Lewisham Rising: Heidi Alexander named Shadow Health Secretary

Lewisham East MP and former Deputy Mayor, Heidi Alexander, has been named Shadow Health Secretary in Jeremy Corbyn's first Shadow Cabinet.

Not only does that make her the first Shadow Health Secretary to have toured Brockley Cross, it means that Lewisham Hospital has a strong ally if - as rumoured - it faces a fresh assault on its status from the government. With Tom Watson's Deputy Leadership secured with the help of campaign manager and Brockley Councillor Baroness Alicia Kennedy, Lewisham's political stock has rarely been higher.

This decision comes as a blow to the fevered plotting of Lewisham politics' secret Machiavelli, who has been thwarted in his attempts to overthrow Lewisham Labour once more. Like Skeletor, Dick Dastardly or any other 80s cartoon villain, he'll be back next week with a fresh scheme and we'll do it all over again.