Andrew Gwynne has been appointed Labour’s shadow care minister following a reshuffle this week.

Gwynne, who has served as Labour’s shadow public health minister since December 2021, replaces Liz Kendall who has moved to shadow secretary of state for work and pensions after three-and-a-half years.

“I’m absolutely delighted to have been asked to serve as shadow minister of state for social care under the shadow secretary of state Wes Streeting,” Gwynne said.

“I’m proud to have held the government to account on health inequalities, tobacco control, obesity and issues affecting clinically vulnerable and clinically extremely vulnerable patients. I’m very much looking forward to taking on the social care brief after Liz Kendall’s excellent work.

“Under the Tories, we’ve seen 13 years of broken promises and failure to reform social care. The next Labour government will be mission driven in building a care system fit for the future, one that meets the needs of older and disabled people and their families.”

Gwynne, who is the MP for Denton and Reddish, has served in a number of shadow opposition posts over the last 12 years covering the portfolios of health and social care, communities and local government, and transport.

The 48-year-old has also worked in the cabinet office as co-national campaign manager and campaigns and elections chair.

Gwynne also held the position of shadow minister without portfolio between October 2016 and June 2017.

He has also sat on the Home Affairs and Procedure Select Committees as well as the Crossrail Bill and Education Bill General Committees.

Helen Wildbore, director of Care Rights UK, said: “We welcome the new shadow minister of state for social care into the role. With the sector in crisis and people battling to get their basic rights and needs met, this role is pivotal. Social care is in urgent need of reform and this must be one of the key policy issues in the build up to the next election.”