Labour's Reshuffle Is A ‘Move Towards The Voters' – Streeting

The new shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, has said he will bring a “reforming mindset” to the role, and called Labour leader Keir Starmer’s reshuffle “a move towards the voters ”, amid fears among leftwing MPs that it marked a lurch to the right.

- Heather Stewart Jessica Elgot

Disgruntled backbench MPs complained that Starmer’s leadership had become a “Trojan horse ” for Labour’s right-wing, after he stamped his authority on the party with Monday’s ruthless shake-up.

“The Blairites have got out of the belly of the Trojan horse and massacred the soft left,” one former frontbencher complained, referring to the departure of figures including Kate Green and Luke Pollard, and the promotion of Streeting, among others.

Starmer carried out a radical overhaul of his team, which is understood to closely resemble plans in place before May’s botched reshuffle, which was all but derailed by his deputy, Angela Rayner – an experience that left him “bruised,” according to one colleague.

Asked whether the changes represented a move to the right, Streeting said: “ It’s a move towards the voters.”