Labour government: A new London power surge in Westminster?

Half a dozen London Labour MPs have been given influential roles holding the new government to account.

They have been elected by their fellow MPs to chair parliamentary select committees, scrutinising the work of government.

In the world of Westminster, they’re likely to be regarded as important figures.

So, could this signal the start of a more London-centric period of government?

MPs elected to chair parliamentary select committees often come to have more prominence than most ministers of state.

These committees scrutinise government policy, administration and spending of areas such as housing, transport, education, justice, finance and foreign affairs.

With a large number of London MPs in cabinet or junior ministerial posts, there may be a sense within Labour ranks that government could become more London-centric.

“This ought to make it easier to think and talk about London rationally,” says Prof Tony Travers, a political expert from the London School of Economics.

Prof Travers believes the capital has been poorly represented in government for some time, partly due to a focus on levelling up the north of England.

“The way that levelling up was interpreted by the previous government meant they couldn’t think about the capital rationally.

“These new committee chairs will be careful not to be seen as pro-London but just because of who they are, they are more likely to look at issues that are important to London.”

With more than 400 Labour MPs elected in July, many MPs who missed out on front bench jobs and sought committee chair roles instead.

Most notable among them is Emily Thornberry, who was sidelined for the job of Attorney General, despite having shadowed the post in opposition.

Her consolation prize is chairing the foreign affairs committee.

Likewise, the other five London Labour MPs made committee chairs are also former shadow ministers.

Scrutinising the government’s work on housing – a major issue on London, will be Florence Eshalomi, MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, the new chair of the housing, communities and local government committee.

From the next door constituency of Dulwich and West Norwood, Helen Hayes is heading the education committee.

She told the BBC she was “honoured” to have been given the chance to lead cross-party work to improve people’s life chances.

“During my campaign to become chair, virtually every MP whom I spoke to said that improving support for children with special educational needs and disabilities, and mental health issues, must be a priority,” she told us.

“The government’s proposals to reform the national curriculum, the rollout of free childcare, the sustainability of our universities and recruitment and retention of teachers are also key issues.”

Ruth Cadbury, MP for Brentford, has been elected to chair the transport committee, of which she has been a member for five years.

“The independence of committees to set their own agenda and be led by evidence is as exciting as it is rewarding,” she said.

“I’ll be very interested to see what appetite my new colleagues share for looking at ways to improve the capacity and affordability of long-distance rail services, enabling rail to compete more equally with aviation, making our roads safer and making all modes of transport more accessible, especially for older and disabled passengers.”

She added that she hoped her colleagues on the committee would be keen to question the bosses of Great British Railways “to hold them to account for improving reliability and value for passengers”.

MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick Andy Slaughter is a former justice minister in the Blair government and will bring his legal expertise to the role of chair of the justice committee.

It was a role he was “delighted” to accept, he said.

“Significant parts of the justice system are in crisis,” he told us.

“From overcrowded prisons and backlogged courts to overstretched probation officers and legal advice deserts, there are problems across the whole of criminal and civil justice.

“The job of the new committee will be to highlight flaws, propose solutions and be both a spur and a critic to the government as it seeks to resolve these problems.”

Meg Hillier, MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch is to head up the Treasury committee. And she comes with good experience, after nine years previously chairing the public accounts committee.

“I learned a thing or two about the mistakes governments can make with taxpayers’ money,” she said after being elected unopposed.

“I will work day-in and day-out to ensure His Majesty’s Treasury and its affiliated public bodies are managing the public finances in the best interests of the British public.”

Fellow members of these committees will be elected next month.

While previous research by the Institute of Government suggests it is the chair who determines the impact more than any other factor, there is an incentive to work constructively and consensually because other committee members can outvote them.