Angela Rayner has been appointed shadow levelling up secretary, in a wide-ranging reshuffle by Sir Keir Starmer of his Labour team.

She replaces Lisa Nandy, who is has become the party’s new shadow minister for international development.

Rayner will remain the party’s deputy leader and will also take on the new role of shadow deputy prime minister.

Starmer’s reshaping of his top team comes as MPs prepare for the general election expected next year.

The changes also mean Labour’s front bench more closely mirrors ministerial roles created by a government reorganisation earlier this year.

Rayner, who already stands in for Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions when he is away, will now shadow Michael Gove in her new role.

Gove, responsible for ‘levelling up’, is in charge of local government and housing, which is expected to be a key battle ground for the major political parties ahead of the election.

Following the appointment yesterday by Starmer of Rayner as the new Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Melanie Leech, chief executive of the British Property Federation, commented: “We would firstly like to thank Lisa Nandy MP and her team for the constructive talks and engagement held between the BPF and the Labour Party highlighting the critical role the property sector has to play in the UK economy and how the industry is working hard to address the challenges we collectively face.

“Following the shadow cabinet reshuffle we look forward to continuing those discussions with the new shadow secretary of state, Angela Rayner MP, and welcome her to the role.

“Planning reform, infrastructure delivery, housing growth, the future of our high streets, and the need to reform business rates are all key issues we look forward to discussing as we head into the party conference season and start to look towards the next general election.”