Labour Leader Sir Kier Starmer has launched a surprise shadow cabinet reshuffle as his party struggles to capitalise on serial scandals rocking the Tory government.
News of the latest round of musical chairs on the opposition benches overshadowed deputy leader Angela Rayner's press conference on Monday morning where she sought to keep pressure on the ruling Conservatives over lobbying and second jobs scandals.
But Starmer's afternoon of the dull knives turned out to be a long drawn-out affair, with the first big-name changes not revealed until the early evening.
Left Purge Continues
The first casualty of the reshuffle was Lancaster and Fleetwood MP Cat Smith. Not waiting to be pushed, Smith tweeted her resignation from her post as shadow secretary for young people and democracy on Monday morning.
She slammed Starmer's refusal to lift the year-long suspension of former leader Jeremy Corbyn, calling it "utterly unsustainable," along with his reluctance to support a change from the first-past-the-post system in general elections to one of proportional representation.
Smith was the last member of the left-wing Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs in the shadow cabinet.
Big Names Out of the Picture
The first big beast to catch a bullet was shadow education secretary Kate Green, who has failed to score political points against her Tory opposite Gavin Williamson despite several fumbles on his part.
Her replacement is reportedly shadow treasury secretary Bridget Phillipson, a party right-winger.
But the name on every political pundit's lips was Nick Thomas-Symonds, who was reportedly sacked as shadow home secretary by the late afternoon. He was demoted to the international trade portfolio.
His replacement will be Yvette Cooper, a hard-line opponent of Brexit and third-place finisher in the 2015 leadership election.
Emily Thornberry, the former shadow foreign secretary who Starmer sent to the backbenches after winning the leadership last April, returns to the front line as shadow attorney-general, replacing Charlie Falconer.
Starmer and Thornberry were thick as thieves at the September 2019 Labour conference, leading the charge on the policy of re-running the 2016 European Union (EU) membership referendum — and backing the Remain side. Thornberry even dressed up as the EU flag for an anti-Brexit protest, but their policy led to Labour's crushing defeat at the December general election.
Tottenham MP David Lammy, another leading Remainer, will move from justice to foreign. He replaces 2020 leadership runner-up Lisa Nandy, who will now shadow part of Cabinet Office Secretary Michael Gove's portfolio as shadow levelling-up minister.
Croydon North MP Steve Reed gets a promotion from communities minister to justice.
Former leader and shadow business secretary Ed Miliband is heavily tipped for a demotion after contradicting Starmer on re-nationalising energy firms during the COP 26 summit in Glasgow.
His reported new role sounds very grand, with responsibility for transforming the energy system, allocation of the climate investment pledge and the net zero industrial strategy. But that still leaves him shadowing government COP 26 lead Alok Sharma rather than Kwasi Kwarteng.
Miliband's replacement is Jonathan Reynolds, currently shadow work and pensions secretary.
Jim McMahon gets moved sideways from shadow transport secretary to the environment, food and rural affairs (DEFRA) role.
Jonathan Ashworth replaces McMahon in a demotion from the health portfolio, while junior shadow health minister Wes Street takes Ashworth's place.
Jo Stevens is demoted from shadow digital, culture, media and sport secretary to Welsh secretary — when Labour's Mark Drakeford is already Wales' first minister — replacing Llanelli MP Nia Griffith.
LabourList quoted sources who said shadow housing secretary Lucy Powell would take over the DCMS portfolio.
SPAD Bloodbath
Early rumours that paid party staff also faced the chop were borne out in later reports.
Labour is already facing strike action by two of its affiliated trade unions at its Westminster head office after announcing 90 redundancies over the summer.
The cutbacks were blamed on falling membership since Starmer took over and millions in lawyers' bills and compensation pay-outs to former staff over the leaking of parts of an internal report into anti-Semitism allegations against the party.