Former Labour leadership hopeful Jess Phillips has been handed a frontbench role as Sir Keir Starmer unveiled his top team.
The outspoken backbencher, who managed women’s refuges before becoming an MP and writes a column each week in The Independent , has been handed a key role in shadow home office team, focusing on domestic violence and safeguarding.
Ms Phillips, the MP for Birmingham Yardley since 2015, has won praise for her powerful Commons speeches, including her decision to read all the names of women killed by men in the past year every International Women’s Day.
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Ms Phillips initially stood against Sir Keir in the race to succeed Jeremy Corbyn but dropped out before the membership vote.
Her appointment came as the new Labour leader put the finishing touches on his shadow cabinet, with promotions for some MPs to the centre and the right of the party who languished on the back benches during Mr Corbyn’s tenure.
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1/50 9 April 2020Posters drawn by children displayed in support of the NHS in a building near St Thomas’ Hospital in London
Getty
2/50 8 April 2020A street cleaner in front of Coronavirus messaging on Picadilly Circus in London
Getty
3/50 7 April 2020A jogger on the Millennium Bridge in London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
4/50 6 April 2020A Royal Signals soldier practices during training held by the British Army. They are preparing them to support the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust in the battle against coronavirus
Ministry of Defence/Reuters
5/50 5 April 2020A police officer advises a woman to go home after spotting her enjoying the sun in Primrose Hill, London
AP
6/50 4 March 2020New Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer speaks on the announcement of his victory in the leadership race of the Labour Party
AFP via Getty
7/50 3 April 2020Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS staff stand on marks on the ground, put in place to ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to, at the opening of the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, a temporary hospital with 4000 beds which has been set up for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday April 3, 2020. Split into more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
PA
8/50 2 April 2020A child at Westlands Primary School paints a poster in support of the NHS in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Reuters
9/50 1 April 2020Staff wearing PPE of gloves and face masks, as a preactionary measure against Covid-19, disinfect an ambulance after it arrived with a patient at St Thomas’ Hospital in north London
AFP via Getty
10/50 31 March 2020Llandudno Pier remains closed and deserted of tourists during the pandemic lockdown in Wales
Getty
11/50 30 March 2020Waves break against the pier at Tynemouth, on the North East coast
PA
12/50 29 March 2020Waves crash over a car on the seafront during windy conditions in Broadstairs, Kent
PA
13/50 28 March 2020Derbyshire Police dye the “blue lagoon” in Harpur Hill, Buxton black, as gatherings there are “dangerous” and are “in contravention of the current instruction of the UK Government”
PA
14/50 27 March 2020A road sign advising drivers to ‘stay home protect NHS saves lives’ is visible on the M80 near Banknock as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
15/50 26 March 2020A postman wears a mask and gloves to deliver letters in Broadstairs, Kent, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson has put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA Photo. Picture date: Thursday March 26, 2020. The UK’s coronavirus death toll reached 463 on Wednesday.
PA
16/50 25 March 2020Members of the public out exercising on Brighton beach at sunset
Getty
17/50 24 March 2020Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas’ hospital
Getty
18/50 23 March 2020Commuters travel on the London underground during the Coronavirus pandemic
Getty
19/50 22 March 2020People walk on the seafront after recent incidents of members of the public ignoring government advice on social distancing on in Hove
Getty
20/50 21 March 2020A general view of an empty Trafalgar Square in London. There have as of now been 3,983 diagnosed coronavirus cases in the UK and 177 deaths
Getty
21/50 20 March 2020Swans swim on the banks of the River Severn in Worcester
PA
22/50 19 March 2020A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow’s street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss
PA
23/50 18 March 2020Students tend to Spring Lambs at Moreton Morrell College in Warwickshire
PA
24/50 17 March 2020Caerphilly Castle in South Wales joins Tourism Ireland’s Global Greenings campaign to mark St Patrick’s Day
PA
25/50 16 March 2020Shoppers form long queues ahead of the opening of a Costco wholesale store in Chingford
Getty
26/50 15 March 2020Players sing songs in the changing room after their game of football at Hackney Marshes in London
Reuters
27/50 14 March 2020Empty shelves in the laundry aisle of an Asda store in London
PA
28/50 13 March 2020Runners and riders compete in the JCB Triumph Hurdle during day four of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Thousands of people attended where Gold Cup day amid great uncertainty as sports events up and down the United Kingdom are postponed and cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak
PA Images via Reuters Connect
29/50 12 March 2020A worker makes her way along rows of daffodils, removing any rogue varieties, at Taylors Bulbs in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. The fourth generation family company plant over 35 million bulbs every year, and have held The Royal Warrant as Bulb Growers to Her Majesty The Queen since 1985
PA
30/50 11 March 2020Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak poses for pictures with the Budget Box outside 11 Downing Street ahead of Britain’s first post-Brexit budget
AFP/Getty
31/50 10 March 2020A Tate Modern gallery assistant interacts with the ‘Silver Clouds’ installation, at a press view of major new Andy Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern, which features classic pop art pieces and works never shown before in the UK
PA
32/50 9 March 2020The Sub Dean and Canon Paster of Southwark, Canon Michael Rawson, left, blesses the statue of Santa Barbara and workers on one of the sites of the Thames Tideway Tunnel in London. Santa Barbara is the patron saint of tunnellers and by tradition a statue and shrine to her is placed at tunnel portals and the entrance to long tunnel headings to keep workers safe while underground. The 16 mile-long Thames Tideway Tunnel will prevent tens of millions of tonnes of sewage and rainwater run-off entering the river every year
PA
33/50 8 March 2020An Afghan Hound dog is prepared for show at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre (NEC) during the final day of the Crufts Dog Show
PA
34/50 7 March 2020People taking part in the Million Women Rise march through central London, to demand an end to male violence against women and girls in all its forms
PA
35/50 6 March 2020Crew members take a selfie beside the cab of The Flying Scotswoman, the LNER Edinburgh to London rail service which has an all-female crew to celebrate International Women’s Day, before it departs Edinburgh Waverley station
PA
36/50 5 March 2020A poodle arrives for the first day of Crufts 2020 in Birmingham
Jason Skarratt/Flick.digital
37/50 4 March 2020An Emergency Department Nurse during a demonstration of the Coronavirus pod and Covid-19 virus testing procedures set-up beside the Emergency Department of Antrim Area Hospital in Northern Ireland
PA
38/50 3 March 2020A pedestrian wears a protective facemask while taking a bus in Westminster, London, on the day that Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK has risen to 51
PA
39/50 2 March 2020An artist at Madame Tussauds in London fits the museum’s waxwork of Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a baby carrier, following the recent announcement that he is expecting a baby with partner Carrie Symonds
PA
40/50 1 March 2020A man dressed as Dewi Sant leads the St David’s day parade in Cardiff, where hundreds of people march through the city in celebration of the patron saint of Wales. Dewi Sant (Saint David in English) was the Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century
PA
41/50 29 February 2020A home flooded after the River Aire burst its banks in East Cowick, East Yorkshire
Getty
42/50 28 February 2020Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in a “Youth Strike 4 Climate” protest march in Bristol, south west England. “Activism works, so I ask you to act,” she said
AFP/Getty
43/50 27 February 2020Campaigners cheer outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London after they won a Court of Appeal challenge against controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow
PA
44/50 26 February 2020Temporary barriers have been overwhelmed by flood water in Bewdley, Shropshire
Getty
45/50 25 February 2020Players take part in the Atherstone Ball Game in Warwickshire. The game honours a match played between Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams used a bag of gold as a ball, and which was won by Warwickshire
PA
46/50 24 February 2020A couple shelter from waves crashing over the promenade in Folkestone, Kent, as bad weather continues to cause problems across the country
PA
47/50 23 February 2020Viking re-enactors during the Jorvik Viking Festival in York, recognised as the largest event of its kind in Europe
PA
48/50 22 February 2020Former Greek Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and editor in chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsonn attend a protest against the extradition of Julian Assange outside the Australian High Commission in London
Reuters
49/50 21 February 2020A worker recovers stranded vehicles from flood water on the A761 in Paisley, Scotland
Getty
50/50 20 February 2020Police officers outside Regents Park mosque in central London after a man was reportedly been stabbed in the neck. Footage from the scene showed a young white man in a red hooded top being led from the mosque by police
Reuters
1/50 9 April 2020Posters drawn by children displayed in support of the NHS in a building near St Thomas’ Hospital in London
Getty
2/50 8 April 2020A street cleaner in front of Coronavirus messaging on Picadilly Circus in London
Getty
3/50 7 April 2020A jogger on the Millennium Bridge in London, as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
4/50 6 April 2020A Royal Signals soldier practices during training held by the British Army. They are preparing them to support the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust in the battle against coronavirus
Ministry of Defence/Reuters
5/50 5 April 2020A police officer advises a woman to go home after spotting her enjoying the sun in Primrose Hill, London
AP
6/50 4 March 2020New Leader of the Labour Party Keir Starmer speaks on the announcement of his victory in the leadership race of the Labour Party
AFP via Getty
7/50 3 April 2020Health Secretary Matt Hancock and NHS staff stand on marks on the ground, put in place to ensure social distancing guidelines are adhered to, at the opening of the NHS Nightingale Hospital at the ExCel centre in London, a temporary hospital with 4000 beds which has been set up for the treatment of Covid-19 patients. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday April 3, 2020. Split into more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
PA
8/50 2 April 2020A child at Westlands Primary School paints a poster in support of the NHS in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Reuters
9/50 1 April 2020Staff wearing PPE of gloves and face masks, as a preactionary measure against Covid-19, disinfect an ambulance after it arrived with a patient at St Thomas’ Hospital in north London
AFP via Getty
10/50 31 March 2020Llandudno Pier remains closed and deserted of tourists during the pandemic lockdown in Wales
Getty
11/50 30 March 2020Waves break against the pier at Tynemouth, on the North East coast
PA
12/50 29 March 2020Waves crash over a car on the seafront during windy conditions in Broadstairs, Kent
PA
13/50 28 March 2020Derbyshire Police dye the “blue lagoon” in Harpur Hill, Buxton black, as gatherings there are “dangerous” and are “in contravention of the current instruction of the UK Government”
PA
14/50 27 March 2020A road sign advising drivers to ‘stay home protect NHS saves lives’ is visible on the M80 near Banknock as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus
PA
15/50 26 March 2020A postman wears a mask and gloves to deliver letters in Broadstairs, Kent, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson has put the UK in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. PA Photo. Picture date: Thursday March 26, 2020. The UK’s coronavirus death toll reached 463 on Wednesday.
PA
16/50 25 March 2020Members of the public out exercising on Brighton beach at sunset
Getty
17/50 24 March 2020Military vehicles cross Westminster Bridge after members of the 101 Logistic Brigade delivered a consignment of medical masks to St Thomas’ hospital
Getty
18/50 23 March 2020Commuters travel on the London underground during the Coronavirus pandemic
Getty
19/50 22 March 2020People walk on the seafront after recent incidents of members of the public ignoring government advice on social distancing on in Hove
Getty
20/50 21 March 2020A general view of an empty Trafalgar Square in London. There have as of now been 3,983 diagnosed coronavirus cases in the UK and 177 deaths
Getty
21/50 20 March 2020Swans swim on the banks of the River Severn in Worcester
PA
22/50 19 March 2020A piece of art by the artist, known as the Rebel Bear has appeared on a wall on Bank Street in Glasgow. The new addition to Glasgow’s street art is capturing the global Coronavirus crisis. The piece features a woman and a man pulling back to give each other a kiss
PA
23/50 18 March 2020Students tend to Spring Lambs at Moreton Morrell College in Warwickshire
PA
24/50 17 March 2020Caerphilly Castle in South Wales joins Tourism Ireland’s Global Greenings campaign to mark St Patrick’s Day
PA
25/50 16 March 2020Shoppers form long queues ahead of the opening of a Costco wholesale store in Chingford
Getty
26/50 15 March 2020Players sing songs in the changing room after their game of football at Hackney Marshes in London
Reuters
27/50 14 March 2020Empty shelves in the laundry aisle of an Asda store in London
PA
28/50 13 March 2020Runners and riders compete in the JCB Triumph Hurdle during day four of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Thousands of people attended where Gold Cup day amid great uncertainty as sports events up and down the United Kingdom are postponed and cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak
PA Images via Reuters Connect
29/50 12 March 2020A worker makes her way along rows of daffodils, removing any rogue varieties, at Taylors Bulbs in Holbeach, Lincolnshire. The fourth generation family company plant over 35 million bulbs every year, and have held The Royal Warrant as Bulb Growers to Her Majesty The Queen since 1985
PA
30/50 11 March 2020Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak poses for pictures with the Budget Box outside 11 Downing Street ahead of Britain’s first post-Brexit budget
AFP/Getty
31/50 10 March 2020A Tate Modern gallery assistant interacts with the ‘Silver Clouds’ installation, at a press view of major new Andy Warhol exhibition at Tate Modern, which features classic pop art pieces and works never shown before in the UK
PA
32/50 9 March 2020The Sub Dean and Canon Paster of Southwark, Canon Michael Rawson, left, blesses the statue of Santa Barbara and workers on one of the sites of the Thames Tideway Tunnel in London. Santa Barbara is the patron saint of tunnellers and by tradition a statue and shrine to her is placed at tunnel portals and the entrance to long tunnel headings to keep workers safe while underground. The 16 mile-long Thames Tideway Tunnel will prevent tens of millions of tonnes of sewage and rainwater run-off entering the river every year
PA
33/50 8 March 2020An Afghan Hound dog is prepared for show at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre (NEC) during the final day of the Crufts Dog Show
PA
34/50 7 March 2020People taking part in the Million Women Rise march through central London, to demand an end to male violence against women and girls in all its forms
PA
35/50 6 March 2020Crew members take a selfie beside the cab of The Flying Scotswoman, the LNER Edinburgh to London rail service which has an all-female crew to celebrate International Women’s Day, before it departs Edinburgh Waverley station
PA
36/50 5 March 2020A poodle arrives for the first day of Crufts 2020 in Birmingham
Jason Skarratt/Flick.digital
37/50 4 March 2020An Emergency Department Nurse during a demonstration of the Coronavirus pod and Covid-19 virus testing procedures set-up beside the Emergency Department of Antrim Area Hospital in Northern Ireland
PA
38/50 3 March 2020A pedestrian wears a protective facemask while taking a bus in Westminster, London, on the day that Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK has risen to 51
PA
39/50 2 March 2020An artist at Madame Tussauds in London fits the museum’s waxwork of Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a baby carrier, following the recent announcement that he is expecting a baby with partner Carrie Symonds
PA
40/50 1 March 2020A man dressed as Dewi Sant leads the St David’s day parade in Cardiff, where hundreds of people march through the city in celebration of the patron saint of Wales. Dewi Sant (Saint David in English) was the Welsh bishop of Mynyw (now St Davids) during the 6th century
PA
41/50 29 February 2020A home flooded after the River Aire burst its banks in East Cowick, East Yorkshire
Getty
42/50 28 February 2020Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in a “Youth Strike 4 Climate” protest march in Bristol, south west England. “Activism works, so I ask you to act,” she said
AFP/Getty
43/50 27 February 2020Campaigners cheer outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London after they won a Court of Appeal challenge against controversial plans for a third runway at Heathrow
PA
44/50 26 February 2020Temporary barriers have been overwhelmed by flood water in Bewdley, Shropshire
Getty
45/50 25 February 2020Players take part in the Atherstone Ball Game in Warwickshire. The game honours a match played between Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1199, when teams used a bag of gold as a ball, and which was won by Warwickshire
PA
46/50 24 February 2020A couple shelter from waves crashing over the promenade in Folkestone, Kent, as bad weather continues to cause problems across the country
PA
47/50 23 February 2020Viking re-enactors during the Jorvik Viking Festival in York, recognised as the largest event of its kind in Europe
PA
48/50 22 February 2020Former Greek Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and editor in chief of WikiLeaks Kristinn Hrafnsonn attend a protest against the extradition of Julian Assange outside the Australian High Commission in London
Reuters
49/50 21 February 2020A worker recovers stranded vehicles from flood water on the A761 in Paisley, Scotland
Getty
50/50 20 February 2020Police officers outside Regents Park mosque in central London after a man was reportedly been stabbed in the neck. Footage from the scene showed a young white man in a red hooded top being led from the mosque by police
Reuters
Liz Kendall, who came last in the leadership race in 2015, becomes shadow minister for social care, while Lucy Powell returns to the front bench as a shadow business minister after resigning in 2016 in protest at Mr Corbyn’s leadership.
Corbyn critics Wes Streeting and Stephen Doughty have also been promoted, as well as Pat McFadden, who was sacked by Mr Corbyn in 2016.
Ex-shadow international development secretary Dan Carden, an ally of Mr Corbyn, has been moved to the shadow Treasury team, while the former shadow culture secretary Tracy Brabin has been given a more junior post as shadow culture minister.
Angela Rayner, the party’s new deputy leader, also becomes shadow first secretary of state, which means she will deputise for Sir Keir at prime minister’s questions.
Rosena Allin-Khan, who came second to Ms Rayner in the deputy race, has been appointed as shadow minister for mental health.
New Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer in profile
Sir Keir said: “This is a new team that will take the Labour party forward in a new era.
“Under my leadership, the Labour party will be utterly focused on working in the national interest, rebuilding people’s trust in our party and winning the next election.”
Earlier in the week Sir Keir appointed Ed Miliband as shadow business secretary, moving his leadership rival Rebecca Long-Bailey, a close ally of Mr Corbyn, to the shadow education brief.
Anneliese Dodds, one of John McDonnell’s deputies in the shadow Treasury team, was named as the new shadow chancellor after Mr McDonnell stepped down.
Nick Thomas Symonds, the shadow solicitor general, was promoted to become shadow home secretary, and Lisa Nandy, Sir Keir’s other rival, has been made shadow foreign secretary.
Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk