Ed Miliband drops former ministers from shadow cabinet in first reshuffle

Shadow health secretary John Healey and shadow business secretary John Denham to make way for backbench successors Labour is to attempt to step up its attack on the government with the promotion of backbench MPs to replace two former ministers in Ed Miliband’s first reshuffle of his shadow cabinet team. Labour claimed that both the shadow health secretary, John Healey, and the shadow business secretary, John Denham, had told the Labour leader some time ago that they did not want to carry on in frontline positions. The party insisted the departures were civilised and that they had not been sacked. It is generally accepted in Whitehall, however, that Healey had underperformed. Sources said he stood down after he was offered a more junior role having fallen out of favour with the leadership for failing to make political capital out of the government’s NHS reforms. Andy Burnham, health secretary in the last Labour government, has been tipped as a replacement. He is familiar with the brief, and well placed to lead Labour’s response when the government publishes a social care white paper in spring next year. The paper will bring issues on which Burnham has previously developed well-respected ideas back onto the political agenda. John Denham’s departure is more of a surprise. The former universities minister is close to the Labour leader, being one of only four shadow cabinet members to have backed Ed Miliband in the Labour leadership election. He is thought, however, to have been unhappy with parts of Miliband’s party conference speech that dealt with the business sector. Miliband hopes to go into the new parliamentary term with a fresh slate after a mixed reaction to his conference speech delivered in Liverpool a fortnight ago. Healey was the second most popular candidate when MPs stood for election to the shadow cabinet a year ago, but his performance has confirmed to Miliband the problems with those elevated to the cabinet through popularity rather than ability. Miliband is understood to believe he has been poorly served by the patchy quality of shadow cabinet members over the last year and during this year’s conference. John Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, urged him to use new rules allowing the party leader to choose his frontbench team to shake up his shadow cabinet. Having stayed away from conference for the first time in 40 years, Prescott said: “This is a Tory government that’s doing some outrageous things and we haven’t had many words of protest. Ed, you’re the leader, get a shadow cabinet who’ll do that.” The new rules were approved by the Labour party conference and Miliband is using the last day of the conference season inter-regnum to assemble a stronger line-up. The MP for Leeds West, Rachel Reeves, who previously worked at the Bank of England, is expected to be made shadow chief secretary to the Treasury. Angela Eagle, who currently holds the position, is expected to be made shadow energy and climate change secretary, replacing Meg Hillier after the latter’s lacklustre performance. Other new intake MPs tipped for promotion include Michael Dugher, the MP for Barnsley East; Tristram Hunt, the MP for Stoke; and Gloria del Piero, the MP for Ashfield. Suggestions that the former lord chancellor Charles Falconer would return to politics as shadow leader of the Lords, opposing Lord Strathclyde, were dismissed. Some shadow cabinet members expressed alarm at the frontbench names being floated. One source said: “Here is a man who has won an election, changed the rules governing who must be in the shadow cabinet but is nonetheless seeking to fill it with Blairites who are not the people who supported him to become leader.” Ed Miliband Labour House of Commons John Denham Labour party leadership Allegra Stratton guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 6, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.