BGC welcomes Labour front bench reshuffle

The Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has welcomed the transitions of Lucy Powell and Alex Davies-Jones into new positions following the reshuffle of Labour leader Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet.

Labour MP for Manchester Central, Lucy Powell, has been named as the new shadow secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport (DCMS), while Alex Davies-Jones, MP for Pontypridd and Taff Ely, has been made shadow minister for tech, gambling and digital economy.

The appointments mirror the reorganisation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s cabinet, after Nadine Dorries and Chris Philip took over as the government’s DCMS secretary and gambling minister respectively.

Michael Dugher, the former Labour MP for Barnsley East and current chief executive of the BGC, said he was “looking forward to working with both Ms Powell and Ms Davies-Jones”.

“On behalf of our members, who between them support 119,000 jobs, generate £4.5bn in tax and contribute £7.7bn to the economy in gross value added, I’d like to congratulate Lucy and Alex on their appointments.”

Lucy Powell commented: “I’m delighted to have been appointed shadow secretary of state for DCMS. It’s a big brief with many big issues: the rise of digital tech, online harms and social media, sport governance, making the arts, culture and music accessible, valuing content and supporting public broadcasting”

Taking to Twitter, Alex Davies-Jones said: “Thrilled to have been appointed the new shadow minister for tech, gambling and digital economy working in such a brilliant team.

“So much to get stuck into with the online safety bill, gambling review and I can’t wait to get started.”