Kate Dearden MP has been promoted to Minister of State.

The MP for Halifax announced today (Wednesday) that she felt “honoured” to have been asked by the Prime Minister to serve as Minister of State for the Future of Work within the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST).

She said that Britain must “seize the opportunities of innovation”, and that she is “looking forward to building on what we’ve already started.”

She said: “I’m honoured that the Prime Minister has asked me to serve as the Minister of State for the Future of Work.

Kate Dearden, MP for Halifax, has been promoted to Minister of State in DBIST.

placeholder image — Kate Dearden, MP for Halifax, has been promoted to Minister of State in DBIST.

“It is a privilege to continue working alongside Jonathan Reynolds MP.

“I want to thank Peter Kyle MP and all my colleagues across the Department for Business and Trade for their support, friendship and hard work over the last 11 months.

“Over the past year, we’ve delivered the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.

“It’s something this Government, and I personally, will be proud of for many years to come.

“The Employment Rights Act introduced Day One rights to sick pay and paternity leave, includes measures to ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, and established the Fair Work Agency to strengthen enforcement and better protect workers in Halifax and across the country.

“I’m also proud to have played a part in delivering increases to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage; taking forward consultations on equal pay, the rights of unpaid carers, and the use of AI and workplace monitoring technologies; and, most recently, launching the biggest review of fireworks regulations in almost two decades.

“As the Prime Minister has said, this Labour Government’s mission is to make politics work for towns like ours and deliver good growth in every postcode.

“I look forward to continuing to stand up for British workers, helping Britain seize the opportunities of innovation, and building on the progress we’ve already made.”

The Halifax MP served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in DBIST between September 2025 and July 21, 2026, and as Assistant Whip in the House of Commons between July 2024 and September 2025.

She was elected as the MP for Halifax in July 2024.