New roles for Welsh MPs after Labour reshuffle

Wayne David MP
Image caption,

Wayne David - Labour's spokesman on the constitution, justice and Scotland. He's also Harriet Harman's parliamentary private secretary.

Harriet Harman has reshuffled Labour's top team to fill gaps left by last week's elections for the chairs of select committees.

There are new roles for three Welsh MPs. Jessica Morden (Newport East) joins the opposition whips' office. Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) will shadow Business, Innovation and Skills.

But it is Caerphilly MP Wayne David who appears to have been given the more varied role. He will join the shadow Cabinet Office team "with responsibility for constitutional matters".

He will also "lead on electoral matters and parliamentary boundary changes" and serve as a shadow Justice minister. If that were not enough to keep him out of mischief, he will also speak for Labour on Scotland - or at least on the Scotland Bill that devolves more power to Holyrood.

Oh, and he'll remain parliamentary private secretary to the interim Labour leader, a role he carried out for Ed Miliband when he announced he had been appointed the then Labour leader's "right hand man".

He said of his appointment: "I am pleased to have been asked to shadow constitutional issues, which are certain to loom large in the near future. There is the Scotland Bill, the future of the Human Rights Act, the implementation of individual electoral registration, boundary changes, the likelihood of further Welsh devolution and much else besides.

"It is important to scrutinise and where necessary strongly oppose the government's proposals, while, at the same time, laying the groundwork for Labour's future plans."