Diane Abbott - Shadow Home Secretary

Labour reshuffle: Diane Abbott has been promoted to shadow home secretary.

15:37 07 October 2016

Diane Abbott has been promoted to shadow home secretary following a Labour reshuffle. Keir Starmer returns as shadow Brexit secretary while ex-Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti is shadow attorney general. Meanwhile, Dame Rosie Winterton is out as chief whip.

 

Labour leader Jeremy has been criticised for the move with critics saying that the reshuffle will fail to unify the party.

 

One senior figure said the reshuffle so far looked "vengeful and cack-handed", and Middlesbrough South MP Tom Blenkinsop accused Mr Corbyn of "seeking submission not unity".

 

Another MP, Neil Coyle, said that Dame Rosie’s work during a difficult period for Labour had been “underestimated.” He added that despite everything, "the parliamentary votes have been fairly coherent and that's a direct result of someone who is a unifying figure - and that's Rosie as chief whip."

 

Conservative MP Luke Hall said Ms Abbott's appointment showed Labour had "lost touch with ordinary working-class people". He said: "By appointing a shadow home secretary who disagrees with the public, and her own party, about the need to control our own borders, Labour have abandoned the centre ground."