Labour’s new Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh will be in charge of party plans to renationalise most rail services, with a new public body inheriting existing contracts when they expire.

The MP for Sheffield Heeley will be regarded a standard-bearer of the soft left of the party in a Cabinet prominently featuring Blairite figures.

Lisa Nandy – Culture Secretary

Wigan MP Lisa Nandy has been appointed Culture Secretary, a role that had been earmarked for former frontbencher Thangam Debbonaire before she lost her Commons seat to the Greens.

Steve Reed – Environment Secretary

Steve Reed won the seat of Croydon North in a 2012 by-election and served as shadow justice secretary from 2021 until he was moved to the environment brief last year.

Lucy Powell – Commons Leader

Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell has held a number of positions in Sir Keir’s top team, most recently as shadow leader of the Commons.