Rachel Reeves becomes first female chancellor and Rayner deputy PM as Starmer appoints top team

Sir Keir Starmer has made Rachel Reeves Britain’s first female chancellor as he appoints his new cabinet to get on with the job quickly.

One of his easiest appointments for the new prime minister was Ms Reeves as his new chancellor.

She played a major role in the campaign and as a former Bank of England economist has helped bring economic credibility back to Labour from the wreckage of the Jeremy Corbyn years.

She is the first female to hold the second most important role in governent in 708 years of the office being in existance.

Earlier Angela Rayner has been handed her own department as secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities taking over from Michael Gove.

There had been questions whether she might get a roving role, but she had shadowed Mr Gove with some success and had hankered after a department.

Ms Rayner, who will also be deputy prime minister, will mirror the role of John Prescott who was Tony Blair’s deputy and also in charge of the department for local government and development.

Just 24 hours before people went to the polls, Sir Keir was still being coy about who would get the top jobs and refused in interviews to guarantee anybody a job.

This was partly due to Neil Kinnock coming unstuck in 1992 when he introduced his new cabinet at an infamous rally in Sheffield only to lose the election.

But many of the names of Sir Keir’s first cabinet can easily be predicted.

Already David Lammy, Wes Streeting, Bridget Phillipson, Yvette Cooper and Pat McFadden have arrived to be given jobs in the new government.

Mr Streeting teased reporters: “We’ll find out in a minute.’’

Mr Lammy smiled at reporters’ questions as he made his way through Downing Street.

Mr Streeting, another stalwart, is almost certainly going to be the new health secretary having held on to his seat in east London by just a few hundred votes.

Another clear cut choice will be the rising star Ms Phillipson who looks set to become education secretary after becoming the first MP elected on the night in Sunderland South.

Having survived a scare from a pro-Gaza independent in Birmingham Ladywood, key Starmer ally Shabana Mahmood can be expected to be invited to take on the justice secretary brief.

There is also no reason not to expect veteran Yvette Cooper in as the new home secretary although she may be eyeing another department.

The real question comes over who will be be foreign secretary. Many believe Mr Lammy was excellent as shadow foreign secretary but there has been speculation over what role he will get. The role could go to the returning former cabinet minister Douglas Alexander or even Ms Cooper.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir will have to find two replacements for his front team after shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire lost her seat to the Greens and Jonathan Ashworth was a casualty of a pro-Gaza independent.

Shadow chief Treasury secretary Darren Jones has been impressive in the campaign and may get a more prominent role than Ms Reeves’ number two now an effective reshuffle is required.

Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk