STARMER RECRUITS BROWN AND HARMAN AS CALLS FOR RESIGNATION GROW
Keir Starmer has appointed two old (‘New’?) Labour figures following disastrous election results on Thirsday. The latest in a long line of ‘resets’ will see Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman taking on roles in government.
Keir Starmer appointed Gordon Brown as the Prime Minister’s Special Reviewer on Global Finance and Cooperation yesterday. The former Prime Minister will advise on how global finance cooperation can build a stronger Britain, boosting the country’s security and resilience.
His appointment comes as the UK prepares to hold the Presidency of the G20 next year.
He will be tasked with developing new international finance partnerships that can support defence and security-related investment, including measures that underpin the UK’s relationship with Europe.
As part of the role he will engage with international leaders and finance institutions as well as private finance partners to establish multilateral finance mechanisms.
Gordon Brown was Britain’s longest-serving modern Chancellor of the Exchequer.
As Prime Minister, he worked with international counterparts as they responded to the worldwide financial crisis.
In April 2009, he hosted the G20 Summit in London where world leaders pledged to make an additional $1.1 trillion available to help the world economy through the crisis and restore credit, growth and jobs.
Gordon Brown will report directly to the to the Prime Minister. This is an unpaid part-time role.
Keir Starmer also appointed Harriet Harman as the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Women and Girls.
Baroness Harman will advise the PM on how to galvanise Government to deliver for women and girls.
She will work with ministers across Government to drive an impactful agenda focusing on tackling violence against women and girls, unlocking economic opportunity, and improving representation.
The role will see her draw on work with women across Parliament to identify action needed to tackle misogyny and deliver greater opportunity for women in parliamentary and public life.
As part of the appointment, she will also work with the Cabinet Secretary to drive a shift in culture across the Civil Service and Ministerial offices, enhancing opportunity for women and enhancing government delivery for women.
Throughout her career, Baroness Harman has been a vocal advocate for women and girls, including on issues such as women’s political representation, maternity rights, and tackling violence against women and girls.
In her previous role as Solicitor General, Harriet led a successful drive within government to make tackling domestic violence a priority.
The campaign led to the introduction of a new law – the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act – to ensure more effective prosecutions for domestic violence and a new network of 60 specialist domestic violence courts.
Her appointment underlines the Government’s commitment to empowering women and girls.
For the first time, this government has declared the scale of violence and abuse suffered by women and girls in this country is a national emergency.
The landmark Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy sets out how we will achieve our pledge to halve these vile crimes in a decade – stopping violence before it starts, relentlessly pursuing perpetrators and better supporting victims and survivors.
Baroness Harman will report directly to the to the Prime Minister. This is an unpaid part-time role.
The appointments come after a dreadful set of election results across the country on Thursday, brought about by increasing criticism of the Prime Minister’s decision-making.
The appointments smack of desperation as Starmer tries to shore up his position – incredible given the scale of his majority just two years ago.
Some (doubtless unwanted) words of advice from another Labour Party leader:
Growing anger within the Labour movement has now seen one backbench MP threaten to challenge Starmer’s leadership if no-one in the cabinet is willing to do so.
Catherine West has given her colleagues until tomorrow (Monday) to put up or shut up. Doubtless some telephones will be red hot over this weekend.
Following a poor Holyrood result that saw Labour sharing a distant second place with Reform, there’s a call for change at the top of Scottish Labour, too.
Campaign for Socialsim said: “Anas Sarwar and Jackie Baillie have failed to convince working class voters that we are on their side.
“They must now resign with grace and pass on the torch to those who can.”
