Labour reshuffle: Former BoE economist Rachel Reeves named shadow chancellor
Rachel Reeves has been named shadow chancellor after Anneliese Dodds was sacked from the role late on Sunday night.
The move came as part of a reshuffle of Labour leader Keir Starmer’s top team after a host of miserable results in Thursday’s local and mayoral elections.
Dodds, well-liked and a competent performer, failed to cut through the noise of a global pandemic and her opponent Rishi Sunak’s myriad giveaways.
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Reeves, the MP for Leeds West since 2010, was a key ally of Ed Miliband during his time as leader of the Labour Party.
Starmer said he had faith in his “refreshed and renewed team”, adding that Labour “must be the party that embraces the demand for change across our country”.
In a tweet last night Reeves said she was “honoured” to accept the new role.
“Our economic recovery must be fair. We must transform lives & back businesses in every part of our country,” she wrote.
“Together we can create the secure jobs & strong infrastructure we need.”
Reeves studied PPE at Oxford, before a postgraduate degree at LSE led to a stint at the Bank of England.
A series of results across what was once known as the ‘Red Wall’ predicated a series of changes at the top of the Labour Party.
Those included the removal of Angela Rayner as party chair, though she remains deputy leader of the party.
Rayner was also handed extra responsibilities as shadow first secretary of state, shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and shadow secretary of state for the future of work.
In a tweet last night in response to the reshuffle, she wrote: “I will work tirelessly to reform our party and deliver a policy agenda that will enable us to reconnect with the voters that we need to win, especially in our traditional heartlands, and show that the Labour Party speaks for the working class.”
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Other moves include the appointment of Thangam Debbonaire as shadow leader of the House of Commons, with Lucy Powell replacing her as shadow housing secretary.
Wes Streeting will take up the newly formed role as shadow minister tackling child poverty and Alan Campbell will replace Nick Brown as chief whip.