Promotion to one of the top jobs in Government beckons for Birmingham MP Liam Byrne, according to a survey of the Westminster elite.
Mr Byrne has been tipped as the MP most likely to receive a cabinet job when Gordon Brown carries out a Cabinet reshuffle in the autumn.
The conclusion comes from a survey of 100 senior figures in Westminster, including former home Secretary Charles Clarke, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg and Downing Street insider Ian Austin, the Dudley North MP who is Gordon Brown’s Parliamentary Secretary.
The panel also includes political journalists working in newspapers and television, and the heads of leading think tanks.
Mr Byrne, the MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill and top of the The Birmingham PostPower 50 list, was the favourite choice when the panel was asked which Labour MP they thought was most likely to win promotion to the Cabinet.
He is currently the Minister responsible for immigration, reporting both to Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, and to Alistair Darling, the Chancellor. He is also the Minister for the West Midlands.
The MP could be considered for the post of Home Secretary if Ms Smith, the MP for Redditch in Worcestershire, is axed following the disastrous launch of the Government’s knife crime strategy last week.
However, he is more likely to be offered a less senior Cabinet job initially, such as Culture, Media and Sport or the post of Chief Secretary to the Treasury.
