Dame Angela Eagle DBE MP has been appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs replacing Emma Reynolds, following the Prime Minister’s Cabinet reshuffle.
She returns to lead Defra after serving as Security Minister since June. Before that, she was a Minister of State at Defra from September 2025 to June 2026.
As Environment Secretary, Eagle will oversee the department’s budget, international relations, senior appointments and its contribution to the government’s economic growth agenda.
Eagle has been Labour MP for Wallasey since 1992 and has held ministerial roles across several departments, including the environment, Treasury, Home Office and Social Security. She returned to government following Labour’s election victory in 2024 and was appointed a Dame in 2021 for parliamentary and political service.
Her appointment comes as the environmental horticulture, farming and wider land management sectors await further detail on the government’s priorities for the remainder of the Parliament.
Commenting on the appointment, Fran Barnes, Horticultural Trades Association Chief Executive said:
“We congratulate and welcome Dame Angela Eagle back to Defra, this time in her new appointment as the Environment Secretary, and we look forward to working with Dame Angela and her ministerial team. We want to ensure that the voices of our members and the environmental horticulture sector are heard and valued at the heart of government, and that the sector is recognised for the important contribution it makes to the economy, communities and the environment.
“We share the government’s ambitions to drive economic green growth and strengthen the UK’s resilience to climate change. Our sector has a central role to play in supporting this, and we hope the new Secretary of State will build on the work already underway to unlock the sector’s full potential and address the challenges businesses continue to face.
“This summer’s extreme weather has demonstrated both how essential our sector is and how vulnerable it can be. Plants, trees and green infrastructure are among our strongest defences against rising temperatures, flooding and biodiversity loss. Yet, the businesses that grow, supply and maintain them are themselves being affected by water restrictions. That is why we urgently need a national water resilience strategy, faster investment in new reservoirs and greater support for horticultural businesses to improve their own water storage and resilience.
“Backing environmental horticulture means backing the UK’s original green industry and valuing the SMEs that support the economy. Our sector creates skilled jobs, supports healthier communities, enhances nature and helps build more climate-resilient places. We look forward to welcoming Dame Angela to meet with our members, seeing first-hand the innovation taking place across the industry and working together to unlock even greater green growth.”
