A KENT MP has been given a new job furthering the interests of the South East.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s first cabinet reshuffle saw South Thanet MP Dr Stephen Ladyman shuffled out of the Department for Transport, but he has moved on to be vice-chairman of the Labour Party.

Dr Ladyman said: "As somebody who has been a member of the party for several decades, I am very proud of the post but more important than that, it is a job that has been given to me at the Prime Minister’s request so we can make sure the problems of the South East are heard.

"I shall be travelling round the South East and feeding back the issues to the Government.

"By using the resources of the Labour Party to get out and about in the region we can find out what people need us to do.

"What people find is that we have a unique set of problems in the South East. It’s an area of great prosperity which brings problems of its own, such as house prices overheating, but we also have areas of deprivation with high unemployment alongside that prosperity and high prices.

"It’s identifying those contradictions that is going to be the important part of doing this job, and building a dialogue with the community."

Dr Ladyman will be working with the deputy leader of the Labour Party and Minister for Women, Harriet Harman, on the South East’s issues.