It’s been another year of drama, gossip and heartbreak in British politics — but there’s still love in the air in Westminster.
POLITICO is yet again celebrating the annual festival of romance by bringing you SW1’s top political power couples. As usual, the 2026 list is absolutely not scientifically ranked.
Politics is unpredictable, and it’s all change at the top of our love list.
Last year’s top-ranked couple are out after Morgan McSweeney, once Keir Starmer’s all-powerful chief of staff, dramatically quit this past weekend after taking responsibility for recommending Peter Mandelson be U.S. ambassador to Washington. He took the 2025 power couples top spot with his wife Imogen Walker, still a Labour whip.
They are replaced at this perilous time for the prime minister by a couple whose ability to maintain and build relations with MPs and businesses could be crucial for the troubled Starmer administration.
That’s enough flirting … here’s the class of 2026. Happy Valentine’s Day!
1. Johnny and Claire Reynolds
With power shifting out of No. 10 Downing Street and into the hands of rebellious backbench MPs over the last 12 months, the role of chief whip will be vital to the PM’s survival (or otherwise).
That’s why Johnny Reynolds — who attends daily meetings with Starmer where he is tasked with telegraphing the concerns of Labour MPs, and thwarting the backbench revolts which have plagued the government over the past 12 months — takes top spot in the power rankings with his wife Claire Reynolds, a long-time Labour big-hitter in her own right.
While she has left her old job as No. 10 political director, Claire Reynolds is now Labour’s executive director of stakeholder relations, managing the party’s relationship with campaign groups, businesses, faith groups, charities and think tanks. Just like MPs, they have all become increasingly willing to make Starmer’s life difficult when they believe government policy is heading in the wrong direction.
2. Pat and Marianna McFadden
The McFaddens are a quiet presence at the epicenter of the SW1 political drama — but with the Blairite influence in Starmer’s administration on the wane, they take second place.
Pat McFadden, once political secretary to ex-Prime Minister Tony Blair, still remains one of Starmer’s most loyal Cabinet ministers — trusted with the morning media round on the trickiest of days.
He was handed the nightmare work and pensions brief at the last reshuffle in September after backbench MPs forced Starmer into a humiliating climbdown on his plans for benefits reform. He has the unenviable task of designing new plans over the next year without angering Labour MPs. That could put Starmer’s future with his party in Pat McFadden’s hands … if the PM lasts that long.
Marianna McFadden, who once worked for Tony Blair’s think tank, is the ruling Labour Party’s deputy general secretary, and therefore plays an important role in keeping the party machine running. If there is a leadership contest, she will have to make sure it runs smoothly. Good luck, as they say, with that.
3. Angela Rayner and Sam Tarry
Angela Rayner is out of high office after resigning when she became embroiled in a tax scandal — but she is certainly not out of power.
When the former deputy prime minister speaks, Westminster listens.
Her intervention in a debate last week about the release of documents relating to former U.S. ambassador Peter Mandelson’s appointment was seen as pivotal in forcing a government climbdown on restricting material on national security and international relations grounds.
Rayner is popular with the soft-left of the party, and allies say she has leadership ambitions. With Starmer’s premiership teetering, Westminster is obsessed with what her next move might be.
Her partner is the former Labour MP Sam Tarry, who mixes his day job advising the Night Time Industry Association with networking on the left. Like many former MPs, he also has his own “insider” podcast called Next Week in Westminster.
4. Amy Richards and Gregor Poynton
These two shoot right up the power rankings thanks to Amy Richards’ promotion to No. 10 political director last year.
Like Reynolds, she is trying to manage relationships with a nervous and rebellious parliamentary Labour Party, while also gaming how Labour can thwart the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
With some MPs crediting her for an improvement in relations between the back benches and No. 10, she is also being mooted as a potential contender for the next Downing Street chief of staff following the departure of Morgan McSweeney.
She is married to Gregor Poynton — a 2024 intake MP, who is now an assistant whip, helping Reynolds keep truculent Labour MPs in line.
5. Yvette Cooper and Ed Balls
Yvette Cooper is one of the most senior politicians in the country as foreign secretary. She spends her days navigating the rapidly changing world order, and that little ol’ threat of war.
Her podcaster husband, former Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, has forged a successful post-politics media career as a breakfast presenter on GMB.
But he has not fully cut his ties with SW1.
His “Political Currency” podcast, which he co-hosts with former Chancellor George Osborne, boasts some of the most senior members of the government as its listeners.
6. Stuart Ingham and Jess Leigh
Stuart Ingham and Jess Leigh are a top-ranking government adviser couple.
Ingham is the PM’s longest-serving aide, dating back to his time as a parliamentary researcher in the Brexit years, and knows Starmer’s mind like few others in politics.
He was moved from his job as No. 10’s head of policy in Starmer’s September reset, and now holds the harder-to-define role of senior counsel to the prime minister and director of strategic interventions. The PM evidently still wanted him close by.
Leigh is Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper’s media special adviser, having also served as her aide in the Home Office. She navigates the daily surprises (thanks, Donald) of foreign policy and is well-known in media circles from her previous role as Labour Party broadcast officer, where she fought the election “air war” in 2024.
7. Henna Shah and Matt Pound
This is another top adviser pairing, both with roles in the heart of government.
Henna Shah is the prime minister’s foreign policy adviser. She helps Starmer navigate the ever-changing and ever-more-dangerous world, working closely with his National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell.
Her husband Matt Pound was a key ally of former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and a powerful backroom fixer in opposition. He now spends his days thinking about the U.K. economy as political secretary to Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
8. Ellie Reeves and John Cryer
Solicitor General Ellie Reeves was given her legal-eagle job in September.
Her role “promoting the rule of law” is a tough gig with U.S. President Donald Trump constantly challenging that international rules-based order.
Her husband, the veteran Labour MP John Cryer, was made a peer after stepping down at the 2024 general election.
Not only is Ellie Reeves one half of a top political power couple, she is also Rachel Reeves’ sister.
9. Richard Tice and Isabel Oakeshott
Richard Tice is deputy leader of the poll-topping Reform UK — the political force giving No. 10 Downing Street nightmares.
Nigel Farage’s second-in-command leads the party’s “DOGE” effort to cut waste in councils and has launched sprawling policy reviews including on City regulations. As Farage prepares to unveil a shadow cabinet, exactly which role Tice gets in the future will be watched closely.
His fiancée, Talk’s International Editor Isabel Oakeshott, is a political journalist, commentator and biographer who rocked Westminster in 2023 by publishing pandemic-era WhatsApps to and from former Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
The pair announced their engagement in January, and are now shopping for rings — but POLITICO hears lab-grown diamonds are off the table.
10. Wes Streeting and Joe Dancey
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is dominating chatter among MPs as allies push speculation that he could mount a Labour leadership challenge. (He denies any such thing, of course.)
While the path to the actual No. 10 is littered with hurdles, Streeting’s interventions on the direction of the government make him one of the most closely-watched figures in SW1.
Streeting’s fiancé Joe Dancey — who narrowly lost to the Tories as a 2024 election candidate — left his role as Labour’s director of policy and comms in September to travel and look after elderly parents. He is now back in London outside the party as a freelance communications consultant.
But he maintains his long-standing networks in the party, and promised at the time of his departure to continue “pounding the streets” as a foot soldier. Perhaps Westminster hasn’t seen the last of him yet.
11. Jenny Chapman and Nick Smith
Labour peer and Development Minister Jenny Chapman is another long-standing ally of the PM. She has been married to backbench Labour MP Nick Smith since 2014.
Starmer’s campaign to be leader of the Labour Party in 2020 was masterminded from their kitchen table.
With Starmer promising to fight any challenger to his leadership, Chapman’s organizational skills may be needed once again.
12. Jake Richards and Liz Bates
Labour MP and former barrister Jake Richards was promoted to justice minister last year. His department is often dealing with controversy — whether over plans to scale back jury trials, or explaining why prisoners have been released by mistake.
His wife, Liz Bates, has left Sky News and political journalism to become a media adviser to Housing Secretary Steve Reed.
These veterans of the POLITICO power couples list got married late last year — and their inclusion even got a mention in the wedding speeches.
Jake is also the sister of No. 4 ranked Amy Richards. Their dad is the veteran political journalist Steve Richards.
13. Josh MacAlister and Matt Hood
Josh MacAlister is one of the rising stars of the 2024 intake. Appointed as children and families minister last year, he has an important role in navigating the government’s management of children’s social care and local authority improvement. No easy gig.
His husband, Matt Hood, the former chief executive and co-founder of Oak National Academy, is a senior adviser to Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
14. Chris Elmore and Bridie Sedgebeer
Chris Elmore is the Foreign Office minister tasked with overseeing the U.K.’s diplomatic ties with Latin America and the Caribbean. Nice gig if you can get it.
He’s married to Bridie Sedgebeer, the deputy general secretary of Welsh Labour, who has the far less glamorous, but crucial, job of getting Labour through tricky 2026 Senedd elections in May.
15. Jo White and John Mann
Bassetlaw MP Jo White chairs the Labour Red Wall Group, representing northern and Midlands MPs. Many of her group took seats from the Tories at the last election, and some now face the threat of Reform UK.
She’s married to John Mann, who was previously MP in her Bassetlaw seat, and is now the independent adviser to the U.K. government on antisemitism. He also sits in the House of Lords as a Labour peer.
16. Isabel Abbs and Olly Longworth
This is another top adviser power couple, both advising ministers with some of the government’s biggest missions.
Isabel Abbs is a core part of the government’s health team as a special adviser in No. 10. She’s in a relationship with Olly Longworth, chief of staff to Housing Secretary Steve Reed.
Longworth was previously in the Labour HQ comms team.
17. Aggie Chambre and Will Prescott
Aggie Chambre, who was recently promoted to deputy political editor at LBC, is one of SW1’s top broadcast voices, helping listeners navigate the ever-confusing twists and turns of politics. Oh, and she was once here with us at POLITICO.
Her husband, Will Prescott, is Streeting’s media adviser.
18. Sophie Nazemi and James Schneider
Sophie Nazemi has the unenviable job of Downing Street press secretary, which means handling the Westminster press pack 24-7.
She currently has a few extra responsibilities after the surprise resignation of No. 10 comms chief Tim Allan on Monday. Nazemi, who was in the press office when Jeremy Corbyn was Labour leader, is among the runners and riders being tipped for the top job.
Nazemi is married to Momentum founder James Schneider, who worked on the formation of the left-wing Your Party outfit, and before that on Jeremy Corbyn’s (more) successful campaign to become Islington North’s independent MP.
19. Alex Norris and Emma Foody
Alex Norris is a minister at the Home Office, where he holds the crucial border security brief. His wife Emma Foody is a rising star of the 2024 intake. She is currently parliamentary private secretary to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.
The pair married just nine days after Norris was first elected in 2017, and in 2024 they swore their oaths of allegiance in the Commons one after the other.
20. Anu Prashar and Deirdre Costigan
Anu Prashar is a member of Labour’s National Executive Committee — the governing body of the ruling Labour Party, which sets the direction of the movement.
Her partner is 2024 intake MP Deirdre Costigan, who was made an assistant whip in the 2025 reshuffle.
21. Stephen Bush and Felicity Slater
Felicity Slater is chief of staff to Cabinet big-hitter and Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones — a job which puts her at the heart of No. 10 Downing Street.
Her partner is Stephen Bush, associate editor and columnist at the Financial Times, and author of the newsletter Inside Politics.
22. Lou Haigh and Colum Eastwood
Former Transport Secretary Lou Haigh returned to the backbenches in 2025 — but still remains a powerful figure in Labour as leader of the influential soft-left Tribune Group. It will be an important caucus were there to be a leadership race.
Her partner is a big name in Northern Irish politics. He is the former SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood. He resigned as leader in 2024, but is still an MP.
23. Louise Sandher-Jones and Jeevun Sandher
A love story from the class of 2024 — and another power couples wedding since the last ranking.
Louise Sandher-Jones and Jeevun Sandher — both elected MPs in 2024 — got married last summer.
They met in January 2023, when Sandher-Jones was running to become a councilor in Loughborough, and Sandher was campaigning to be the MP.
They are slowly climbing up the power rankings. Sandher-Jones is now the veterans and people minister, and Sandher is a parliamentary private secretary in the business department.
24. Natalie Evans and James Wild
One of the very few Tory power pairings left in SW1.
James Wild, shadow exchequer secretary to the Treasury, is well connected in Westminster, having started his career as a Tory special adviser.
Natalie Evans, a former think tank wonk, is a senior Tory peer and former leader of the House of Lords.
25. Joe Morris and Hana Al-Izzi
Joe Morris is a parliamentary private secretary in the health and social care department, and chairs the Labour group of rural MPs — a caucus which is increasingly making its voice heard on issues like farming inheritance tax. He married Hana Al-Izzi, an adviser to Labour Party Chair Anna Turley, on New Year’s Eve 2025. Talk about fireworks!
26. Seb Dance and Spencer Livermore
Labour peer and Financial Secretary to the Treasury Spencer Livermore is a long-time Labour devotee, having served as chief strategist to Gordon Brown during his time as both prime minister and chancellor. His husband Seb Dance is a big deal at City Hall where he is deputy mayor of London for transport.
27. Steven and Sarah Swinford
The Times’ Political Editor Steven Swinford is an endless source of scoops and insight in Westminster. His wife, Sarah, is the Home Office crime director, making her a key player in the government’s crook crackdown.
28. Pippa Crerar and Tom Whitehead
Senior lobby hack Pippa Crerar continues to break exclusives at a rate of knots. As political editor of the left-leaning Guardian and co-presenter of ITV’s Peston, her influence is only set to grow. She is married to ex-Telegraph hack Tom Whitehead, who is now Foreign Office deputy director of communications.
29. Ruth Anderson and Gareth Snell
Former MP Ruth Anderson was made a Labour peer in 2022 and currently sits as a government whip in the upper chamber. Her partner is Labour MP Gareth Snell, who was MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central from 2017-2019, and made a Commons comeback in 2024.
They are yet another Westminster power couple that tied the knot last year.
30. Alison McGovern and Ashwin Kumar
Local Government and Homelessness Minister Alison McGovern is a long-serving frontbencher who spent several years on the DWP brief and was employment minister during the tense welfare rebellion. She’s married to Ashwin Kumar, the IPPR think tank’s director of research and policy. IPPR is one of the most influential wonkish voices with the Starmer government, regularly sending advice to ministers and government special advisers on questions of policy.
31. Jane Bonham Carter and Tim Razzall
An upper chamber power couple, Lib Dem peers Jane Bonham Carter and Tim Razzall have sat in the Lords since 2004 and 1997 respectively.
Bonham Carter is the Lib Dems’ culture spokesperson in the Lords.
32. Geraldine Scott and Ollie Cole
Geraldine Scott is assistant political editor of the revered Times lobby team. She’s engaged to Ollie Cole, political producer at Times Radio, and host of the Senedd Sources podcast.
33. James Stewart and Tamara Cohen
James Stewart is comms director at the Cabinet Office — the department which really runs the government. He’s married to Tamara Cohen, who has just joined the work and pensions department as a special adviser after a near decade-long stint as a Sky News political correspondent.
34. Sam Haq and Carl Dinnen
NHS England Director of Comms Samana Haq has her work cut out for her — especially navigating a media strategy for a body the government is shutting down. Her husband, ITV political correspondent Carl Dinnen, hasn’t got much quiet time either.
35. Craig Saunders and Louise Berwick
A top civil service power couple. Louise Berwick manages communications on foreign affairs and defense in Downing Street. Her husband, Craig Saunders, is midway through moving from a top Home Office comms job to be head of news and media at the Treasury.
36. Luke Tryl and Dharmesh Nayee
Luke Tryl has become one of Westminster’s most recognized commentators. His More in Common think tank — which pumps out polls and conducts regular focus groups — offers SW1 colorful insight into what the “normal people” actually care about. His partner is Dharmesh Nayee, a senior Treasury civil servant, who worked on the 2025 budget.
37. Luke Murphy and Paul McNamee
Basingstoke MP Luke Murphy is a key Labour voice on net zero. Behind the scenes, so is his partner Paul McNamee, director of the green campaign group the Labour Climate and Environment Forum (LCEF). Murphy chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Climate and sits on the Treasury committee. Under McNamee, LCEF’s events have become diary dates for anyone who wants to know what Labour’s Milibandite climate caucus is thinking.
38. Hollie Ridley and Teddy Ryan
Labour General Secretary Hollie Ridley is the highest-ranked member of the party’s internal structure. Her husband Teddy Ryan is a big name in public affairs — he runs lobbying firm Anacta’s U.K. operation, once dubbed the “Starmerite lobbying firm.”
39. Zarah Sultana and Craig Lloyd
Independent MP Zarah Sultana is co-founder of the left-wing upstart Your Party — a hotbed of political drama since its launch last July. Her husband Craig Lloyd, a former policy officer for the Fire Brigades Union, was an adviser on her campaign to lead the new political movement.
40. Suella and Rael Braverman
Former Conservative Home Secretary Suella Braverman is back in the headlines after dramatically defecting to Reform UK (following colleagues Robert Jenrick and Andrew Rosindell). Her husband, Rael, rejoined Nigel Farage’s party when his wife joined. He’s been a bit on-and-off with Reform UK, having joined in December ’24, then leaving in July ’25 after public attacks on Braverman. Love mends all.
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