Labour’s new blood: the class of ’24

Labour’s historic win has brought with it a wave of fresh talent.

A number of MPs have already been touted as rising stars who are likely to be given ministerial roles within years or even months of the party forming a government.

Many already have links with the top of the party, or with influential organisations that work closely with the Labour leadership.

Drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds, from think-tanks and council leaders to charities and the military, they form the next generation of people to shape Sir Keir Starmer’s party — and maybe one day lead it.

These are the new Labour MPs to watch:

Miatta Fahnbulleh, MP for Peckham, 44

Fahnbulleh is an economist whose research has focused on levelling up, housing and employment. Born in Liberia, she was chief executive of the New Economics Foundation, a leading leftwing think-tank, from 2017 to December 2023. Before that she was “head of cities” in the policy unit at the Cabinet Office and director of policy and research at the leftwing IPPR think-tank.

Torsten Bell, MP for Swansea West, 41

Bell has been chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think-tank since 2015, giving him a solid vantage point to comment on economic conditions in the UK and the effects of the cost of living crisis. The think-tank has been an outspoken proponent of tax reforms that Starmer’s Labour party has so far shunned, including reforming council taxation, creating a land tax and increasing capital gains. Bell was previously head of policy for Ed Miliband when he was Labour leader and before that he worked at the Treasury.

David Pinto-Duschinsky, MP for Hendon, 50

Pinto-Duschinsky worked as an economic adviser to Labour chancellor Alistair Darling, a role for which he was dubbed one of the “three wise men” who guided the then-chancellor through the government’s response to the financial crisis. Pinto-Duschinsky, who is a management consultant, stood in the same seat in 2019.

Hamish Falconer, MP for Lincoln, 38

Falconer is son of Charles Falconer, a former cabinet minister under Tony Blair and one of the then-prime minister’s closest confidants. The younger Falconer had an illustrious career in the civil service, mostly in the foreign office, where his work focused on national security, humanitarian relief and hostage recovery. He has been widely pegged as a rising star in the party whose background would fit neatly with a ministerial role in the foreign office or department of defence.

Georgia Gould, MP for Queen’s Park & Maida Vale, 38

Described by one friend as a “New Labour princess”, Gould has carved out a notable career as leader of Labour-controlled Camden Council. Her father Phillip, a former advertising executive, was Blair’s director for communications and helped “modernise” the party’s image. In Camden, Gould was known for putting forward radical ideas and worked alongside leftwing economist Mariana Mazzucato to set out proposals to overhaul procurement in local government. 

Josh Simons, MP for Makerfield, 30

Simons was director of the influential think-tank Labour Together — founded by Starmer’s campaign manager Morgan McSweeney — before throwing his hat into the ring for his seat in Greater Manchester. A central figure in Starmer’s efforts to wrest the party back to the centre ground, Simons was also responsible for seconding several Labour Together figures into shadow cabinet teams ahead of the election. 

Luke Akehurst, MP for North Durham, 52

Parachuted into a safe seat weeks into this year’s campaign, Akehurst is firmly associated with the right flank of the Labour party, and is an influential and controversial member of the party’s national executive committee. Akehurst has previously clashed with Labour’s left wing because of his stance as a committed non-Jewish Zionist. Someone with intimate understanding of the rules of the political game, Akehurst established the campaign group We Believe in Israel in 2011 and is co-director of the centrist Labour First. 

Liam Conlon, MP for Beckenham & Penge, 36

Conlon is the son of Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, Sue Gray, who emerged in the public’s consciousness when she investigated the Partygate scandal and has gone on to become one of the most important people in the Labour machine. Conlon has been active in the Labour movement for longer than his mother. His last role was disabilities officer at the Communication Workers Union.

Emma Reynolds, MP for Wycombe, 46

Another returnee, Reynolds was MP for Wolverhampton North East until she lost the seat to the Conservatives in 2019. She served in the shadow cabinet as local government minister under acting leader Harriet Harman. Following her departure from parliament, Reynolds took up a senior role at the financial services lobbying group TheCityUK. 

Louise Jones, MP for North East Derbyshire, 34 

Jones, a former British Army officer, left the military in 2020 to work as an investigative producer for NBC. Before entering parliament she was head of product development at the London-based McKenzie Intelligence Services, a data analyst company used by insurers in conflict and disaster zones. Party officials say her experience could make her a strong contender for a defence role.