The party suffered a series of setbacks in England, including losing overall control of councils including Durham, Sheffield and Plymouth…reports Asian Lite News.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has sacked his shadow chancellor in an expected reshuffle of the frontbench team after party’s poor performance in the local elections last week.
Anneliese Dodds will now become the Labour Party’s chair – replacing deputy leader Angela Rayner, whom Sir Keir fired from the role on Saturday, the BBC reported.
Rayner will instead replace Rachel Reeves in shadowing Michael Gove at the Cabinet Office, as Ms Reeves is promoted to the shadow chancellor role, it was reported.
The Labour leader chaired a meeting of the shadow cabinet on Monday.
The local elections held on Thursday, including council and mayoral elections in England, were Labour’s first major test since its crushing defeat at the 2019 general election. It was also a test for Sir Keir Starmer since he took the party leadership last year.
The party suffered a series of setbacks in England, including losing overall control of councils including Durham, Sheffield and Plymouth. The Conservatives also picked up control of several councils, including Nottinghamshire and Basildon, as well as winning Harlow from Labour.
Earlier, Keir Starmer said he was “bitterly disappointed” with the result, and “taking full responsibility.” He said, “I will take full responsibility for fixing things.”
The result is a boost for Prime Minister Boris Johnson despite a rocky few months for the premier, with the country’s successful vaccine campaign appearing to be a key factor.
The win will make no difference to Johnson’s influence in the British parliament, however, as his party already holds a majority.
On Friday, the prime minister had travelled to Hartlepool to celebrate his party’s win, hailing the backing of “the fantastic people of the north-east” and saying it gave his government a renewed mandate, the Guardian reported.
The by-election was held on Thursday, the same day as local and mayoral elections across England, and votes for the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments.
