Sir Keir Starmer is rumoured to be considering another Cabinet reshuffle shortly – perhaps as early as in the days after next week’s local elections.
The party is expecting a difficult set of results and the already-beleaguered Prime Minister could use a rejig of his top team to try to shore up his – possibly diminishing – authority.
Though the idea of a reshuffle is only speculation, it is interesting to consider who could be shifted.
So, who do Westminster insiders think could be on course for a new job – or demotion?
The return of Angela Rayner
Starmer has, for some time, been considering how and when Rayner – one of his key leadership rivals – could be brought back into the fold after she was sacked from Cabinet over her tax affairs.
The PM is understood to want to try and find a way to bring her back in an attempt to ensure her loyalty, for now.
Sources insist that no formal offer has been made to the former deputy prime minister, despite reports to the contrary, but there is speculation as to what role she might consider accepting.
Since her departure from Cabinet she has repeatedly spoken out about issues relating to her former role of Housing Secretary and Labour sources speculate that she would want to return to this job – currently held by Steve Reed.
There are questions around whether she would want to return to Starmer’s team given the direction of the current government and what demands she, or her followers, would make in return for her support.
Former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner (middle) and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham with Sir Keir Starmer (Photo: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty)A former Cabinet minister – and the deputy Labour leader
With the return of Rayner could come the promotion of those who are known to have been supportive of her.
Lucy Powell replaced her as deputy Labour leader but does not currently have a Cabinet role. She is someone considered to be on the hook for a promotion if Starmer has to reshape his top team.
Louise Haigh, a former minister who resigned early on in the government after a historic guilty plea for fraud was unearthed, is another name being batted around.
Former disabilities minister Vicky Froxcroft is another name being batted around.
Both are allies of Rayner and may be in the frame for a promotion if the former deputy prime minister is brought back into the fold.
Could Liz Kendall face demotion?
The Science and Technology Secretary has been mentioned as someone at risk of demotion – several Westminster sources saying there are rumours she could be moved.
Kendall was previously Work and Pensions Secretary who oversaw the government’s failure to plough ahead with welfare cuts central to its public spending plan.
It was eventually forced into an embarrassing, and damaging, U-turn by its own MPs.
And there are some in the party who believe she has demonstrated similar poor management when it comes to the proposed social media ban for children.
Peter Kyle ‘in a vulnerable position’
Business and Trade Secretary Kyle has been a long-time supporter of Starmer but has been privately criticised by some in the party for not having been an effective Cabinet minister.
Crucially Kyle – like Kendall – is considered to be in a vulnerable position because they are part of the right wing of the Labour party.
This is not expected to be the cohort Starmer would have to win over to maintain power and therefore the PM would not receive the same backlash he might for demoting other ministers.
Is replacing Shabana Mahmood on the cards?
The Home Secretary has become a controversial figure among the Labour left, in particular due to her very tough proposals for changing the rules of indefinite leave to remain.
While she is an effective communicator and an asset to a government facing a threat from right-wing parties like Reform UK, Mahmood is problematic for Labour MPs with high levels of settled immigrants in their constituencies – such as around London.
She has been out to bat for her policies very forcefully and is so personally linked to them that, should the PM decide to backtrack on them, he may be forced to replace her at the same time.
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