On the new Shadow Cabinet and what it means

The new Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has announced his full Shadow Cabinet which marks a radical shift from the old Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn.

 The major changes involve replacing those on the Corbynista left with moderates. John McDonnell has been replaced by Anneliese Dodds (MP for Oxford East since 2017) in the post of Shadow Chancellor, Nick Thomas-Symonds (MP for Torfaen since 2015) has replaced long-time firebrand Diane Abbott in the post of Shadow Home Secretary, Emily Thornberry has moved from Shadow Foreign Secretary to Shadow International Trade Secretary and as a concession to his opponents, Sir Keir has appointed Lisa Nandy to Ms Thornberry's old post, and Rebecca Long-Bailey has moved from Shadow Business Secretary to Shadow Education Secretary. Richard Burgon, Shadow Justice Secretary and the key candidate of the hard left in Labour for deputy leader, has been replaced by David Lammy in that post. The departure of Barry Gardiner from the Shadow Cabinet is also notable amongst the reshuffle.

 It marks a major shift towards the moderate, or "centrist" strand of Labour, given how few shadow ministers from Jeremy Corbyn's Shadow Cabinet remain in Sir Keir's Shadow Cabinet, although one major surprise was Dr Rosena Allin-Khan only becoming Shadow Secretary for Mental Health instead of Shadow Secretary for Health. Another surprise was Angela Rayner becoming chair of the Labour Party although both she and Sir Keir are from more average backgrounds than Jeremy Corbyn is. The shifts in the Shadow Cabinet may either shift the grassroots membership in that direction, given that Sir Keir received 104,000 votes more in 2020 than Jeremy Corbyn did in 2015 regarding Labour leadership contests, or cause another split in the Labour Party. Commentators have criticised Sir Keir for his over-moderate approach and his actions during his time as Director of Public Prosecutions, but his general platform does not quite make him a "Blair Mark 2".

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