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Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks after announcing his shadow cabinet reshuffle, and it has started with the appointment of his deputy, Angela Rayner, to the post of shadow levelling up secretary. The reshuffle was put into gear after shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon announced he is standing down to focus on his health. Ms Rayner, in a widely predicted move, has been shifted to focus on a brief that includes local government, housing and the so-called levelling-up agenda, which involves scrutinising the Conservative Government’s pledge to create economic opportunities outside London and the South East. As part of the revamp, Ms Rayner has formally been appointed shadow deputy prime minister, having faced Oliver Dowden at the despatch box during Deputy Prime Minister’s Questions when Rishi Sunak is away. She had previously been shadowing the Cabinet Office. Lisa Nandy, one of Sir Keir’s leadership rivals in 2020, was previously shadowing Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove. The former shadow foreign secretary was demoted to shadow cabinet minister for international development during the reshuffle – a position that does not directly relate to the work of a secretary of state in Government. Sir Keir’s decision to create a new-look team comes as he uses Parliament’s return from the summer recess to further set out his vision for government.