Meet the new bosses: Key appointments in Labour government

Sir Stephen Timms, former chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, has been appointed minister of state in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Timms is joined by Alison McGovern, who has been given the same title.

The appointments come after Liz Kendall was announced as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions late on Friday, following Labour’s landslide victory in last week’s general election.

Timms has been an MP since 1994, initially representing the Newham North East constituency. This was partially replaced by the East Ham constituency, which he has represented since 1997.

He chaired the Work and Pensions Committee since 2020, succeeding the late Frank Field after the December 2019 general election.

While the government has yet to confirm Timms’ brief within the DWP, if appointed to the pensions minister role it would be the third time he has held the position. He was Minister of State for Pensions twice during Tony Blair’s tenure as prime minister, from December 1998 to July 1999 and from May 2005 to May 2006.

He was also shadow minister for work and pensions from 2010 to 2015.

Timms spoke at the Pensions Expert Defined Contribution Strategic Summit in May, where he called for a consensus and structured plan for raising auto-enrolment minimum contributions.

Mike Ambery, retirement savings director at Standard Life, said: “Pensions, retirement and savings is a complex brief so it’s great to have a minister in post who has been following the issues so closely through the Work and Pensions Select Committee. Having the context around challenges like the lack of savings adequacy, the need to implement auto-enrolment reforms, the pension dashboard and small pots, to name just a few of the issues, will be incredibly important to ensuring the government is able to move matters forward at pace.”

Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, added: “Timms is well-known and highly respected in the pensions world, and with his wealth of pensions knowledge, he’ll be able to get to work quickly. As recent chair of the influential Work and Pensions Select Committee, Timms is used to asking the challenging questions and we expect this to continue as the DWP and Treasury, hopefully with input from the pensions industry, identify and take forward the new government’s pension priorities.

“Top of the agenda will be the all-important pensions review referred to in Labour’s manifesto. It will be particularly welcome if this is led by an independent pensions commission, making recommendations to government.”

Alison McGovern
McGovern, meanwhile, has represented the Wirral South constituency since 2010 but was moved to Birkenhead – Frank Field’s old constituency – for this year’s election. The Minister of State appointment is her first ministerial position.

She was shadow minister for work and pensions between 2021 and 2024 and was a member of the Treasury Committee from 2017 to 2020.

Liz Kendall
Liz Kendall was appointed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on Friday as one of prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s first appointments.

She has represented the Leicester West constituency since 2010. She was appointed shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in September 2023 and has previously been a member of the Treasury Committee and the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee.

Malcolm Reynolds, UK president at Aptia, said: “Liz brings an interesting skill set to the role of secretary of state for work and pensions. We are encouraged by her direction in the past, particularly her work and time spent as shadow minister for care and older people. The role must not be seen as a stepping stone as it has so often in the past.

“There is a lot of work ahead in our sector, particularly around pension reforms, and we need those reforms as well as everything else to be handled carefully and overseen by someone who truly cares for pensioners today and in the future. Hopefully Liz is that person.”

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)
DLUHC has oversight of the £429 billion Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), as part of its brief to set policy for local government. Angela Raynor is Secretary of State in DLUHC as well as being deputy prime minister.

While specific briefs have not been announced, Jim McMahon and Matthew Pennycook have been named as Ministers of State within the department.

McMahon has been the MP for Oldham West and Royton since 2015 and has been shadow Secretary of State for Transport and later Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He has also held several shadow roles related to DLUHC.

Pennycook is the MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, having first been elected in 2015. Most recently, he was the shadow minister for Levelling Up, Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Key Treasury appointments
With pensions policy set to be a key element of the new government’s work, some appointments within the Treasury will likely be important to the pensions sector too.

Nigel Peaple, director of policy and advocacy at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, told Pensions Expert last week that the government’s plans to encourage pension schemes to invest more in the UK meant that pensions policy was likely to be a joint effort between the DWP and the Treasury.

So far, as well as Rachel Reeves’ appointment as chancellor, Darren Jones has been named chief secretary to the Treasury and Lord Spencer Livermore is the new financial secretary to the Treasury.

In his new role, Jones, a qualified lawyer, is responsible for public sector pay and pensions, capital investment, infrastructure spending, labour market policy and the state pension, among other areas.

Jones has represented the Bristol North West constituency since 2017 and has been a member of several committees, including chairing the Business and Trade Committee from 2020 to 2023.

Lord Livermore is a former special adviser to Gordon Brown during Brown’s spell as chancellor and latterly as prime minister.

After Labour’s defeat in the 2010 general election, he returned to the private sector and latterly worked at McKinsey, before being appointed to the House of Lords in 2015. He was also part of the committee setting the strategy for Labour’s 2024 election campaign. His husband, Seb Dance, is the deputy mayor of London.