Daniel Zeichner also leaves the government as Keir Starmer shuffles his pack
The government has shuffled its ministerial team at Defra, with Emma Reynolds taking over from Steve Reed as secretary of state.
Reynolds, the MP for Wycombe, has held the position of economic secretary to the Treasury since January, and before that was parliamentary secretary at the Treasury and Department for Work and Pensions since the Labour government was elected last summer.
She replaces Reed, who has been moved to a new role as secretary of state of housing, communities and local government.
Food security minister Daniel Zeichner has also left government, while Dame Angela Eagle joins Defra as a minister. It was not immediately clear whether she would be picking up Zeichner’s brief and title.
Eagle is the MP for Wallasey and was previously minister for border security and asylum at the Home Office. She has had a long career as an MP, serving in the governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, as well as Ed Miliband’s shadow cabinet.
The rest of the Defra ministerial team remains unchanged and is made up of Emma Hardy as minister for water and flooding, Mary Creagh as minister for nature, and Baroness Hayman of Ullock as Lords Minister.
Reacting to news of the changes, NFU president Tom Bradshaw said: “I would like to congratulate Emma Reynolds on her appointment as Defra secretary of state. I look forward to working closely with her in the months ahead and hope she uses the role to champion farming, ensure its high production standards are valued and invest in its future with policies that back British farming and deliver for food security.
“I would also like to thank Steve Reed for his time in post. Despite not always agreeing, we developed a strong working relationship and his door was always open to the NFU.
“He recognised the planning system needed significant change to enable investment in the farm infrastructure of the future. I am confident he will be able to support rural growth and farming communities in his new role at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.”
