Starmer has wasted no time since his landslide General Election victory, come see the most eye-catching appointments in his new Labour Government.
Top: James Timpson
Successful cabinet reshuffles (or is it ‘shuffle’ if they are at the start of a new government?) have a theme to them that communicates a clear message to various stakeholders including journalists, backbench MPs, and the public.
This week’s set of ministerial appointments are all about delivery. Starmer wants people in place that he knows can do the job. He wants round pegs in round holes and people with experience in their sector, regardless of age, length of service or even political position.
So, it was refreshing to see James Timpson of key-cutting fame but also a former Chair of the Prison Reform Trust, made Prisons Minister. Clearly, the newly ennobled Lord Timpson has a passion and expertise in penal reform, but as a relative political novice, it remains to be seen how he deals with the political challenges of the role. How is he going to convince HMT to provide the funds required to improve the probation system? How will he deal with the right-wing media blowback to plans for the early release of prisoners due to the overcrowding crisis? How will he drive a prisons Bill through Parliament? How will he liaise with the Home Office which will have political pressures of their own?
Fortunately, he will be aided by the experienced and capable Shabana Mahmood as Justice Secretary, but politics can be a messy business that requires skills beyond just policy passion and experience, especially if you want to deliver. WTWN wishes him well.
Middle: Georgia Gould
The other unusual feature of this week’s government appointments was the five newly elected MPs who were appointed ministers before they’d even been shown where the Table Office is located. There is a very real possibility that the soon-to-be-famous five will get offices in their government departments on Whitehall before the Pairing Whip gives them parliamentary offices in Norman Shaw North.
Kudos to the five who are all talented and capable, particularly Georgia Gould who has influenced Starmer’s mission-led approach to government from her time running Camden Council.
But there is a risk that these newly-elected MPs will miss the chance to understand how Parliament really works – for example, there is a very real possibility that Minister Gould will have to answer a parliamentary question before she’s had a chance to ask one! Starmer may also find that backbench resentment builds up from seeing newbies getting plum ministerial jobs instead of older heads. There is also a constituency challenge that Gould will have to manage – her political opponent at the next election may try to paint her as putting her ministerial career ahead of her constituency, especially as her new patch is not in her previous fiefdom of Camden.
But Georgia and her four fellow freshers have not been picked at random; they are talented, clever, experienced and skilled operators who are well-placed to circumvent these political challenges. Godspeed.
Bottom: Shadow Cabinet Leaks
Remember the Tories? They were all the rage for about 14 years or so. Anyway, the attempt of the various factions to bury the hatchet in order to regather and focus on winning back the trust of the electorate has not quite gone to plan.
Rishi Sunak’s back-of-a-fag-packet Shadow Cabinet had its first meeting and two leadership contenders immediately got into a heated and public row over leaking and which of them is having a public meltdown. Everything is fine, apparently.
Kemi Badenoch’s ‘private’ declaration to Sunak in Shadow Cabinet that calling an early general election and leaving D-Day commemorations early were disasters were immediately leaked in precise and extremely quotable detail. It remains to be seen who these ‘sources’ were but whoever they are, they clearly had an extremely good memory of exactly what Badenoch said, made sure that the press knew that she was standing up to Sunak for his failings and for a little extra spice, also criticised Suella Braverman, Badenoch’s main leadership rival on the Tory right. As for this source’s identity, mysteries abound.