New prime minister Andy Burnham has appointed Dame Angela Eagle CBE as Defra Secretary of state, replacing Emma Reynolds who moves to become chief secretary at the Treasury. Dame Angela, MP for Wallasey since 1992, held junior ministerial roles in the Blair government and was first appointed to a ministerial role at the Home Office under the incoming Starmer administration.
Fears over continuity – Dame Angela is the third Defra secretary of state during Labour’s two years in power, and the tenth since the Brexit referendum in 2016 – are tempered by her record as Defra food security and rural affairs from September 2025 to June this year when she was replaced by Stephen Morgan.
She was well regarded for her straight talking and willingness to engage with the industry, and chairmanship of the Food and Farming Board.
Defra says Dame Angela’s environment secretary brief includes waste and recycling policy, the circular economy, packaging reforms, extended producer responsibility (EPR), Simpler Recycling, resource efficiency and environmental regulation.
Further ministerial appointments at Defra are expected to be confirmed in the coming days.