Stephanie Peacock, the Labour MP for Barnsley South, has been appointed as the new gambling minister at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Peacock served as the shadow minister for Media, Gambling and Sport until last week’s general election, where 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.

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