Stephanie Peacock appointed at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in anticipation of gambling minister brief

Stephanie Peacock, the Labour MP for Barnsley South, has been appointed as parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, likely paving the way for her to become the new gambling minister.

Peacock's brief in the department is yet to be defined but she served as the shadow minister for Media, Gambling and Sport until last week's general election, in which she held her seat in South Yorkshire as part of a landslide victory for Labour.

She has proved an advocate for British racing over the last year, having argued that "the future of racing must be protected for generations to come" during a debate in October, and was also among a number of MPs to visit Doncaster in 2023 as guests of Arena Racing Company.

In February, Peacock took part in the debate on affordability checks, which she said had "sparked concern not only with the racing and betting industry but with the tens of thousands of members of the public who signed a petition to bring them to an end". She spoke at the Betting and Gaming Council annual meeting the same month and supported the BGC's Grand National charity bet campaign.

In a post on X, Peacock wrote: "It is an honour to have been asked by the Prime Minister to serve in our new Labour Government. Can't wait to get started in the DCMS with Lisa Nandy."

On Friday, Nandy became prime minister Sir Keir Starmer's first secretary of state for Culture, Media and Sport. The MP for Wigan will be charged with making decisions that will impact racing and gambling, determining the future of affordability checks and considering racing's attempts to achieve levy reform.

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