What do Keir Starmer’s frontbench picks mean for Labour’s future?

Fresh from unveiling his top shadow cabinet, Keir Starmer has confirmed which Labour MPs will be serving on his frontbench as shadow ministers.

These more junior appointments may not be as high profile as his top table, but they’re important for understanding how Labour’s new leader might run his party.

There are certainly MPs drawn from all over the party on the front benches. The shadow treasury team, for instance, includes Dan Carden, from its left wing, alongside Pat McFadden – Tony Blair’s former political secretary.

One thing that really stands out about the appointments is that they include a number of higher-profile MPs from the right of the party who missed out on jobs in the shadow cabinet.

Jess Phillips, Liz Kendall, Wes Streeting and Peter Kyle all have roles. Typically, Sir Keir has tried to match them with personal interests – so Phillips, a longstanding domestic violence campaigner, is shadow minister for domestic violence; Kendall, who has long had an interest in social care, is shadow social care minister.

Another noteworthy thing about the appointments is there appears to have been a blanket ban on MPs from the 2019 intake. This is not that unusual in itself: appointments will always skew towards MPs with more experience. But because the 2019 intake leans further left than previous intakes, it does contribute to the ranks of junior ministers skewing somewhat towards the party’s centre and right.

There are a few left-wingers in there: Lloyd Russell-Moyle, a member of the Socialist Campaign Group, Rachael Maskell, Dan Carden. But MPs who are noticeably left-leaning in their output are heavily outnumbered by MPs who are notable for coming from the party’s right. This is compounded by the fact the new leader appears to have excluded many Corbyn loyalists such as Richard Burgeon and Dawn Butler.

It’s impossible to know for certain how Starmer’s shadow cabinet and front bench will evolve, or how he will run the party. But with more junior ministers generally being the next in line for shadow cabinet appointments, it’s not inconceivable that many of the faces here could eventually end up in more senior positions.