Sir Keir Starmer (Labour) has conducted a major government reshuffle, implementing sweeping changes at the Home Office and other departments following Angela Rayner's resignation. The Prime Minister is seeking to tighten his grip on immigration policy and draw a line under the scandal that led to his deputy's departure.
Yvette Cooper has been replaced as Home Secretary by Shabana Mahmood in the most significant Cabinet change. Cooper takes over as Foreign Secretary from David Lammy, who becomes Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary in the wide-ranging shake-up.
Rayner's departure triggers reshuffle
Rayner resigned as deputy prime minister, housing secretary and deputy Labour leader after an independent ethics investigation found she had breached the ministerial code over a property purchase. Sir Laurie Magnus concluded she had failed to pay enough stamp duty on a seaside flat she bought in May, though he believed she had acted in "good faith".
The ethics watchdog stated that "the responsibility of any taxpayer for reporting their tax returns and settling their liabilities rests ultimately with themselves". Magnus said Rayner's failure to settle her full liability on the Hove property, discovered only through media scrutiny, constituted a ministerial code breach.
Home Office clearout continues
Former borders minister Dame Angela Eagle and former policing minister Dame Diana Johnson have been moved to other departments in Saturday's continued reshuffle. Sarah Jones returns to her home affairs brief as a Home Office minister after serving in business and energy departments.
Dan Jarvis has been appointed a Cabinet Office minister while remaining in the Home Office. Jason Stockwood, a businessman and former Grimsby Town FC chairman, becomes investment minister in the business-focused appointments.
Government denies crisis
Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones dismissed suggestions the government was in crisis, insisting Starmer now has the "strongest team" around the Cabinet table. He ruled out prospects of an early election amid opposition claims the upheaval could expose Labour splits.
"It's not instability insofar as the outcomes that we're delivering are the same," Jones told BBC Breakfast. He added: "The Prime Minister had been planning a broader reshuffle on a slower timetable, but he brought that forward because that is his decision as Prime Minister. That's exhibiting leadership and control, not chaos."
Party unity questions addressed
Jones rejected Reform UK leader Nigel Farage's prediction that "splits" would emerge following the scandal. "The Labour Party is not going to split and there won't be an early election," he told Sky News, dismissing concerns about factional divisions within the party.
The reshuffle focuses on "delivery" in areas including economic growth and border security according to Downing Street. Sources suggest the changes will give ministers a renewed sense of purpose as Starmer seeks to reset government following a difficult summer.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
