Shadow cabinet quitter delighted to be back as Labours policing champion
A veteran MP is ready to open a new page in her political career converting her crime fiction hobby into Parliamentary fact.
A veteran MP is ready to open a new page in her political career converting her crime fiction hobby into Parliamentary fact.
The appointment of Lyn Brown as Labours new Shadow Policing Minister represents something of a U-turn for the West Ham MP who quit the front bench four months ago after calling for Jeremy Corbyn to be replaced.
In June, Ms Brown, 56, was in the post-Brexit vote avalanche deserting the Opposition frontbenches after a vote of no confidence in Mr Corbyn.
She left her post as Shadow Home Office Minister with a heavy heart, concluding the Parliamentary Labour Party had reached a tipping point.
For the good of the party and the country, I believe we should seek a new leader, she said at the time.
Now Ms Brown, a politician for nearly 30 years who has been a Government whip and held several Shadow ministerial posts since becoming an MP in 2005, has accepted Labours policing portfolio to shadow Tory Minister Brandon Lewis in Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbotts new-look portfolio.
Today she enthusiastically tweeted her new role: Delighted to serve as the Shadow Police Minister in @HackneyAbbott`s team holding Government to account on police cuts and rising crime.
At the weekend, she returned to her Shadow Home Office role alongside rookie Ealing Central and Action MP Rupa Huq.
Her appointment to take over as Shadow Policing Minister from Birmingham Erdington MP Jack Dromey has come as something of a surprise as Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris was reportedly due to get the nod in Mr Corbyns latest reshuffle after he won a landslide leadership contest last month.
Mrs Harris, a relative newcomer in parliamentary terms, was expected to add the policing role to her Shadow Home Office duties. But it is not known whether being the subject of a police inquiry six months ago over allegedly yanking the hair constituency worker Jenny Lee Clarke affected her chances of landing the job.
South Wales Police confirmed at that time that Mrs Harris would not face charges as the complaint against the MP had been made after the six-month time limit for common assault allegations had expired.