Former union official to become Labour Party housing spokesperson following reshuffle

Jack Dromey will be the new Labour shadow housing minister, replacing Alison Seabeck who is now to work shadowing the defence portfolio, it emerged today.

The move follows the appointment of shadow communities secretary Hilary Benn by labour leader Ed Miliband on Friday after revised party rules gave him a free hand to appoint his own shadow cabinet.

The appointment of Birmingham Erdington MP Dromey will not be a surprise given that the former trade union official, who is married to deputy leader Harriet Harman, fulfilled the shadow planning brief before the reshuffle.

However, the change will see Seabeck moving on after just under 12 months in the role.

The full labour shadow communities department team has now been named, although it is not clear exactly what job all the MPs will perform.

The other members of the shadow communities team are:

Helen Jones, MP for Warrington North

Chris Williamson, MP for Derby North

Roberta Carol Blackman-Woods, MP for Durham

Paul Blomfield, MP for Sheffield Central

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