Resignation of Cat Smith 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.
Failure to inform Angela Rayner 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.
Appointment of Yvette Cooper in 2016
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.
Other appointments 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. The decision to move
Lisa Nandy from her position as
Shadow Foreign Secretary would have typically been regarded as a demotion; however, it was widely reported to be positive, as her new role would involve opposing the
Johnson government's flagship
levelling up policy and facing
Michael Gove across the dispatch box. Nandy's experience as a
Northern MP and interest in the importance of towns have been cited as making her well-suited to the portfolio. Former
Leader of the Labour Party Ed Miliband was moved to a new role, from
Shadow Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to
Shadow Climate Change Secretary. While he had been praised for his speeches during the
2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in
Glasgow, his responsibilities may have been reduced in response to his outspoken support for the public ownership of energy companies.
Laura Kuenssberg of
BBC News wrote that the slimmed down shadow cabinet aimed to "combine experience and youth".
Robert Peston of
ITV News described the reshuffle as abandoning "the fatuous project of trying to ... placate Labour's warring factions". Instead, Starmer has "chosen shadow ministers for their perceived ability".
Stephen Bush of the
New Statesman presented a more critical perspective on the reshuffle, arguing that certain appointments (such as moving to Streeting to Health rather than Education) did not appear to "make sense". Former
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, who had served under Jeremy Corbyn, stated that the reshuffle "[gave] the impression of
Christmas Past not
Christmas Future", while criticising the perceived promotion of "
Blairite" MPs. The reshuffle was considered to boost Labour's chances in the
Old Bexley and Sidcup by-election four days later. However, it lost the by-election. == See also ==