Sir Keir Starmer has appointed two familiar figures as his new advisers, after promising to shake up the Labour Party in the wake of devastating electoral losses.
Hours after the prime minister pledged to “respond to the message voters have sent us”, Sir Keir Starmer announced he had brought former prime minister Gordon Brown and former deputy party leader Harriet Harman back into government.
Mr Brown will be the prime minister’s special envoy on global finance, while Lady Harman was appointed as his adviser on women and girls.
The announcement, made after the pair were seen leaving Downing Street on Saturday morning, was met with a mixed response.
Political opposition dubbed the appointments a “desperate move”, while some Labour MPs have reportedly expressed confusion at the decision to bring them back into government.
But why has the prime minister brought them back?
Gordon Brown
Announcing Mr Brown’s appointment, Sir Keir wrote on X: “As Britain’s longest-serving chancellor, Gordon is well placed to work with our international allies to build a stronger Britain and boost our country’s security and resilience.”
Mr Brown will be expected to draw on his experience as chancellor and prime minister to advise on how global financial co-operation can strengthen the UK.
“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,” Downing Street said.
Mr Brown served as chancellor under Tony Blair for a decade, making him the longest-serving chancellor in modern history.
But his decision to sell half of the UK’s gold reserves was met with harsh criticism, then and now. The gold was sold at an average of $275 an ounce, far below what it would be worth today.
He later became prime minister between 2007 and 2010, leading the country through the 2008 global financial crisis.
In 2010, Mr Brown led the party to general election defeat after 13 years in power, with many noting he lacked the natural flair of his predecessor Tony Blair.
Since leaving office, Mr Brown has been a prominent advocate for ending child poverty, and has served as the United Nations special envoy for global education and a World Health Organisation ambassador for global health financing.
He remains a senior figure in the Labour Party, and in February said Sir Keir had been “too slow to do the right things” in the wake of the Peter Mandelson scandal around contact with Jeffrey Epstein, and said the leadership crisis Sir Keir faced was “serious”. Mr Brown has also been dogged in the pursuit of the documents relating to the wider Epstein scandal.
Harriet Harman
Lady Harman was announced as Sir Keir’s new adviser on women and girls, as the prime minister seeks to save his premiership following this week’s electoral losses.
The new role will see her work with ministers on work to tackle violence against women and girls, improving job prospects and increasing representation in parliament and public life.
Sir Keir wrote on X: “Harriet is a strong advocate for women and girls and I know she will deliver greater opportunity for women in public life. I’m committed to tackling structural misogyny that is a barrier for too many women and girls.
“I look forward to working with Harriet to drive forward action on this important issue.”
She will work with the head of the Civil Service to “drive a shift in culture” across the Civil Service and ministerial offices, No 10 said.
The announcement comes after the Labour grandee was appointed by the foreign secretary last year as special envoy for women and girls to “champion gender equality worldwide and help deliver global economic growth”.
Lady Harriet is a member of the House of Lords and has held several senior positions both in government and the Labour Party in the past.
She was Mr Brown’s deputy leader of the party and was also acting party leader briefly in 2010 and 2015.
Sir Keir’s decision to bring her on side may be an attempt to quell some of her vocal criticism of his premiership, which has come in recent months.
Just hours before her appointment was announced, she told Sky News that Sir Keir should continue as prime minister, but warned him that “more of the same is not acceptable”.
In February, she said Sir Keir looked “weak, naive and gullible” by blaming Mandelson’s “lies” for the scandal that has posed a major threat to his leadership since September last year.
