A Labour MP who billed taxpayers for a £55 parking ticket has been promoted in Sir Keir Starmer’s reshuffle.
Abena Oppong-Asare has been handed the women’s health and mental health brief just weeks after The Independent exposed the expenses claim.
In the wake of the revelation, the expenses watchdog tightened its rules, Ms Oppong-Asare apologised and senior Tories called for her to be sacked.
But in a reshuffle on Monday to get Labour on an election footing, Sir Keir promoted Ms Oppong-Asare from her shadow treasury brief.
Responding to the promotion, Ms Oppong-Asare said: “Pleased to join the shadow health and social care team as shadow minister for women’s health and mental health.
“These are issues I’m incredibly passionate about and issues of great importance to the public.
“Keir Starmer is creating a team ready to govern and deliver.”
Ms Oppong-Asare replaced shadow mental health minister Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who resigned on Monday with a swipe at the Labour leader.
She said Sir Keir “made clear that he does not see a space for a mental health portfolio in a Labour cabinet”.
As a result, she said she would “not be able to continue in this role”.
The Labour reshuffle saw several key players demoted – while key allies enjoyed significant promotions.
Sir Keir told his new team that the party had made “real progress” but there was “a long, long way to go”, opening Tuesday’s shadow cabinet meeting by saying there could be “absolutely no complacency”.
Mr Starmer – accused by campaigners on the left of assembling “a narrow band of Blairites” – told the senior Labour MPs that they had been chosen for their “hunger” ahead of an “important and crucial” political period.
The decision to move Angela Rayner to levelling up secretary saw Lisa Nandy – seen as a leading figure in Labour’s “soft left” – demoted to the international development brief.
