Who is in the running to be the next Home Affairs Committee chair?

At the end of last month, Sir Keir Starmer completed a significant reshuffle of his shadow cabinet.

Former minister Yvette Cooper was appointed shadow home secretary in a comeback to Labour’s front bench.

Ms Cooper previously served as shadow home secretary between 2011 and 2015 and then, from 2016, has been chair of the influential Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, quizzing various home secretaries on complex issues including Brexit-related preparations, counter-terrorism, immigration and domestic abuse.

But following her elevation to the shadow cabinet, Ms Cooper has stepped down from the committee and a new chair must be elected.

A total of 28 parliament committees have elected chairs and their allocation reflects the balance of parties in the Commons.

The big increase in the number of Conservative MPs following the 2019 election has meant the party now chairs 16 of the 28 committees in this parliament, up from 13 at the beginning of the last parliament.

Labour chair 10 committees – including the Home Affairs Committee – and so Ms Cooper’s replacement will come from the opposition benches.

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Nominations to stand as the committee’s next chair are now open and close at noon on Tuesday 14 December.

Candidates require 15 signatures from other MPs in their party to be nominated and then a ballot will be held on Wednesday 15 December – which all MPs are able to take part in – to determine the new chair.

The successful candidate will head a powerful cross-party committee responsible for scrutinising the work of the Home Office and Home Secretary Priti Patel, looking at policy and spending on areas including immigration, policing and violence against women and girls.

But who are the current runners and riders?

Those who have formally announced they are standing:

• Dr Rupa Huq

The MP for Ealing Central and Acton was the first candidate to appear officially on Monday’s order paper after receiving 15 supporting signatures from other Labour MPs including Dame Margaret Hodge, Dawn Butler and Anna McMorrin.

A former shadow home office minister from 2016 to 2017, Ms Huq has campaigned extensively to ban protests outside abortion clinics after legal rows about an institution in her Ealing constituency.

She has also previously been vocal on the need for better security in Westminster and on the topic of Islamophobia – and has written books on both drugs and riots.

Quote tweeting a post by fellow Labour MP Tulip Siddiq in 2017 which said “once again there are no BAME faces as select committee chairs – this really needs to change”, Ms Huq added: “Still sadly as true today as over five years ago when Tulip said this.

“I am hoping to change this state of affairs.”

Dr Huq has also been nominated by Scottish Conservatives leader Douglass Ross and former health secretary Matt Hancock.

• Yasmin Qureshi

The Labour MP for Bolton South East has been an MP for over a decade and has previously spent time on the Home Affairs Committee.

Ms Qureshi is known for being particularly vocal on Islamophobia and the problems facing refugees – a topic which is likely to be forensically focused on by the committee in the coming months.

Announcing her intention to run as a candidate on Monday afternoon, Ms Qureshi posted on Twitter: “I have already spent time on the Home Affairs Committee, as well as also sitting on the Foreign Affairs, Justice, and HS2 Committees.

“Before politics, I practiced the law in a variety of roles; as a barrister, prosecutor, and for the United Nations in Kosovo in the early 2000s.

“Since entering parliament in 2010, I have led on the Primodos scandal, launching the campaign from scratch and ultimately gaining an independent review led by Baroness Cumberlege, and forming one of the largest APPGs in Parliament.

“I’ll be a firm but fair voice in what is a crucial role within the British political system.”

Ms Qureshi served as a shadow justice minister under former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and has served as a shadow international development minister under Sir Keir.

Alongside her colleagues Rushanara Ali and Shabana Mahmood, Ms Qureshi became one of Britain’s first female Muslim MPs on her election.

• Dame Diana Johnson

The Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull North has been an MP for over 15 years and is currently an existing and particularly active member of the Home Affairs Committee.

Dame Diana is most widely known for her campaigning work on the contaminated blood scandal and on abortion rights.

Announcing her intention to stand on social media, she said: “I will be putting my name forward to be the next chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee.

“I would like to pay tribute to the excellent work of the former chair Yvette Cooper in leading our committee so ably over the last few years.”

Dame Diana has recently held the home secretary to account on issues of small boat crossings in the English Channel in the Commons, saying she is “particularly worried about the lack of safe and legal routes for immigration”.

She has also been vocal on the issue of low-level sexual offending against women and how this behaviour can escalate, particularly in light of the case of Sarah Murder who was brutally murdered.

Others who have been hotly tipped to run:

• Luke Pollard

Mr Pollard has recently returned to the backbenches after losing his role as shadow environment secretary in Sir Keir’s reshuffle.

While the environment has been his main focus, following a mass shooting in Keyham in his Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport constituency in the summer, Mr Pollard has shown an interest in issues of security and policing which could attract him to the role.

Mr Pollard has not publicly announced any intention to run for the position of committee chair.

• Hilary Benn

The long-serving Leeds Central MP has previous experience at the role of select committee chair, having presided over the Brexit committee which was dissolved days after the UK agreed a free trade deal with the European Union.

His four-year stint in charge of an influential select committee would see him well-prepared for another big job.

Mr Benn has also served as international development secretary and environment secretary under former Labour leaders Tony Blair and Gordon Brown respectively.

He was then appointed to shadow foreign secretary in Mr Corbyn’s top team but was later dismissed after criticising the former Labour leader’s leadership.

Like Mr Pollard, Mr Benn has not publicly indicated an interest in going for the role.

• Naz Shah

The MP for Bradford West, another former member of the home affairs committee, had been tipped by some to run for the position of chair due to her sharp focus on violence against women and girls.

Ms Shah has spoken candidly about her mother being jailed for killing her abusive partner and how she campaigned for her release from prison.

She has also spoken openly about her own experiences with domestic violence – undoubtedly a prominent topic of the committee’s focus.

However, a member of Ms Shah’s staff confirmed to Sky News that the Bradford West MP will not be standing for the role at this time, adding that she “is working to hold the government to account” as part of the shadow home office team.

Home Affairs Committee members:

Former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott, now a member of the Home Affairs Committee, has ruled herself out of the race, according to LabourList.

Another existing Labour member of the committee, MP for Denton and Reddish Andrew Gwynne, told Sky News he would not be standing for the position and is instead backing Dame Diana.

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