Two cities MP Rachel Blake appointed as Treasury minister

Rachel Blake, MP for Cities of London and Westminster, has been appointed as a government minister as part of a small reshuffle triggered by the resignation of health secretary Wes Streeting.

“I am honoured to have been asked by the prime minister to take up the role as economic secretary at HM Treasury,” she writes in an email to her constituents, which include residents in Fitzrovia West.

“I will continue to serve residents across the constituency and will be able to tackle key local issues such as dirty money on our high streets on a national scale — shaping the national conversation and policy direction to serve the interest of our communities across the Cities of London and Westminster.”

Commenting on the local election results, she said: “I am disappointed to lose excellent Labour councillors in Westminster and that more of our candidates did not win.

“I congratulate the leader of the Conservative group, Cllr Paul Swaddle, and his team, and look forward to working together over the next few years, building upon the work of the outgoing administration to deliver for our communities across Westminster.”

Blake entered Parliament when Labour won the general election in 2024 and her rise to the role of City Minister may surprise some as only last month she openly criticised Starmer over the appointment of Peter Mandleson.

However, only weeks later she was one of 111 back bench MPs who signed a statement opposing a leadership contest.

Shortly afterwards she received the invitation to join the government, becoming the fourth MP to hold the post since July 2024. One of the previous ministers was Tulip Siddiq, who resigned from government in January 2025 after she became embroiled in a row over a property scandal linked to her aunt in Bangladesh.

Blake is regarded as a Starmer loyalist and she was one of numerous MPs who received a donation from Labour Together, the controversial think tank (now known as Think Labour) that helped get Starmer elected as Labour leader.

Residents in her constituency can receive a weekly email newsletter by subscribing from her website.

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