Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is carrying out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet as the party prepares for the next general election, expected in 2024.
But who has won a promotion in the ranks? Who has been demoted to a lower position? And who is returning to the backbenchers after a stint in a top job?
The first of the big winners is deputy party leader Angela Rayner, having been formally appointed as the shadow deputy prime minister, solidifying herself in the role if Labour wins the next election. She has also been named shadow levelling up secretary – giving her a departmental brief to get her teeth into.
A Labour source also said she would remain the “strategic lead on Labour’s new deal for working people”.
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Another rise in the ranks was announced with the news that Shabana Mahmood would take over as shadow justice secretary.
Sky News understands she is a key ally to Sir Keir and has been credited with helping transform the party and its campaign machine while acting as its national campaign co-ordinator.
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Former leadership contender Liz Kendall has also received a vote in confidence with a big promotion – going from a junior shadow health minister to shadow work and pensions secretary.
Another leap to a full departmental brief was given to Thangam Debbonaire, who has gone from a more obscure role as shadow leader of the Commons to shadow secretary for culture, media and sport.
Pat McFadden had been a senior player in the Treasury team, having held the role of shadow chief secretary to the Treasury.
But now he will take over as the shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – a strange title in the Cabinet Office, previously held by Ms Rayner – and as the national campaign co-ordinator.
Perhaps more of a sideways shift than a full-on promotion was gained by Peter Kyle. Having been shadow Northern Ireland secretary, he already held a key role – with ongoing issues at Stormont and continued fallout from Brexit.
He will now take on the shadow science, innovation and technology post – a key part of policy going forward when it comes to jobs and growth.
However, Darren Jones has definitely been promoted as a new member of the shadow cabinet.
He won plaudits as the chair of the business select committee – especially when it came to questioning prominent ministers – and the strong communicator now takes on the role of shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, with the hope he will aid Labour’s economic credibility in the coming months.
Another new entry to Sir Keir’s team, though a well-known name from the past, is Hilary Benn, who comes in as shadow Northern Ireland secretary.
He held multiple government roles in the Blair and Brown years – including environment secretary – and numerous shadow positions since, such as Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow foreign secretary. But he now returns after a seven-year absence from the frontbench.
A more minor promotion, but one all the same, is for Ellie Reeves. She had held a junior position as a shadow justice minister, but now adds deputy national campaign co-ordinator to her job title.
Demoted
One of the biggest casualties of the reshuffle was Lisa Nandy, who lost her position as shadow levelling up secretary to Ms Rayner.
She has been appointed as the shadow minister for international development – essentially the second in command to the shadow foreign secretary – and will keep her seat at the cabinet table.
But it is a lower position than being in charge of shadowing an entire department, and our deputy political editor Sam Coates understands it was a “pretty brutal” conversation between her and Sir Keir.
Less of a big hit was taken by Steve Reed, who has gone from shadow justice secretary to shadow environment secretary.
While the brief may traditionally have been seen as a lesser role, environmental issues often lead to key debates with voters, so it could still be a fruitful place for Mr Reed to make his mark.
One clear demotion was for Lucy Powell, losing her spot as shadow culture secretary. But again, she has been given the consolation prize of leader of the House.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Ashworth has taken a hit, moving from shadow work and pensions secretary to the more obscure role of shadow paymaster general.
But Sky News understands he will stay as a full shadow cabinet member and will play a big role in the general election campaign.
Nick Thomas-Symonds also loses his post as shadow secretary for international trade, but again keeps his cabinet position as a shadow minister without portfolio in the Cabinet Office.
Gone
Kicking off proceedings today was the resignation of Jim McMahon, who quit his post as shadow environment secretary.
In his letter to Sir Keir, Mr McMahon said there was “still some way to go” in his recovery from a serious illness – reported in the Mirror earlier this year as an infection that led him to two weeks in hospital – and he wanted to resign “for the benefit of both my health and my family”.
The party leader thanked him for his service, and also revealed Mr McMahon had been subject to “abuse [and] violent threats” during his time in post.
Another resignation came from Rosena Allin-Khan, who stepped down as the shadow minister for mental health.
Writing to Sir Keir, she revealed tensions, saying: “As discussed previously, and in our call earlier, you made clear that you do not see a space for a mental health portfolio in a Labour cabinet, which is why I told you many weeks ago that I would not be able to continue in this role.”
But she thanked him for the opportunity and promised to fight for a Labour government from the backbenches.
Two other MPs have seen their roles removed and given to someone else – Fleur Anderson who was shadow paymaster general, and Preet Kaur Gill, who was shadow minister for international development.
Sir Keir Starmer has said he will defend the decisions made in the budget “all day long” amid anger from farmers over inheritance tax changes.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced last month in her key speech that from April 2026, farms worth more than £1m will face an inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% applied to other land and property.
The announcement has sparked anger among farmers who argue this will mean higher food prices, lower food production and having to sell off land to pay for the tax.
Sir Keir defended the budget as he gave his first speech as prime minister at the Welsh Labour conference in Llandudno, North Wales, where farmers have been holding a tractor protest outside.
Sir Keir admitted: “We’ve taken some extremely tough decisions on tax.”
He said: “I will defend facing up to the harsh light of fiscal reality. I will defend the tough decisions that were necessary to stabilise our economy.
“And I will defend protecting the payslips of working people, fixing the foundations of our economy, and investing in the future of Britain and the future of Wales. Finally, turning the page on austerity once and for all.”
He also said the budget allocation for Wales was a “record figure” – some £21bn for next year – an extra £1.7bn through the Barnett Formula, as he hailed a “path of change” with Labour governments in Wales and Westminster.
And he confirmed a £160m investment zone in Wrexham and Flintshire will be going live in 2025.
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‘PM should have addressed the protesters’
Among the hundreds of farmers demonstrating was Gareth Wyn Jones, who told Sky News it was “disrespectful” that the prime minister did not mention farmers in his speech.
He said “so many people have come here to air their frustrations. He (Starmer) had an opportunity to address the crowd. Even if he was booed he should have been man enough to come out and talk to the people”.
He said farmers planned to deliver Sir Keir a letter which begins with “‘don’t bite the hand that feeds you”.
Mr Wyn Jones told Sky News the government was “destroying” an industry that was already struggling.
“They’re destroying an industry that’s already on its knees and struggling, absolutely struggling, mentally, emotionally and physically. We need government support not more hindrance so we can produce food to feed the nation.”
He said inheritance tax changes will result in farmers increasing the price of food: “The poorer people in society aren’t going to be able to afford good, healthy, nutritious British food, so we have to push this to government for them to understand that enough is enough, the farmers can’t take any more of what they’re throwing at us.”
Mr Wyn Jones disputed the government’s estimation that only 500 farming estates in the UK will be affected by the inheritance tax changes.
“Look, a lot of farmers in this country are in their 70s and 80s, they haven’t handed their farms down because that’s the way it’s always been, they’ve always known there was never going to be inheritance tax.”
On Friday, Sir Keir addressed farmers’ concerns, saying: “I know some farmers are anxious about the inheritance tax rules that we brought in two weeks ago.
“What I would say about that is, once you add the £1m for the farmland to the £1m that is exempt for your spouse, for most couples with a farm wanting to hand on to their children, it’s £3m before anybody pays a penny in inheritance tax.”
Ministers said the move will not affect small farms and is aimed at targeting wealthy landowners who buy up farmland to avoid paying inheritance tax.
But analysis this week said a typical family farm would have to put 159% of annual profits into paying the new inheritance tax every year for a decade and could have to sell 20% of their land.
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The Country and Land Business Association (CLA), which represents owners of rural land, property and businesses in England and Wales, found a typical 200-acre farm owned by one person with an expected profit of £27,300 would face a £435,000 inheritance tax bill.
The plan says families can spread the inheritance tax payments over 10 years, but the CLA found this would require an average farm to allocate 159% of its profits each year for a decade.
To pay that, successors could be forced to sell 20% of their land, the analysis found.