Brexit Made Simple – Issue 32, A NEW LABOUR LEADER AND SHADOW CABINET

What is the issue?

Almost four months on from an historically poor General Election result, the Labour Party has finally replaced Jeremy Corbyn as Leader.

Sir Keir Starmer topped the poll with 56.2% of the votes cast by Party members, with Rebecca Long-Bailey in second place on 27.6% and Lisa Nandy third with 16.2%. 

Angela Rayner was elected as Labour’s new Deputy Leader after three rounds of voting, with Dr Rosena Allin-Khan her closest challenger.

Starmer has since named his Shadow Cabinet, with junior appointments due to be announced in the coming days.      

Who is Sir Keir Starmer?

Made a Queen’s Counsel in 2002 aged just 39, Starmer first came to prominence six years later when he was named as the Head of the Crown Prosecution Service and Director of Public Prosecutions. 

He stepped down in 2013 to return to private legal practice, before being elected as a Labour Member of Parliament at the 2015 General Election. 

He was appointed as Shadow Brexit Secretary by Jeremy Corbyn in September 2016 and moved swiftly to question the Conservative Government’s plans for the UK to leave the EU.  

In May 2017, Starmer said it was vital to retain "free movement of labour" given the importance of immigration for the UK economy.

In September 2018, he told the Labour Party Conference that “campaigning for a public vote” on any Brexit deal “must be an option” including the opportunity for the British people to choose to remain in the EU.

His perseverance resulted in a pro-second referendum policy being included in Labour’s 2019 General Election manifesto.

Was he a Jeremy Corbyn supporter?

In contrast to Corbyn’s extreme left-wing views, Starmer has often been described as “soft left.”  He also resigned his first frontbench position as Shadow Immigration Minister immediately after the 2016 EU referendum in protest at Corbyn’s leadership, arguing that it was "simply untenable now to suggest we can offer an effective Opposition without a change of Leader."

His decision to join the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Brexit Secretary just a few months later, following Corbyn’s re-election as Leader, was motivated by his desire to change the Party and stop a Tory Brexit rather than any wish to endorse Corbyn’s wider views.    

What attributes does Starmer bring to the job?

Competence, professionalism, an incisive legal mind, a lack of ego, a sense of honour and a commitment to serve his country.

Throughout his political career thus far, he has sought to adopt policy positions which he believes are in the best interests of the country and its people, rather than what gets him into the news.

He is also keen to listen to the views of others, rather than create an impression that he always knows best.    

What have we learnt from his Shadow Cabinet appointments?

That whilst he plans to adopt a much more collegiate approach than Jeremy Corbyn, he is his own man and will not baulk at making challenging decisions if they are for the greater good.       

In what way?

Despite Corbyn’s enduring popularly amongst some sections of the Labour Party membership, Starmer sacked the nine most prominent Corbynistas from the Shadow Cabinet. 

The best known of the handful that survived the initial cull was Rebecca Long-Bailey who becomes Shadow Education Secretary. As runner-up in the leadership election, Starmer was essentially duty bound to offer her a job.  However, during the leadership campaign, there were indications that Ms Long-Bailey – also a lawyer by profession - is more pragmatic and less extreme in her views than Corbyn.

What were the other significant appointments?

Former Labour Leader Ed Miliband’s return to frontline politics as Shadow Business, Energy and Industry Secretary was the most eye-catching. His 2015 General Election manifesto was ridiculed by the Conservative Party, before the Tories then decided to adopt most of it in Government. Whilst not a Leader, he is a thinker whose presence will be valued by Starmer. 

Anneliese Dodds, who was only elected to Parliament in 2017, becomes Labour’s first ever female Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer. She’s very much in the Starmer mould: clever, personable, articulate and capable of winning hearts and minds.   

Nick Thomas-Symonds is worth watching as Shadow Home Secretary. Another lawyer and only 39 years old, he is expected to mount a significant challenge to the Tory Government’s disastrous points-based post-Brexit immigration system and its hapless guardian, Priti Patel.

Despite only finishing third in the leadership election, Lisa Nandy’s campaign greatly enhanced her reputation as a political thinker and adept media performer. She is rewarded with the post of Shadow Foreign Secretary and, like Thomas-Symonds, is expected to swiftly out-perform her opposite number – in Nandy’s case, Dominic Raab.

Aside from Starmer himself, the appointment of Rachel Reeves as Shadow Cabinet Office Minister is arguably the most significant development of all. A fierce opponent of Brexit who I was delighted to speak alongside at a pro-second referendum rally last September, she has been given dual responsibility for Labour’s Brexit strategy and exposing Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove’s ineptitude.  Success is guaranteed.      

Dr Jason Aldiss BEM

Managing Director, Eville & Jones

7 April 2020

You can follow me on Twitter @JasonAldiss