UK Prime Minister Appoints Former Labour Figures as Advisers After Election Losses

The prime minister has appointed two veteran Labour figures to advisory roles as the party seeks to recover from heavy losses in local elections held on Friday. Downing Street said the prime minister had appointed a former Labour prime minister as a special envoy on global finance and a former Labour deputy leader as an adviser on tackling violence against women and girls.

The two met the prime minister in Downing Street before the roles were announced. Officials said the appointments were intended to refresh the government. The former prime minister served as chancellor before holding office between 2007 and 2010 and took a leading role in the international response to the 2008 financial crisis.

Officials said he will advise on how global finance cooperation can help boost the country's security and resilience. The former deputy leader served as leader of the House of Commons during that period and as deputy leader from 2007 to 2015. Officials said she will advise on how to galvanise government efforts for women and girls, drawing on work with women across Parliament to tackle misogyny and deliver greater opportunity for women in parliamentary and public life.

The prime minister posted a promotional video on social media showing the meetings and wrote that together they would build a stronger and fairer Britain.

Labour ministers, MPs and officials have expressed bafflement at the appointments of the two veteran figures. While both are respected by Labour MPs, their appointments have caused confusion about how figures from the party's past signify the change the prime minister has promised.

One normally loyal minister told the BBC: "It's a joke. " A Labour MP said: "Not sure voters in Wigan, Wandsworth, Salford or Sunderland voted Reform because they thought we needed more advisers from a different era of Labour politics. The MP said voters had indicated they might support Labour again but not while the current leader remained in place.

The MP added that rebooting and refreshing was not expected to make any difference because the public had largely stopped listening. The party's deputy leader is among those who have said the prime minister should continue. She said the party needed to reflect, hear and listen, warning that failure to improve could lead to another party leader entering Downing Street in three years.

She added that the government would look ludicrous to turn in on itself and begin debating leadership at this time. The prime minister has insisted he would not walk away and plunge the country into chaos. Cabinet members have rallied around him. He is planning a major speech next week and the unveiling of a new programme of legislation in an attempt to reset his premiership.