Guido thought he’d spare a thought for those Labour MPs who served their time as junior shadow ministers and were swiftly snubbed by Starmer (or Sue Gray) as soon as the Party entered Downing Street. Though departments and roles have moved around and changed titles since Labour came into government, Guido has a breakdown of a list of MPs who held junior roles in Opposition until May 2024, though didn’t make the cut for the real deal:
Meanwhile, there’ve been cries of favouritism from MPs who’ve seen rapid promotions of a cadre of well-connected newly elected members. Some of which include:
Sadly for the former loyal lot, they’ve been shoved to the backbenches. Oh to be a part of the Labour elite…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”