The Victoria and Albert Museum has announced that Dr Tristram Hunt is to become the new Director of the London museum. 

The former Shadow Secretary of State and Shadow Minister for Education has served as a Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central since 2010. As well as being involved with politics, Hunt is also a historian, being an expert on the 18th and 19th centuries, particularly focusing on Victorian urban history.

He is the author of several books such as The English Civil War: At First Hand, and most recently Ten Cities That Made An Empire. Meanwhile as a broadcaster, he has been involved with more than a dozen series on subjects including Elgar and Empire, Isaac Newton and the English Civil War.

This new appointment was confirmed by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and he will join the Museum in the coming months.

Announcing the appointment V&A Chairman Nicholas Coleridge said: “On behalf of the Trustees, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Tristram Hunt as Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum. He has a highly compelling mixture of experience across public life, the arts, history, education and academia, and knows our collections well from his writing and broadcasting.”

Meanwhile, Dr Tristram Hunt said of the news: “I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed Director of the V&A. I have loved the V&A since I was a boy, and today it is a global leader in its unrivalled collections, special exhibitions, academic research and visitor experience.”