Keir Starmer’s upcoming cabinet will make history by having the highest number of state-educated and female ministers ever. This historic shift includes Rachel Reeves becoming the first female chancellor. Despite these milestones, ethnic representation within the cabinet has decreased.
Rachel Reeves’s appointment as the first female chancellor marks a significant achievement for gender representation. Alongside this, the new cabinet will feature a record number of state-educated ministers. Only two ministers, Louise Haigh and Anneliese Dodds, attended private schools.
While 89 minority ethnic MPs were elected to parliament overall, research by the think tank British Future highlights that David Lammy will be the only black cabinet minister, serving as the foreign secretary. The cabinet will also include two ministers of Asian descent: Shabana Mahmood, one of the UK’s first Muslim female MPs, and Lisa Nandy.
The Labour victory has led to a significant increase in the proportion of state-educated members in parliament, rising from 54% to 63%. This is the highest proportion ever recorded, although it still falls short of the 88% of the general public who attended comprehensive schools.
Diane Abbott, the Labour veteran and Britain’s first black female MP, will become the mother of the house, having served her Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency for almost 40 years. Women will hold over 40% of seats in the Commons, including 46% of Labour MPs and 24% of Conservative MPs.
The 2024 election has brought a significant influx of new MPs, with more than half of parliament being newly elected. This includes 76.1% of Liberal Democrat MPs and 56.4% of Labour MPs who have not been elected before. This is the highest number of new entrants since at least 1979.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn just missed out on becoming father of the house, being behind Sir Edward Leigh in the 1983 queue to be sworn in. The new prime minister, Keir Starmer, has maintained his top team in their roles but will need to fill vacancies left by Jonathan Ashworth and Thangam Debbonaire, who were unseated by an independent and a Green party candidate, respectively.
Starmer’s deputy, Angela Rayner, who left school at 16 and rose through the ranks as a trade union official, is known for her ability to build consensus. Alongside her, Louise Haigh, potentially the youngest woman to serve as a cabinet minister at 36, has been integral to Labour’s transport plans, which are essential to the government’s broader growth agenda.
Keir Starmer’s new cabinet sets historical precedents for gender and educational background representation, despite a decrease in ethnic diversity. The cabinet’s composition reflects Labour’s broader commitment to inclusivity and social mobility.
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