Who is Ashley Dalton? Starmer appoints new health minister as Andrew Gwynne sacked in Labour WhatsApp row

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The government has announced its new health minister after Andrew Gwynne was sacked over the weekend following the emergence of allegedly offensive comments on WhatsApp. Mr Gwynne reportedly said he hoped a 72-year-old woman would soon die after she asked a councillor about bin collections, and joked about a constituent being “mown down” by a truck. Views on gender The Labour MP for West Lancashire identifies as LGBTQ+, and in a 2023 interview with The Guardian, she said: “I’m a gay woman that’s been involved in politics for about 20 years so I’ve been on the receiving end of some pretty unsavoury comments and abuse.” Ms Dalton said in an exchange on Twitter in 2016 that “we shouldn’t have gendered bathrooms at all”. Asked if Ms Dalton’s position on single-sex toilets reflected government policy, the spokesman replied: “No, the position remains clear.