Under the last Labour government, Thomas was a minister of state at the former Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and at the Department for International Development (DFID).

A former teacher, Thomas has chaired the Co-operative Party, which supports cooperative principles, since 2000. He held the shadow brief at DFID after last year’s general election, before becoming shadow minister for higher education and science until his latest appointment.

Thomas has degrees in economics and history and served for seven years as a councillor in the London borough of Harrow. He is a former parliamentary private secretary to Charles Clarke.

Blackman-Woods has moved to shadowing the Communities and Local Government department, although her precise role has yet to be confirmed.

Source: oneeastmidlands.org.uk