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Chuka Umunna and Rachel Reeves are among the rising stars given senior positions in Ed Miliband’s new frontbench A number of newly elected MPs have been promoted to the shadow cabinet in a reshuffle by the Labour leader, Ed Miliband. Chuka Umunna and Rachel Reeves are among the rising stars handed senior positions – as shadow business secretary and shadow chief Treasury secretary. It is the first time a Labour leader has had a completely free hand following a rule change which means the shadow cabinet is no longer elected by a ballot of the party’s MPs. The former minister Stephen Twigg has been brought in to take on Michael Gove at education, allowing Andy Burnham to resume the health brief he held in the last government. Caroline Flint is moved to shadow energy secretary – one of 11 women out of the 27 in the new-look top team. One of those is the deputy leader, Harriet Harman, who has swapped the international development brief for culture, media and sport. Another two female shadow ministers will attend the cabinet without being members. Miliband said: “My decision to appoint half a dozen members of the 2010 intake shows the talent that Labour has and the way in which this new generation can join us in taking Labour’s agenda forward. “Together we will show how the government are failing to help families who face a cost of living crisis, how they are failing to take action on energy bills and rail fares and failing to get the economy moving again. “They will show how we aspire to be a government not for more of the same but to deliver a new bargain for the British people.” He added: “I am determined that my shadow cabinet not only holds this government to account but speaks to the public and the country. “Families across Britain are worried about how they will make ends meet, anxious about what the future holds for their children and tired of the way irresponsibility is tolerated across our society.” New faces around Miliband’s shadow cabinet table also include the phone-hacking campaigner Tom Watson, the new shadow Scotland secretary, Margaret Curran, and the shadow Northern Ireland secretary, Vernon Coaker. Watson was a driving force in the battle to get an inquiry into allegations of phone hacking at the News of the World, and a tormentor of News International executives in his role as a member of the Commons culture, media and sport committee. He will co-ordinate Labour’s campaigning and byelection efforts in his new role, and will also remain a member of the committee. The shadow attorney general, Lady Scotland, has quit because she felt it was “time for something new”. She is replaced by the Islington South and Finsbury MP Emily Thornberry, a barrister who was previously health spokeswoman. Three MPs deemed to have been underperforming are sacked from the shadow cabinet, Meg Hillier losing the energy and climate change portfolio, Ann McKechin losing the Scotland brief and Shaun Woodward being removed from the post of shadow Northern Ireland secretary. Ivan Lewis moves from culture to international development in a straight swap with Harman. His move was widely regarded as a consequence of his ill-judged remarks at Labour’s conference earlier this month about setting up a register of journalists from which misbehaving reporters could be struck off. The proposal, which was swiftly disowned by the leadership, was thought to have made his continuing stewardship of media policy untenable. Harman’s office said she was “delighted” with her new role as shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport. “This is an incredibly important time for sport and for our creative industries, not least the future of media regulation in this country,” said Harman’s office. “Harriet is looking forward to delivering on the media regulation framework precipitated by Ed Miliband’s strong leadership in the hacking scandal this summer. “In addition, Harriet is returning to a domestic role because of the importance of the forthcoming elections in May 2012 in which, as deputy leader and chair of the Labour party, she will have excellent support from Tom Watson MP as deputy chair and campaign co-ordinator.” Miliband’s first reshuffle sees the Labour leader lose from frontbench service two former government ministers, John Denham and John Healey, who both announced on Thursday they were standing down. On Friday morning, Denham, the former cabinet minister, announced he would leave parliament at the next election. Denham, 58, released a letter to the Labour leader saying he had decided some time ago not to seek re-election and it would be wrong to serve in the shadow cabinet if he had no prospect of becoming a minister in a Labour government. On Thursday it emerged that Denham, the shadow business secretary, and Healey, the shadow health secretary, would be leaving the shadow cabinet in the reshuffle. Labour claimed both men had told Miliband some time ago they did not want to carry on in frontline positions. The party insisted the departures were civilised and 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. 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. On Friday Denham, who resigned from Tony Blair’s government over the Iraq war but returned to office as a cabinet minister under Gordon Brown, released the text of a letter to Miliband stressing his support for the Labour leader. “I told you some months ago that I would not be standing at the general election,” Denham said. “After 30 years’ continuous service as an elected councillor or MP I think I should move on whilst I still have enthusiasm for the role.” “We both agree that you would need to bring someone into the shadow cabinet who would be able to serve as minster in the next government.” “It has been a huge honour to be on Labour’s frontbench in government and in opposition and I have particularly enjoyed working with you over the past year as you have developed a clear, relevant and necessary vision of the way forward for Britain and for the Labour party.” Denham will take up a new post working for Miliband as his parliamentary private secretary. Miliband plans to announced the full details of his reshuffle on Friday. He 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 past 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 the 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 interregnum to assemble a stronger lineup. Labour Ed Miliband Andy Burnham John Denham Allegra Stratton Andrew Sparrow Patrick Wintour guardian.co.uk