Denton MP Andrew Gwynne has announced that he will be joining the shadow health team as shadow public health minister. 

The Labour MP will be focusing on public health in his new role.

The move is a return to the frontbench for Gwynne, who stepped down as Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government last year and has been battling the symptoms of Long Covid since he was diagnosed with the illness in March 2020.

Commenting on his new role, he said: "I am delighted to be returning to the frontbench and taking on this exciting role.

"I have made no secret of my struggles with Long Covid, and for the last year and a half I have been having to focus primarily on my recovery.

"We need Shadow Ministers firing on all cylinders to get the job done, so I am glad that I have given myself the space to better understand my Long Covid symptoms, and work to alleviate them. I now feel ready to return to the frontbench, and feel fully supported by the new Shadow Secretary of State for Health Wes Streeting and the team.

"I can’t wait to get started. I have worked on Public Health before, and loved it. It’s so important that we tackle health inequalities, as well as address the larger impact of the pandemic on our communities.

"I also look forward to working alongside the Shadow Health team to robustly defend the core principles of our brilliant National Health Service." 

It means that all three Tameside MPs have frontbench roles - after Ashton-under-Lyne MP Angela Rayner who is Labour's deputy leader and has other shadow cabinet responsibilities, while Stalybridge and Hyde MP Jonathan Reynolds became shadow health secretary last week. 

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