Emily Thornberry dropped as PM announces new ministers

According to the BBC, Emily Thornberry, who has been a member of the shadow cabinet for a long time, will not be appointed to any ministerial position in the new Labour government.

Ms Thornberry expressed regret and disbelief that she was not chosen to be Attorney General in Sir Keir Starmer's government, despite serving in that position during their time in opposition for three years.

Sir Keir emphasized that Ms Thornberry has a crucial role to fill within the Labour party, although he did not specify what that role would be.

She wasn't listed in Monday's schedule, as Sir Keir revealed the new ministerial positions in the Labour government following their big win last week.

Anneliese Dodds, former chair of the Labour party, has been appointed to a new role in the Cabinet. She will now be working in the Foreign Office and will also be serving as the minister for women and equalities.

Ms Thornberry had been a member of the opposition cabinet since 2016, eventually becoming the shadow foreign secretary and shadow first minister of state under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.

In 2020, she competed against Sir Keir to become the leader of the Labour Party after Mr. Corbyn stepped down. She later worked in his shadow cabinet while he was in opposition.

On her social media post, Ms. Thornberry mentioned her feelings of disappointment about being removed, but emphasized that this does not take away from the incredible and momentous win achieved by everyone in the Labour movement last week.

Even though she is disappointed and shocked that she can no longer serve as Attorney General in the government, she expressed confidence that Richard Hermer KC, who she views as a far more skilled lawyer than herself, will excel in the role.

The final sentence of her statement sparked some gossip in Westminster about possible intentions for a future position in government.

She ended her message by saying: "I will keep supporting our Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, with unwavering loyalty as he leads the country. I have been doing this since he took on the role of leader, and I am excited to help his government in any way possible in the future."

Talking to journalists in Wales, the prime minister stated: "I am assembling a highly capable team focused on achieving results."

We received a lot of support during the general election, showing that people want change and a different way of doing politics. This is why I am assembling my team.

Emily Thornberry has been amazing, she has a crucial role to play, as does every single one of the 412 Labour MPs.

Stephen Kinnock has been reassigned from his previous position dealing with immigration, which is a top focus of the new government. He has now taken on a new role in the Health and Social Care Department.

Nick Thomas-Symonds has not been appointed to a Cabinet position despite serving in the shadow cabinet for four years. He now has a senior ministerial role focusing on European relations.

The prime minister picked Sir Stephen Timms and Dame Diana Johnson from the group of less influential Members of Parliament and placed them in the government departments they had been studying as committee chairs in the previous parliamentary session.

Dame Diana, who used to lead the Home Affairs Committee, is now a minister in the Home Office. Sir Stephen is back in government as a Minister for Work and Pensions, a position he previously held during the Blair administration.

His selection brings the total number of MPs from Tony Blair's Cabinet who are now serving in government to three - the other two being Hilary Benn, who is the Secretary for Northern Ireland, and Douglas Alexander, who is the Minister for Business.

Another person from the Blair era who has returned is Lord Livermore. He previously served as a special advisor to Gordon Brown when he was the Chancellor, and now he has been appointed as the Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

Maria Eagle and Dame Angela Eagle, the first twins to ever serve in government together under Gordon Brown, are both returning as ministers. Dame Angela will take on the role of Home Office minister, while Maria Eagle will be serving in the Ministry of Defence.

Sir Keir is making some unexpected choices for his new ministerial team, bringing in experts who have not been part of his shadow cabinet before.

Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, who currently serves as the chairman of Network Rail, is set to become a transport minister. Prior to this role, Lord Hendy was in charge of Transport for London (TfL) during Ken Livingstone's tenure. He has been a member of the House of Lords as an independent crossbench peer since 2022.

He was appointed after Patrick Vallance, a former chief scientific adviser for the government, and James Timpson, the head of the Prison Reform Trust, were appointed as ministers.

Heidi Alexander came back to Parliament on Thursday following six years serving as deputy mayor of London. She was immediately chosen as a justice minister.

The complete roster of new government ministers appointed on Monday is: