The North West MPs who are now at the heart of the government

Jonathan Reynolds, Angela Rayner (middle) and Lisa Nandy (right)

After 14 years as the opposition, the Labour Party are now officially in power following their record-breaking victory in the 2024 General Election.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has chosen his new cabinet, with a number of North West MPs at the heart of it, but who are they?

  • Angela Rayner - Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Angela Rayner has served as the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne since 2015. Credit: PA Images

The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne has served as Sir Keir Starmer's deputy leader since 2020 and has been appointed Deputy Prime Minister and well as Levelling Up Secretary.

Ms Rayner has worked her way up the rankings in the party, leaving school at 16 after living on a rundown council estate in Stockport.

She became a trade union official before beginning her career in parliament.

Many will now be looking to her - as John Prescott before her - to serve as custodian of its traditional values in the face of a modernising leadership.

A self-proclaimed socialist, the deputy leader’s current brief also includes housing, levelling up and communities - one of the most contentious elements of the new Government’s policy agenda.

This is expected to involve overseeing a major extension or workers’ rights including the creation of a new watchdog with powers to fine and prosecute errant employers.

Disclosures in an unauthorised biography by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft about Ms Rayner’s sale of a council house in 2015 led to a Greater Manchester Police investigation after the Tories complained she may have broken electoral law and dodged capital gains tax.

When the force announced – just days into the election campaign – that they would be taking no further action, Sir Keir said she had been fully vindicated, while she dismisses the saga as a Conservative bid to “clip my wings”.

  • Lisa Nandy - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Lisa Nandy has been appointed the the Culture Secretary in Sir Keir Stamer's cabinet.

The Wigan MP ran in the Labour leadership election in 2020 to succeed Jeremy Corbyn, but came third behind the new Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long Bailey.

She was initially appointed the Shadow Foreign Secretary in Starmer's frontbench team.

Ms Nandy then became the Shadow Levelling Up Secretary in a previous shake up of the top team.

In a surprise appointment, Ms Nandy has now been appointed as culture secretary after being demoted to Cabinet Minister for International Development in the shadow cabinet 2023 reshuffle.

She was brought in after Thangam Debbonaire lost her Bristol seat to the co-leader of the Green Party Carla Denyer.

Speaking on Friday, she said she will do everything in her power to “change lives for the better” as the newly appointed Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

“Its industries give meaning to millions of lives and bring communities in our towns, villages and cities together,” she said in a statement.

“As Culture Secretary, I will do everything I can to harness the limitless potential of the extraordinary people in these amazing sectors to drive economic growth, unlock opportunities for everyone and change lives for the better.

“The hard work begins today.”

  • Jonathan Reynolds - Secretary of State for Business and Trade

Jonathon Reynolds has been appointed as Business Secretary.

Jonathan Reynolds has been at the forefront of Labour’s efforts to redraw its relationship with the City.

Elected MP for Stalybridge and Hyde in 2010, he resigned as a shadow minister under Mr Corbyn and went on to criticise the leadership’s economic policy.

As chair of Christians on the Left, Mr Reynolds has described his faith as hugely important to his politics. In 2013 he told the Commons he would vote for equal marriage “because I am a Christian, not in spite of it”.

Born in Houghton-le-Spring, he studied law at Manchester University before entering parliament at the age of 28.

  • Lucy Powell - Leader of the House of Commons

Lucy Powell has been appointed as the Leader of the House of Commons.

Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell has held a number of positions in Sir Keir’s top team, most recently as shadow leader of the Commons.

She became known in the last parliament for her colourful sparring matches with Penny Mordaunt, who once accused her of “channelling Elmer Fudd” after she noted the lack of any rabbit-out-of-hat surprise policies in the 2024 spring Budget.

In addition to the roles for those re-elected MPs, Sir Keir Starmer also named James Timpson, CEO of the Timpsons as his new Prisons Minister.

Mr Timpson, who's from Knutsford in Cheshire will given a peerage to allow him to serve in the new cabinet.