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The MP for Wallasey, Dame Angela Eagle, has been appointed as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs following Prime Minister Andy Burnham's Cabinet reshuffle.
As reported by the Wirral Globe, the appointment sees Dame Angela promoted to lead the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), having previously served as a minister in the department between September 2025 and June 2026.
She becomes one of 12 women in the new Cabinet and one of several MPs representing northern constituencies to be given senior government roles. Burnham has also appointed more men than women in his cabinet, something which reportedly has never happened before.
Dame Angela has represented Wallasey since 1992 and has held several ministerial positions during her parliamentary career.
Under Tony Blair's government, she served in the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Social Security and Home Office departments. During Gordon Brown's premiership, she was Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and later Minister of State for Pensions and the Ageing Society.
She has also served on the Treasury Select Committee and the Intelligence and Security Committee, as well as holding many internal Labour Party roles.
Before returning to DEFRA as a minister last year, Dame Angela was Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum at the Home Office between 2024 and 2025.
Speaking after leaving Downing Street following her appointment, Dame Angela said she was honoured to take on the role.
She said: "I am honoured to have been appointed Secretary of State in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). I will undertake this role alongside my ongoing commitment to advocating for my constituents in Parliament as MP for Wallasey."
She continued, "From the food we eat and the water we drink, to our countryside, coastlines and natural environment, DEFRA has a vital role to play in building a more secure, more sustainable Britain."
The Wallasey MP pledged her excitement to work with food producers, farmers, and environmental organisations.
Impressively, Dame Angela succeeds in one of the government's most senior environmental roles, with responsibility for issues including farming, food production, water, waste, nature recovery and environmental protection.
