Is Keir Starmer planning to turn Angela Rayner into the new John Prescott? Labour deputy leader could be handed housing and levelling-up brief in reshuffle to give her wide domestic role like that of Tony Blair’s long-term lieutenant
- Sir Keir said to be considering giving her shadow housing and levelling-up brief
- Prescott was Deputy PM and ran Environment, Transport and Regions ministry
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is planning a reshuffle of his top team that could give his deputy Angela Rayner a wide-ranging brief like that covered by Tony Blair’s lieutenant John Prescott.
The Opposition Leader is said to be considering handing Ms Rayner the shadow housing and levelling-up brief instead of her role covering the Cabinet Office.
This move, which could come as early as next month, according to the Times, would give her a role important to the party’s aim of recovering its Red Wall heartland seats in the North and Midlands.
It would also draw parallels with Mr Prescott, now Lord Prescott, who was deputy Labour leader and Deputy PM under Blair, while also acting as Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
But it would involve demoting Lisa Nandy, the former shadow foreign secretary, for the second time in less than two years.
The Opposition leader is said to be considering handing Ms Rayner the shadow housing and levelling-up brief to add to her role covering the cabinet office.
It would draw parallels with Mr Prescott, now Lord Prescott, who was deputy Labour leader and Deputy PM under Blair, while also acting as Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions.
It would involve Keir Starmer demoting Lisa Nandy, the former shadow foreign secretary, for the second time in less than two years.
One Cabinet source told the paper Ms Rayner would be best at health or education, having done the latter job for four years under Jeremy Corbyn. But another said: ‘Our big domestic briefs are already taken.’
A party spokesman today declined to comment.
Yesterday Ms Nandy signalled a fresh threat to build on green belt land after setting out Labour’s plans to tackle the housing crisis.
She said there were ‘difficult choices that must be faced to build the houses we need’ in a speech to the Housing 2023 conference in Manchester.
And she said politicians should not be ‘afraid of the taboo around the green belt’, in an indication that a Labour government would target currently protected areas to fix the national shortage of houses.
She claimed that Tory housebuilding policy was ‘defined by cowardice’ after Rishi Sunak was accused of giving in to Nimby pressure last year when he made the target of building 300,000 houses a year in England advisory rather than mandatory.
The move was designed to appease backbenchers, but was partly blamed on the Tories’ dismal showing at last month’s local elections.
Labour has already said it would restore the 300,000 target if it won the next general election.
Others who could be moved include party chairwoman and shadow qualities minister Anneliese Dodds, after several missteps over trans rights.
Shadow environment secretary Ed Miliband is also believed to be safe, despite some fears he is greener than the rest of the party leadership.
Reshuffles have been a bone of contention between Sir Keir and Ms Rayner, whose position of deputy leader is safe as it is voted on by party members.
In 2021 a reshuffle sparked a row with allies of Ms Rayner, who is popular with the party left, who accused him of seeking to overshadow a speech she was giving.
He used it to remove the last remaining Corbynistas from the front bench and promote a slew of centrists.
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