Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets Irish Taoiseach. Starmer has done a great job. of making his cabinet more representative - but does that secure him against future scandals?

Anna Boyne

Bringing 14 years of Tory rule to an end, Labour promised ‘change’. Keir Starmer’s first cabinet appointments are certainly a breath of fresh air – but do they have what it takes to survive the incoming storm?

92 per cent of Starmer’s cabinet went to state comprehensive schools, compared to 19 per cent of both Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss’ cabinets. It’s a drastic difference, but probably something to be expected from a party whose promise to tax private school fees drew so much attention during the election campaigns.

No More ‘Old Boys Club’

Previous Conservative cabinet appointments have been dominated by an ‘old boys club’ mentality. The club is personified by the likes of David Cameron and Boris Johnson, whose membership in the notorious Bullingdon club has mired their political careers. The elitist club was characterised by booziness, trashing public property and excessive displays of wealth. While Cameron and Johnson have since publicly regretted their involvement, it did little to inspire trust amongst the electorate that the political elite had their best interests at heart.

“At what point did controversy and instability become the status quo?”

Add to that list: multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, party-gate, the honey-trap scandal and five Prime Ministers in 14 years. At what point did controversy and instability become the status quo?

Criticisms of Starmer’s dullness are a welcome contrast, but the importance of having a cabinet who know the value of state support on a personal level cannot be understated. Starmer describes himself as coming from a working-class background, but it’s his new appointees that really capture the left-wing psyche. Bridget Phillipson, the new Education Secretary, was on free school meals as a pupil. But most importantly, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner – the magnitude of her influence deserves its own analysis.

How Angela Rayner Captured The Left Wing Psyche

The Deputy Prime Minister was brought up on one of the poorest council estates in Greater Manchester. She left her state comprehensive school pregnant at sixteen, with no qualifications. She worked as a care worker and later rose through the ranks of the trade union before entering politics.

“Rayner inspires hope that politicians genuinely work to make the country a better place”

For so many, Rayner inspires hope that politicians genuinely work to make the country a better place. She can relate and empathise with working class struggles in ways that other politicians can only imagine.

But she’s not been without her own controversies.

In April of this year, a police investigation was launched into the sale of her ex-council house in 2015 and whether she paid the right amount of tax. Yet Rayner always asserted she’d done nothing wrong and promised to “do the right thing and step down” if she was found to have committed a crime. A month into the investigation, the police decided to take no further action.

In that context, Rayner’s appointment to Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is a little ironic. But it also shows that her unyielding integrity ensured she safely rode the wave of political machinations. More in the spotlight than ever before, she’ll need to be prepared for whatever comes her way.

James Timpson

Another cabinet appointment drawing attention is James Timpson to the role of Minister for Prisons, Parole and Probation. His extensive experience and fresh perspective makes him incredibly well qualified for the job. As Chair of the Prison Reform Trust, Timpson has advocated for a focus on rehabilitation over punishment and believes that a third of prisoners should not be serving custodial sentences. Within his own family business, approximately 10 per cent of the workforce are ex-convicts.

“Public safety will be at risk if the problem isn’t tackled in a matter of weeks”

But he also steps into the role at a time of crisis. Under Tory rule, numbers of prisoners exploded while prisons increasingly faced funding cuts. The result is seriously dilapidated prison conditions. The Prison Governors’ Association are warning that public safety will be at risk if the problem isn’t tackled in a matter of weeks.

Timpson has his work cut out for him, but his vision has the potential to revolutionise the criminal justice system.

Definitely No Cabinet Position For Trans Rights

On the flip side, Labour continues to face criticism on all ends of the political spectrum for their wishy-washy stance on trans rights.

Following his accession to Leader of the Labour Party, Starmer chose to uphold the policy of gender self-identification which enables trans people to legally change their sex without medical diagnosis. Yet, he dropped the policy after the backlash to Nicola Sturgeon’s failed attempt to introduce it in Scotland in early 2023 via the Gender Recognition Act.

“She struggled to define what a woman was”

Anneliese Dodds’ appointment to Minister for Women and Equalities has also been overshadowed by the repeated resurfacing of a 2022 interview on Woman’s Hour where she struggled to define what a woman was, saying it depended on the context. The transcript, shared on X by J.K. Rowling is cringe-worthy at best and exploited as anti-trans rights capital at worst.

Labour have since proposed a law change to enable access to a gender recognition certificate with the signature of one GP instead of the panel of doctors and lawyers that is currently required. Their plans to ban conversion therapy, a process designed to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity, were announced in the King’s Speech. But they’ll need to do a lot more to gain the trust of the trans-community.

Even With A Representative Cabinet, Labour Have Got Their Work Cut Out

Such a landslide electoral victory doesn’t come without huge dissatisfaction with previous running of the country and serious deep-rooted problems. Without even broaching international issues, Labour have got their work cut out.

It would be naïve to suggest they won’t face their own controversies, but ultimately, that’s how democracy works. Wherever political allegiances lie, we should continue to hold each government to account.

“That’s what our country needs more of”

The bottom line is that Starmer’s cabinet appointments are much more reflective of the UK population. And that’s what our country needs more of. It gives Labour an opportunity to restore trust in government which has been lost over the past decade of politics.

With multiple domestic crises and increasing international instability, the ‘change’ they promised over the electoral campaign had better come quick.

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Featured image courtesy of Number 10 on Flickr. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.

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