LONDON – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday appointed economist and former Columbia University president Minouche Shafik as his chief economic adviser. It’s part of a staff shakeup aimed at strengthening the government’s response to a sluggish economy and a heated political debate over immigration.

Starmer’s center-left Labour Party government has struggled to boost economic growth and curb inflation, leaving Treasury chief Rachel Reeves facing unpalatable choices about taxes and spending in her budget this fall.

Shafik, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, has held senior academic and civil service roles in Britain, and served a brief, tempestuous term as Columbia president. The British-U.S. national left her job leading the New York university in August 2024 after just over a year following scrutiny of her handling of protests and campus divisions over the Israel-Hamas war.

Like other U.S. university leaders, Shafik faced criticism from many corners: Some students groups blasted her decision to invite police in to arrest protesters. Republicans in Congress and others called on her to do more to call out antisemitism.

Starmer spokesman Dave Pares said the prime minister was delighted to have Shafik bring her “exceptional record when it comes to economic expertise” to the government.

Starmer also shook up his communications team and appointed Darren Jones, formerly a minister in the Treasury, to the new post of chief secretary to the prime minister, tasked with coordinating work on policy priorities.

The moves came as lawmakers returned to Parliament after a summer break that saw dozens of small but heated protests outside hotels housing asylum-seekers. The Labour government, which was elected in July 2024, has struggled to curb unauthorized migration and fulfill its responsibility to accommodate those seeking refuge.

The hard-right Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage has sought to capitalize on concern about thousands of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats. Painting the asylum-seekers as a threat, Farage has pledged to deport everyone who enters the country without authorization should Reform win power in a future election.

Reform has only a handful of lawmakers in the House of Commons but regularly leads both Labour and the main opposition Conservative Party in opinion polls.

Starmer’s government says it is fixing an asylum system broken after 14 years of Conservative government and is working with other countries to tackle the people-smuggling gangs that organize the cross-channel journeys.