Steve Reed appointed Labour’s Shadow Minister for Children and Families
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has appointed Steve Reed MP as the party’s Shadow Minister for Children and Families. Steve, first elected to Parliament in 2012, has served on Labour’s frontbench since 2013, including as Shadow Minister for Local Government.
Steve welcomed his appointment and said:
I’m really excited to have been appointed as Labour’s new Shadow Minister for Children and Families. There are over four million children now living in poverty and many regularly go without food. This is one of the most important issues facing our country and I will do everything I can to challenge the Conservative Government over how they’ve let vulnerable children down.
When I took over as Leader of Lambeth Council from the Lib Dems and Conservatives, their children’s services were rated in the bottom 3% in the country. When I left, they were rated best in the country and outstanding in every category. That’s one of my proudest achievements, and I’ll use that experience to hold this failing Government to account.
Steven Reed is Labour MP for Croydon North and Shadow Minister for Children and Families. In 2018 his private member’s bill on reducing violent mental health restraint became law. In June 2019 he launched Labour’s civil society strategy outlining radical plans to empower citizens and communities.
Steve chairs the Cooperative Councils Innovation Network, co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for London, was Leader of Lambeth Council 2006-12 where he led the council’s children’s services to become best-rated in the country and pioneered the public-health approach to tackling violent youth crime. He worked in publishing for 16 years and was an elected trade union branch secretary.