Keir Starmer, Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, carried out a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet on 9 May 2021. This followed disappointing results for the Labour Party, including historic defeat in the Hartlepool by-election and the loss of hundreds of councillors in local elections across England.
The major outcome of the reshuffle was the move of Anneliese Dodds, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, which was seen as a reflection of her failure to effectively oppose Rishi Sunak.[1] Rachel Reeves was appointed as the new shadow chancellor and Angela Rayner succeeded Reeves as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Nick Brown stood down as Chief Whip of the Labour Party and Starmer appointed his deputy Alan Campbell to succeed him. Valerie Vaz was sacked as Shadow Leader of the House of Commons and was replaced by Thangam Debbonaire, who in turn was succeeded as Shadow Housing Secretary by Lucy Powell. Starmer also created four new Shadow Secretary of State positions, for the Future of Work, Mental Health, Child Poverty, and Young People and Democracy.[2][3][4]
On 8 May, the initial plans were leaked to journalists by an anonymous source saying that he was going to sack Rayner and other senior shadow ministers. This was heavily criticised by Labour members and MPs.[5] Following this backlash, the reshuffle was carried out on 9 May and less extensive than the leaked information said had been planned.[6][7]
On 10 May, Kim Johnson, the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, publicly described Starmer's treatment of Rayner as a "despicable act of cowardice".[8] Confidence in Starmer's leadership and authority was considered by some to have been undermined by the events of 8 to 9 May.[7][9][10]
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- ^ Stephen Bush (10 May 2021). "Keir Starmer's first shadow cabinet reshuffle is a bigger gamble than many realise". New Statesman.
- ^ Jessica Elgot; Heather Stewart (9 May 2021). "Labour reshuffle: Angela Rayner takes major role after Keir Starmer standoff". The Guardian.
- ^ Heather Stewart; Jessica Elgot; Peter Walker (9 May 2021). "Keir Starmer's Labour shadow cabinet reshuffle: the winners and losers". The Guardian.
- ^ Katie Proctor; Eleanor Langford (9 May 2021). "Keir Starmer Has Replaced Anneliese Dodds With Rachel Reeves As Shadow Chancellor In Emergency Reshuffle". PoliticsHome.
- ^ Ailbhe Rea (8 May 2021). ""Gobsmacked" Labour MPs react with anger to the leak that said Angela Rayner had been sacked as party chair". New Statesman.
- ^ Henry Zeffman (10 May 2021). "Keir Starmer invents a new title for Angela Rayner in reshuffle kerfuffle". The Times.
- ^ a b Laura Kuenssberg (9 May 2021). "Labour: Messy reshuffle knocks Sir Keir Starmer's authority". BBC News.
- ^ "Labour reshuffle: Anneliese Dodds out in Starmer's post-election reshuffle". BBC News. 10 May 2021.
- ^ Heather Stewart (9 May 2021). "Briefings, silence and sackings: Labour's confidence in Keir Starmer slips". The Guardian.
- ^ Peter Walker (10 May 2021). "Labour cannot return to past policies, says Gordon Brown after poll drubbing". The Guardian.
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