MP for Central Devon, Mel Stride, has been appointed Secretary of State for Work and Pensions as part of the new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak's, reshuffle.

Stride was previously Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons from May 2019 to July 2019, and Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General from June 2017 to May 2019.

He was elected the Conservative MP for Central Devon in 2010, and also previously served as an Assistant Government Whip from July 2014 until May 2015, and as Government Whip (Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury) from May 2015 until July 2016.

His appointment follows the departure of MP for Norwich North, Chloe Smith, who announced earlier today (25 October) that she had left her role as Work and Pensions Secretary and would return to the backbenches, following the confirmation of Rishi Sunak as the new Prime Minister.

Appointed by former Prime Minister, Liz Truss, on 6 September 2022, Smith held the job for seven weeks in total.

On Twitter, Smith said that it had been a “privilege” to serve as Work and Pensions Secretary and thanked the staff at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for their work during her time there.

“I look forward to supporting Rishi Sunak from the backbenches and continuing to work hard for my constituents in Norwich North,” she added.

Prior to her role as Work and Pensions Secretary, Smith was previously Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work.

She was also previously Minister for the Constitution and Devolution between February 2020 and September 2021, and Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office from January 2018 to February 2020.

Smith was first elected as MP for Norwich North in July 2009, prior to which she worked for Deloitte, advising private businesses, government departments and public bodies.

Other appointments announced as part of the reshuffle include Thérèse Coffey as Environment Secretary, Suella Braverman as Home Secretary, and the re-appointment of Jeremy Hunt as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Industry experts have welcomed the appointment of Stride to the DWP, although there are concerns, with Punter Southall Aspire CEO, Steve Butler, warning that a change of leadership is "not conducive to delivering the long-term reform that the pensions system needs".

He continued: “The pensions system is critical to the UK’s financial wellbeing. The cost-of-living crisis will inevitably impact the living standards of retirees and deter people from saving for the long term – we are already seeing evidence of this.

"It is vital that the government provides help to people during this crisis, but I also want to see the government tackle structural issues within the pensions system to improve and encourage lifetime savings in Britain."

In particular, Butler suggested that there are three major issues that the new Work and Pensions Secretary must address, including auto-enrolment reforms, changes to the rules on accessing pension savings and annual savings allowances, and building greater awareness of the Pension Tracing Service.

Adding to this, Quilter head of retirement policy, Jon Greer, emphasised that pensions by their very nature are long-term and complicated, urging Stride to take this role on for the long term and not use it has a springboard into another role.

He stated: "There still needs to be a lot of change within pensions but this will require cross-departmental collaboration between Stride and Hunt, the recently confirmed new chancellor.

"Progress in relation to pensions has been hampered by the political backdrop such as Brexit, Tory infighting and the pandemic.

"With the cost-of-living crisis rearing its ugly head we still have to wait for meaningful change for some time yet. An example of this is automatic enrolment, where progress has been hindered in part by the Treasury, which often kicked the can down the road or stifled evolution due to cost."

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