Following Starmer’s divisive Cabinet reshuffle, Emma Reynolds has been appointed as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, replacing Steve Reed who will become the Housing Minister. But who exactly is she?
Elected originally in May 2010 as the Labour MP for Wolverhampton North East, Reynolds served as a backbench MP for 9 years, losing to Conservative MP Jane Stevenson in 2019 when the red wall collapsed.
Reynolds later was re-elected to Parliament in 2024 as part of Starmer’s landslide majority, this time as the MP for Wycombe, which Reynolds holds the record for first female MP in that constituency, a commendable achievement.
Emma Reynolds studied at Wadham College at the University of Oxford, where she read Politics, Philosophy and Economics, adding to the Oxbridge educated ministers in Starmer’s administration, which include the Prime Minister himself and party chair Ellie Reeves.
Prior to her parliamentary career, Reynolds set up a lobbying company in Brussels, before serving as a special advisor to Minister for Europe, Geoff Hoon during Tony Blair’s years in government.
Through her past experiene, Emma Reynolds’ expertise is in the financial sector and in foreign policy with Europe, making her appointment as Environment Secretary an unusual choice. However, she is known to work extensively with rural communities and farmers in her constituency, and has shown a willingness to learn about the industry and and the concerns of rural communities.
The National Farmer’s Union president, Tom Bradshaw, commented: “I would like to congratulate Emma Reynolds MP on her appointment as Defra secretary of state.
“I look forward to working closely with her in the months ahead and hope she uses the role to champion farming, ensure its high production standards are valued, and invest in its future with policies that back British farming and deliver for food security.”
Paying tribute to Mr Reed, Mr Bradshaw said: “I would also like to thank Steve Reed MP for his time in post.
“Despite not always agreeing, we developed a strong working relationship and his door was always open to the NFU.
“He recognised the planning system needed significant change to enable investment in the farm infrastructure of the future.
“I am confident he will be able to support rural growth and farming communities in his new role at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.”
During her time in opposition, Reynolds was promoted to the opposition frontbench as a shadow junior Foreign Office Minister, working under another winner in Labour’s reshuffle, Douglas Alexander, whom was then Shadow Foreign Secretary and has now been appointed Secretary of State for Scotland, replacing Scottish Labour veteran Ian Murray.
Further, throughout her original tenure in the Shadow Cabinet, Emma Reynolds was promoted further to the position of Shadow Europe Secretary, Shadow Housing Secretary, and Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary, making her appointment for DEFRA minister more confusion considering Angela Rayner’s departure left the position of Housing Minister open before being taken by former DEFRA minister Steven Reed.
Emma Reynolds is one of the greenest ministers in Starmer’s cabinet, having previously served as an economic secretary to the Treasury City Minister and as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions, but she appears to be highly ambitious and has succeeded in a range of different governmental roles.
Featured image via Number 10 / HM Government.
