Political Updates 20th January 2020

This week’s Political Updates, covers moves and changes at all levels of government.

UK Government

Guy Warrington has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Mali.

Karen Wheeler to become Chief Executive of Radioactive Waste Management on 1st February.

Elizabeth Gardiner CB will be appointed Queen’s Counsel in the 2020 appointments.

The Civil Service Retirement Fellowship has announced that Madeleine Alessandri CMG has been appointed as the organisation’s new National Honorary Chair.

The Queen appoints Reverend Hugh Edmund Nelson, BA, MTh, to the Suffragan See of St Germans.

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport has selected Rhodri Williams as her preferred candidate for the Chair of S4C.

Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps has appointed two new traffic commissioners:

• Gerallt Evans to become Traffic Commissioner for the North West of England
• Victoria Davies to become Traffic Commissioner for Wales.

Three new Members have been appointed to the Industrial Development Advisory Board (IDAB):

• Gail Lumsden
• Sacira Coric
• Ben Alexander

House of Commons

Marion Fellows and Sir Desmond Swayne have been appointed as members of the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.

Owen Thompson and Mike Freer have joined as members of the Selection Committee.

Scott Mann was named as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Gavin Williamson as Secretary of State for Education.

Select Committee Chairs have been allocated parties as follows, and will be elected on 29th January:

Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – Labour

Defence – Conservative

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport – Conservative

Education – Conservative

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – Conservative

Foreign Affairs – Conservative

Health and Social Care – Conservative

Home Affairs – Labour

Housing, Communities and Local Government – Labour

International Development – Labour

International Trade – Scottish National Party

Justice – Conservative

Northern Ireland Affairs – Conservative

Science and Technology – Conservative

Scottish Affairs – Scottish National Party

Transport – Conservative

Treasury – Conservative

Welsh Affairs – Conservative

Women and Equalities – Conservative

Work and Pensions – Labour

Environmental Audit – Conservative

Exiting the European Union – Labour

Petitions – Labour

Procedure – Conservative

Public Accounts – Labour

Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs – Conservative

Standards – Labour

    House of Lords

Lord Darroch of Kew (crossbench) and Lord Reed of Allermuir (non-affiliated) were introduced to the House of Lords.

Lord Vallance of Tummel (Liberal Democrat, life peer) retired from the House of Lords on 13th January.

Earl Howe has been appointed as Spokesperson for Cabinet Office.

Earl of Courtown has been appointed as Spokesperson for International Trade and Treasury.

Lord Lea has been suspended from the Labour Peers Group.

Ruth Jones appointed as Shadow Minister for Fisheries.

Daniel Zeichner appointed as Shadow Minister for Farming.

Dr Alan Whitehead appointed as Shadow Minister for Waste and Recycling (remaining as Shadow BEIS Minister).

Tulip Siddiq appointed as Shadow Minister for Early Years.

Catherine West appointed as Shadow Minister for Sport.

Abena Oppong-Asare appointed as PPS to Luke Pollard as Shadow Environment Secretary.

Navendu Mishra appointed as PPS to Angela Rayner as Shadow Education Secretary.

Sir Ed Davey named as Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Spokesperson for the Economy and Social Justice.

Alistair Carmichael named as Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Brexit, remaining as Chief Whip.

Wendy Chamberlain named as Spokesperson for Political and Constitutional Reform, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and International Development.

Daisy Cooper named as Spokesperson for Justice, Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Tim Farron named as Spokesperson for Food and Rural Affairs, remains as Spokesperson for Housing, Local Government, and the North of England.

Wera Hobhouse named as Spokesperson for Energy, remains as Spokesperson for the Climate Emergency and the Environment.

Christine Jardine remains as Spokesperson for the Home Office and Women and Equalities.

Layla Moran remains as Spokesperson for Education.

Sarah Olney named as Spokesperson for Business and Trade.

Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee – Declan McAleer appointed as Chair, Philip McGuigan as Deputy Chair.

Justice Committee – Paul Givan appointed as Chair, Linda Dillon as Deputy Chair.

Economy Committee – Caoimhe Archibald appointed as Chair, Sinead McLaughlin as Deputy Chair.

Communities Committee – Paula Bradley appointed as Chair, Kellie Armstrong as Deputy Chair.

Health Committee – Colm Gildernew appointed as Chair, Gary Middleton as Deputy Chair.

Executive Office Committee – Colin McGrath appointed as Chair, Mike Nesbitt as Deputy Chair.

Finance Committee – Steve Aiken appointed as Chair, Paul Frew as Deputy Chair.

Infrastructure Committee – Michelle McIlveen appointed as Chair, David Hilditch as Deputy Chair.

Education Committee – Chris Lyttle appointed as Chair, Karen Mullan as Deputy Chair

Public Accounts Committee – William Humphrey appointed as Chair, Roy Beggs as Deputy Chair.

Standards and Privileges Committee – Sinéad Ennis appointed as Chair, William Irwin as Deputy Chair.

Assembly and Executive Review Committee – Mervyn Storey appointed as Chair, Maolíosa McHugh as Deputy Chair.

Procedures Committee – Carál Ní Chuilín appointed as Chair, Tom Buchanan as Deputy Chair.

Audit Committee – Daniel McCrossan appointed as Chair, Andrew Muir as Deputy Chair.