Dear John xxxxxx,

This week marks another important step in delivering Labour’s Plan for Change. The Prime Minister has refreshed the Cabinet to ensure we have the strongest possible team to take forward our mission-driven government.

Every appointment is about driving forward the missions we promised the country: growing the economy, making work pay, rebuilding our NHS, securing our borders, and restoring trust in politics. With your energy and commitment, we can turn those promises into lasting change for working people across Britain.

Following last week's reshuffle, the new Cabinet is:

• Keir Starmer, Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury
• David Lammy, Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
• Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer
• Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
• Darren Jones, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
• Shabana Mahmood, Secretary of State for the Home Department
• John Healey, Secretary of State for Defence
• Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
• Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities
• Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
• Pat McFadden, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
• Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Business and Trade
• Liz Kendall, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology
• Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
• Emma Reynolds, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
• Heidi Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport
• Hillary Benn, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
• Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for Scotland
• Jo Stevens, Secretary of State for Wales
• Sir Alan Campbell, Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
• Baroness Smith of Basildon, Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal
• Jonathan Reynolds, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip)
• James Murray, Chief Secretary to the Treasury
• Lord Herner, Attorney General
• Anna Turley, Chair of the Labour Party and Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
• Baroness Chapman of Darlington, Minister of State (Development)

For a full list of ministerial changes, please visit: gov.uk.

With a Labour government, the NHS is on the road to recovery. Last year, Lord Darzi provided the diagnosis: the NHS is in a critical condition, but its vital signs are strong. We have restored our NHS before – and we will do so again.

That’s why Labour has hit the ground running since coming into government, cutting red tape, changing the system and bringing in record investment – all to help get the NHS back on its feet.

In the last year, we’ve:

• Delivered nearly 5 million extra NHS appointments
• Recruited 2,000 new GPs on the frontline
• Taken a quarter of a million off waiting lists
• Rolled out 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments
• Frozen prescription charges to keep them under a tenner

Slowly, the tide is turning for our NHS. But we also know that without fundamental change, our NHS will not be sustainable for the future. Labour won’t allow that to happen – which is why our 10 Year Health Plan will propel our NHS into a modern era. You can find out more about this Plan – and other recent policy announcements – in the latest edition of the Rosette below.

Together, we’re delivering our Plan for Change to fix our NHS and make it fit for the future.

Wes Streeting MP
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

10 Year Health Plan

Labour has launched a 10 Year Health Plan, delivering three big shifts in how the NHS works: from hospital to community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention.

How Labour is delivering:

• A new Neighbourhood Health Service will see access to a full range of healthcare services on people’s doorsteps in every community
• The NHS will be brought into the digital age, with a transformed NHS App where patients can easily manage their healthcare online
• Patients will be reached earlier, to catch illness before it spreads and prevent it in the first place by making the healthy choice, the easy choice
• The Plan will also tackle some of the enduring health inequalities plaguing our country, so that those in working class communities are no longer served last

Best Start in Life

Labour believes that children growing up in our country deserve the best start in life – nothing less. That’s why as pupils head back to school this month, Labour is launching the new Best Start brand. From family hubs to free breakfast clubs and 30 hours of government funded childcare for children over nine months old, these services are a lifeline for working families.

What does this mean?

Labour’s Best Start in Life offer will ease pressure on families, helping parents get back to work, and delivering a system that gives every child the best start in life.

How Labour is delivering:

• Working parents are set to save up to £7,500 a year through 30 hours of government-funded childcare a week
• Labour is rolling out free breakfast clubs across the country, saving parents up to £450 a year
• Building on the proud legacy of Sure Start, up to 1,000 Best Start Family Hubs will be created by the end of 2028
• Access to free school meals is being expanded to half a million more children
• Labour is investing a further £600 million to extend the Best Start Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme for another three years

We know that fourteen years of Tory government has been tough on family finances. Labour is doing things differently, putting more money in working people’s pockets and creating a proper foundation of support that works all year round.

Baby Food Guidelines

Labour has announced new guidelines for baby food manufacturers, aimed at reducing salt and sugar levels.

What does this mean?

Parents and carers across England will be able to shop for healthier foods, and clearer labelling will help parents make informed choices that work around their busy lives.

Key talking points:

• Labour is on the side of parents and children, with businesses facing new guidelines to reduce salt and sugar in baby foods
• Parents will be empowered to make better, informed choices without having to sift through lots of products
• These measures will also help tackle childhood obesity so that babies are given the best start in life

Roadmap to boosting workers' rights

Labour has unveiled the roadmap for delivering our transformative package of workers’ rights.

The landmark plan to Make Work Pay will have a phased implementation, with 15 million, or half of all, workers set to start benefitting later this year.

Sick pay for up to 1.3 million of the lowest earners and day one rights to parental and paternity leave will be introduced for the first time from early next year.

A new Fair Work Agency will also launch in April 2026 to protect workers from being forced into worse terms under threat of dismissal.

The reforms set out in the Employment Rights Bill are a key part of Labour’s Plan for Change, helping to strengthen workers’ rights and boost living standards.

How Labour is delivering:

• Labour’s landmark package of workers’ rights will put money in people’s pockets and deliver real life improvements for working people.
• From early next year, we are strengthening statutory sick pay, introducing day one rights to parental and paternity leave and introducing better protections for workers through a new Fair Work Agency.
• Other key measures in Labour’s Employment Rights Bill include banning exploitative zero-hours contracts, abolishing the scourge of fire and rehire, establishing a statutory right to Bereavement Leave, and improving access to flexible working.

While Labour is improving workers’ rights, Reform and the Tories want to see them slashed and voted against our proposals. And while Labour is backing British jobs, Nigel Farage's war on clean energy would put almost 1 million jobs at risk.

Towards recognition of a Palestinian state

We are all appalled by the horrifying scenes of starvation and suffering in Gaza. Labour has set out plans to recognise a Palestinian state before the United Nations, as part of a wider process to find a lasting peace in Gaza.

Our plan builds on the concrete actions this Labour government has taken since the election, including:

• Suspending arms export licenses that could be used in the conflict
• Sanctioning far-right Israeli ministers and suspending trade negotiations
• Providing nearly a quarter of a billion pounds of humanitarian support
• Ongoing support for hostage families
• A landmark agreement with the Palestinian Authority

Key talking points:

• Labour’s immediate priority is to ensure that humanitarian aid and relief reaches those that need it most. The suffering in Gaza is appalling and unacceptable.
• There must be a ceasefire. Israel must withdraw from Gaza and end its military campaign, and Hamas must release all the remaining hostages.
• Our plan to recognise Palestine builds on concrete action this government has taken since the election in response to the conflict.

Labour have long been committed to recognising a state of Palestine. As our election manifesto said, Palestinian statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people.

We are committed to recognising a Palestinian state as a contribution to a renewed peace process which results in a two-state solution, with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.