Who is in Keir Starmer's cabinet? Meet the new Labour frontbench
Sir Keir Starmer has held the first meeting of his new cabinet.
Sir Keir Starmer has chaired the first meeting of his new cabinet and vowed to "get on with our work".
The new prime minister and Labour leader addressed his top team on Saturday morning after his party's landslide victory in the general election.
Starmer opened his first cabinet meeting flanked by his deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and cabinet secretary Simon Case.
He told the cabinet: “Look, colleagues, it is absolutely fantastic to welcome you to the cabinet, our first meeting.
“And it was the honour and privilege of my life to be invited by the King, His Majesty the King, yesterday to form a government and to form the Labour government of 2024.
“And now we hold our first cabinet meeting. So I welcome you to it.
“We have a huge amount of work to do, so now we get on with our work.”
His opening remarks were met with sustained applause by cabinet ministers who were appointed on Friday and largely mirror his shadow team before the election.
Rachel Reeves is the UK’s first female chancellor, David Lammy was named foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper is home secretary, John Healey is defence secretary and Wes Streeting is health secretary.
Other ministerial appointments are expected to be announced over the weekend.
Here is the list of the Labour cabinet put together by the new prime minister.
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Who is Angela Rayner as the Greater Manchester MP becomes deputy prime minister? "Born and raised in Stockport and brought up on a council estate, Rayner’s ascent to political stardom seemed improbable when she left school at 16 with no qualifications." [Evening Standard]
From chess champ to chancellor, Rachel Reeves plots gambit on growth. "Reeves started her career at the Bank of England, turning down a job offer from investment bank Goldman Sachs because, she later said, she 'believed in public service'." [Reuters]
Who is Labour's Wes Streeting? Shadow health secretary has eyes on the top job. "A cabinet role would be quite the achievement for the lifelong East Ender, who grew up in poverty in a single-parent family, with his grandparents having done time." [Evening Standard]
David Lammy, friend of Obama now UK foreign minister. "Lammy favours closer cooperation with the EU, continued backing for Ukraine, and a Palestinian state when the conditions for peace in the Middle East allow." [AFP]
Who is Yvette Cooper, a veteran of 1997 hoping to return to power? "Cooper could have been party leader if she had won the vote in 2015 but lost out to Jeremy Corbyn." [Evening Standard]
