Emily Thornberry arrives at her election count on Friday morning.Emily Thornberry has said she is “surprised” and “disappointed” to be dumped from Labour’s frontbench by Keir Starmer.
In a major shock, the new prime minister has refused to give a ministerial job to the Islington South MP.
That is despite the fact that she had been Labour’s shadow attorney general for the past four years.
Instead, Starmer chose to make Richard Hermer KC a life peer in order to do the job in government.
Posting her reaction on X, Thornberry said: “After eight-and-a-half unbroken years in the shadow cabinet, a longer record of service than anyone else in that time, I have always worked my hardest to keep the Labour Party united, support our candidates across the country, take the fight to the Tories, and put a positive case to the British people about what we would do differently.
“I am very sorry and surprised not to be able to continue that work in government, but I wish all my brilliant colleagues well, and I know that Richard Hermer KC - a much more accomplished lawyer than I could ever hope to be - will do an outstanding job as attorney general.
“Nothing in the personal disappointment I feel can detract from the amazing and historic victory that all of us in the Labour movement worked together to win last week.”
However, Thornberry did hint that she could still take on a role in the Labour government in the future.
She said: “I will continue giving my unstinting loyalty to our prime minister, Keir Starmer ... as I have done since he became leader, and I look forward to supporting his government in every way I can in the years to come.”
