Sir Keir Starmer has rarely enjoyed such good press as he’s received for overhauling his frontbench. His Centrist Dad reshuffle saw promotions for soft-left pin-ups like Yvette Cooper, David Lammy, Wes Streeting and Lucy Powell, while Corbynista Cat Smith got told to clear her desk. It was a pitch-perfect signal to Labour moderates that they were getting their party back — not least the crucial newspaper columnist demographic — who got to see all their princes return across the water at once. Well, almost. If Sir Keir had really wanted to earn some sweet, sweet commentariat love he’d have arranged a by-election and the first available flight from JFK to Heathrow for David Miliband.
There is undoubtedly a need for more robust opposition to Boris Johnson’s government and an alternative administration to offer the voters at the next election. It’s just not obvious that this new shadow cabinet fits the bill. Two of the promotions (Cooper and Lammy) were ministers in the party’s last government.
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