‘The reshuffle was moving deckchairs on the Titanic’

With just one new face and a big job swap for most of the rest, it doesn't look like Keir Starmer has done quite enough

- By DAVID MADDOX, POLITICAL EDITOR

As the dust settles on Keir Starmer's first major reshuffle and politicos begin to scour the names of the ministers in his new cabinet, one could be forgiven for wondering whether anything much had changed at all.

In fact, a veteran former MP summed it up quite curtly: “It was the moving the deckchairs on the Titanic reshuffle. Same faces, different positions.”

And with Nigel Farage looming large at Reform’s conference in Birmingham, the Labour government did not seem to be avoiding a collision course with calamity.

As harsh as this may sound, the reality is that when Starmer’s cabinet meets next week, only one new face will have been added - Emma Reynolds, the new environment secretary.

More have left - Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister and housing secretary; Ian Murray as Scottish secretary; and Lucy Powell as Commons leader.