An embattled Sir Keir Starmer last night rearranged his deckchairs as he chopped and changed parts of his shadow cabinet in a make-or-break reshuffle.
In a bold but not unexpected move, the stumbling Labour leader demoted party favourite Anneliese Dodds from the key role of shadow chancellor.
She was replaced by Oxford educated former Bank of England economist Rachel Revees – a trusted ally of Sir Keir.
In the most left-field move of the night, the Labour leader sacked veteran MP Nick Brown as the party’s chief whip.
Then, in a dramatic twist to earlier events, Sir Keir reinstated Angela Rayner to his front bench – hours after axing her from her role as party chair and campaign coordinator.
In what some now consider a promotion from her previous role, the deputy party leader will now take Michael Gove to task as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Ms Dodds will replace her as party chair. However, according to some reports, Ms Rayner will still have significant influence over internal party matters.
Mr Brown meanwhile will be replaced as chief whip by Alan Campbell.
