Job: Housing and planning minister, DCLG
Power base: Government

Part of the up-and-coming 40ish aspirants, Cooper is likely to be promoted to Cabinet level if and when Gordon Brown becomes prime minister. Married to Ed Balls, Brown’s right-hand man and a possible future chancellor, Cooper has seized her brief with well-received enthusiasm and is determined to change the type of houses that are traditionally built in Britain.

Under her initiative, planning regulations are to be set down for the first time, requiring planners and builders to take account of climate change. With housing set to be an even bigger issue in 2007, Cooper is well placed to have a major impact.

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