John Healey named as Labour’s shadow health secretary

Former housing minister John Healey has been named as the new shadow health secretary...

Former housing minister John Healey has been named as the new shadow health secretary in Labour’s new front-bench team.

New Labour leader Ed Miliband announced his new shadow cabinet today with Andy Burnham, widely tipped to shadow the health brief, given the job of covering children’s issues as the new secretary of state for education. Burnham has also been given the role of election co-ordinator.

Douglas Alexander will shadow work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan-Smith, while Caroline Flint is the new shadow communities and local government secretary.

The biggest surprise surrounds former children’s secretary Ed Balls, who is the new shadow home secretary. Balls had been widely tipped to become the new shadow chancellor, a role he held during the Labour leadership election, but this instead went to Alan Johnson.

Ed Balls’s wife Yvette Cooper is the new shadow foreign secretary as well as minister for women and equalities.

Former care services minister Ivan Lewis, is the culture, media and sport shadow, while Liam Byrne, also a former care services minister, is the shadow cabinet office minister.

Miliband said: “Together, this new generation of Labour will work together to reject the pessimism of this coalition government as we set out our vision of what Britain can achieve.”

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(John Healey picture credit, Rex Features)

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