Keir Starmer promoted Shabana Mahmood to Home Secretary as he shuffled his pack, making David Lammy deputy PM and moving Yvette Cooper to head the Foreign Office
Keir Starmer has carried out a major shake-up of his top team after Angela Rayner dramatically resigned over her tax affairs.
Ms Rayner stood down as Deputy Prime Minister, Housing Secretary and Deputy Labour Leader after the PM’s ethics chief Sir Laurie Magnus ruled she had broken the rules by underpaying stamp duty by £40,000 on her seaside flat in Hove.
The watchdog said she had “acted with integrity and with a dedicated and exemplary commitment to public service” but found she had breached the ministerial code.
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The bombshell ruling left her with no choice but to quit, in a significant blow to the Prime Minister who had offered her his backing. In a letter to the PM, Ms Rayner said, “I take full responsibility for this error,” adding: “I would like to take this opportunity to repeat that it was never my intention to do anything other than pay the right amount.”
She said the strain on her children from the row had become “unbearable”. Mr Starmer said she would “remain a major figure in our party” in a highly personal handwritten letter.
“I have nothing but admiration for you and huge respect for your achievements in politics,” he wrote. The row forced the PM to rush forward a reshuffle planned for later in the autumn, with sweeping changes across the top of Government in a bid to reset after a rocky first year.
David Lammy was named as her replacement as Deputy PM, moving from the Foreign Office to become the new Justice Secretary. Shabana Mahmood, who is highly rated by No10, left the Ministry of Justice to become the new Home Secretary tasked with turning around the small boats crisis.
Her predecessor Yvette Cooper was named as the new Foreign Secretary, replacing Mr Lammy. For the first time, the great offices of state after the PM – Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor – are all held by women.
Pat McFadden was appointed to run a new super ministry of the Department for Work and Pensions, taking in the skills brief from the Department for Education. Steve Reed has taken on the housing brief from Ms Rayner, with his old role as Environment Secretary going to Emma Reynolds.
New Labour veteran Douglas Alexander returned to Cabinet as Scotland Secretary after Ian Murray was sacked from the role. Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader, was also sacked and replaced with former Chief Whip Alan Campbell.
Jonathan Reynolds took over as Chief Whip, with the Business Secretary role going to Peter Kyle and the Tech Secretary role to Liz Kendall. And Darren Jones, who was named as chief secretary to the PM on Monday, now takes on Mr McFadden’s old role at the Cabinet Office.
Only a few ministers stayed in their roles, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander and Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
A reshuffle of junior ministerial roles is expected as soon as Saturday. Ms Rayner’s departure rocked the Labour Party, with one MP saying: “Everyone feels utterly miserable about it.”
Former Shadow Cabinet minister Jonathan Ashworth said she was one of Labour’s “super-star performers” He added: “There is no sugar coating it. Losing Ange is a real blow to the Labour government though.
“She’s a brilliant campaigner. She played a massive role in our historic victory last year. Everyone across the Labour movement will be feeling really sad and hoping she can bounce back.”
Mr Streeting said: “Angela Rayner has achieved more in the last year than most politicians achieve in a lifetime – a trailblazer for working class kids from backgrounds like ours.
“When those kids have a council house, when their mums and dads have better rights and pay, they’ll have her to thank.” Labour MP Stella Creasy said: “Gutted for the Labour movement, for women in politics and for social justice to lose a warrior like Angela Rayner.”
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: “Politicians – like the rest of us – aren’t perfect. When they make mistakes, or make the wrong calls, the best of them take responsibility.
“We are just weeks away from the biggest upgrade in workers’ rights in a generation becoming law. Angela Rayner can be rightly proud of her role in delivering that legislation which will improve life at work for millions.”
Ms Rayner’s departure paves the way for a potentially fractious race for the next deputy Labour leader. She was elected to the role in 2020 and the party must now choose her successor, in a race that could expose divisions among different Labour factions.
Candidates have to get the backing of 80 MPs, as well as support from constituency parties and affiliated trade unions.
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