Emma Reynolds has been appointed Defra Secretary, succeeding Steve Reed, as Sir Keir Starmer reshaped his Cabinet following Angela Rayner’s dramatic resignation over a stamp duty row.
Ms Rayner stepped down from her roles as Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary today (5 September) after an ethics inquiry found she breached the ministerial code by underpaying stamp duty on her £800,000 Hove home.
Her departure forced the prime minister into an early reshuffle, moving Mr Reed to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and handing the Defra brief to Ms Reynolds.
Elected MP for Wycombe in July 2024, she has quickly rose through the ranks: she served as Parliamentary Secretary at the Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions between July 2024 and January 2025, before being appointed Economic Secretary to the Treasury earlier this year.
The farming sector was quick to respond, with NFU President Tom Bradshaw congratulating the new Secretary of State and urging her to put agriculture at the heart of government policy.
“I look forward to working closely with her in the months ahead and hope she uses the role to champion farming, ensure its high production standards are valued and invest in its future with policies that back British farming and deliver for food security,” he said.
Mr Bradshaw also paid tribute to Mr Reed, highlighting his openness to dialogue and his recognition of the need to reform the planning system to enable investment in modern farm infrastructure.
“I would like to thank Steve Reed for his time in post. Despite not always agreeing, we developed a strong working relationship and his door was always open to the NFU.
"He recognised the planning system needed significant change to enable investment in the farm infrastructure of the future. I am confident he will be able to support rural growth and farming communities in his new role."
Ms Reynolds inherits the Defra portfolio at a time when farmers and rural communities are under growing strain from volatile weather and climate change. Food security, high production standards and sustainable land management are seen as pressing priorities.
Environmental groups underlined the scale of the challenge, with the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) warning that extreme conditions are already hitting British farming hard.
Alasdair Johnstone of the ECIU said: “The new Secretary of State is faced with a British countryside under immense pressure, from the hottest ever summer that followed one of the driest springs that’s in turn resulted in a record number of wildfires and intense strain on farmers.
“This year’s harvest could well be one of the five worst on record and last year’s was the third worst, because it followed the wettest winter we’ve seen.
“The UK’s food security is at risk and consumers are seeing prices on supermarket shelves jump because of the more extreme climate.”
