Round-up of Members Lobby contact changes and appointments

The following appointments and contact changes have been made since our last update on December 22

Government changes

• Max Blain was appointed as the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesperson on February 9 and will take up his position in April
• On January 17 Eddie Hughes MP was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, following the resignation for personal reasons of Kelly Tolhurst MP, who was responsible for housing and rough sleeping
• Scott Mann has been appointed a government whip (unpaid). He was previously Parliamentary Private Secretary to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson
• Lord Frost was appointed Representative for Brexit and International Policy and head of a new International Policy Unit in No.10
• Sir Stephen Lovegrove was appointed National Security Adviser

Labour Party changes

• Three Labour MPs resigned from their roles on December 30 after defying Sir Keir Starmer's order to vote for the post-Brexit trade deal. They are Helen Hayes (Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office), Florence Eshalomi (Opposition whip) and Tonia Antoniazzi (Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions)
• Jack Dromey, former shadow minister for pensions, has been appointed as shadow minister for the Cabinet Office
• Fleur Anderson, former PPS to shadow Secretary of State for International Development has been appointed as shadow minister for the Cabinet Office
• Matt Rodda, former shadow minister for local transport, has been appointed as shadow minister for pensions
• Sam Tarry, former PPS to the shadow secretary of state for BEIS, has been appointed as shadow minister for buses and local transport

Select committee changes

• Northern Ireland Affairs - Fay Jones replaced Caroline Ansell
• Procedure - William Wragg replaced Andrew Griffith
• Backbench Business - Imran Ahmad Khan replaced Fiona Bruce

Lords select committees

• House of Lords Commission - Lord German, Lord Hill of Oareford, Lord Touhig and Lord Vaux of Harrowden replaced Baroness Doocey, Lord Wakeham, Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall and Lord Laming
• Communications and Digital - Baroness Featherstone, Lord Giddens, Lord Griffiths of Burry Port and Lord Stevenson of Balmacara replaced Lord Storey, Baroness Quin, Lord Allen of Kensington and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall
• Constitution - Baroness Doocey, Lord Hope of Craighead and Baroness Suttie replaced Lord Beith and Lord Pannick
• Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform - Lord Hendy and Lord Janvrin replaced Lord Haskel and Lord Thurlow
• Economic Affairs - Lord Bridges of Headley, Lord Haskel, Lord King of Lothbury and Baroness Kramer replaced Lord Tugendhat, Lord Cunningham of Felling, Lord Burns and Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted
• Finance - Lord Campbell-Savours, Lord Davies of Brixton, Lord Lee of Trafford, Lord Levene of Portsoken and Lord Vaux of Harrowden replaced Lord Cunningham of Felling, Baroness Goudie, Baroness Doocey, Lord Cromwell and Lord Kerslake; Lord Vaux of Harrowden appointed chair
• Human Rights - Lord Henley replaced Lord Trimble
• International Relations and Defence - Lord Anderson of Swansea, Lord Boateng, Lord Campbell of Pittenweem, Lord Stirrup, Baroness Sugg and Lord Teverson replaced Lord Reid of Cardowan, Lord Grocott, Lord Purvis of Tweed, Lord Hannay of Chiswick, Baroness Helic and Baroness Smith of Newnham
• Liaison - Baroness Campbell of Surbiton replaced Lord Low of Dalston
• National Plan for Sport and Recreation - The Earl of Devon replaced Lord Krebs
• National Security Strategy - Lord Laming, Lord Reid of Cardowan and Lord Strasburger replaced Lord Powell of Bayswater, Lord Harris of Haringey and Lord Campbell of Pittenweem
• Procedure and Privileges - Lord Faulkner of Worcester and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall replaced Lord Morris of Aberavon and Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe
• Science and Technology - Viscount Hanworth, Lord Krebs, Lord Mitchell, Lord Sarfraz, Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe and Lord Winston replaced Lord Browne of Ladyton, Lord Mair, Baroness Hilton of Eggardon, Lord Borwick, Baroness Young of Old Scone and Lord Hollick
• Selection - Baroness Coussins and Lord Smith of Hindhead replaced Lord Craig of Radley and Viscount Ullswater
• Services - Lord Clark of Windermere and Baroness Deech replaced Lord Campbell-Savours and Lord Laming; Lord Touhig appointed chair
• Statutory Instruments - Baroness D’Souza and Lord Smith of Hindhead replaced Lord Stirrup and Lord Colgrain
• International Agreements (new Select Committee to consider matters relating to the negotiation, conclusion and implementation of international agreements) - Members:
• • Lord Foster of Bath, Lord Gold, Lord Goldsmith (Chair), Lord Kerr of Kinlochard, Lord Lansley, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke, Lord Morris of Aberavon, Lord Oates, Lord Risby, Lord Robathan, Earl of Sandwich, Lord Watts
• Youth Unemployment (new Select Committee be appointed to consider youth unemployment, education and skills) - Members:
• • Lord Baker of Dorking, Baroness Clark of Kilwinning, Lord Clarke of Nottingham, Lord Davies of Oldham, Bishop of Derby, Lord Empey, Lord Hall of Birkenhead, Lord Layard, Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall, Baroness Newlove, Lord Shipley (Chair), Lord Storey, Lord Woolley of Woodford

Other House of Lords changes

• Lord Hague of Richmond has been granted a leave of absence
• Baroness Wheatcroft was non-affiliated, now crossbench
• Lord Wallace of Tankerness, former leader of the Liberal Democrats in the Lords who has been chosen to be the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, now sits as a non-affiliated peer
• Lord Cavendish of Furness has retired

SNP changes (at Westminster)

Additions to the SNP front bench:

• Patricia Gibson MP - Shadow Spokesperson for Housing, Communities and Local Government
• Angela Crawley MP - Shadow Spokesperson for the Attorney General
• Richard Thomson MP - Shadow Spokesperson for Northern Ireland
• Stephen Flynn MP - Shadow Spokesperson for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

• Joanna Cherry has been dismissed as Justice Spokesperson

Scottish government appointments

• Angela Constance has been appointed Minister for Drugs Policy
• Mairi Gougeon, formerly Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment, has been appointed Minister for Public Health and Sport, with responsibility for Coronavirus testing (replacing Joe Fitzpatrick)
• Ben Macpherson, formerly Minister for Public Finance and Migration, has been appointed Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment, supporting both Roseanna Cunningham and Fergus Ewing on the impacts of Brexit on the rural economy, supporting efforts to tackle climate change and to protect wildlife and biodiversity
• Ivan McKee, Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation, has been given additional responsibilities for supporting Finance Secretary Kate Forbes as the Scottish Government prepares to publish its Budget early in the new year
• Jenny Gilruth, Minister for Europe and International Development, has been given additional responsibility for Migration.

Scottish Labour Party

• Richard Leonard resigned as Leader of Scottish Labour
• Anne McGinley stood down as deputy general secretary

Other changes

• Julian Lewis had the Conservative whip restored on 30th December
• Helen Grant MP was appointed Special Envoy on Girls’ Education
• Paul Davies MS resigned as leader of the Welsh Conservatives