Summary Starmer appoints new deputy, foreign, interior ministers

Reshuffle sparked by resignation of Rayner

Rayner says she deeply regrets tax mistake

Starmer sad to lose ‘trusted colleague and a true friend’

Top positions given to trusted colleagues

BIRMINGHAM, England, Sept 5 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer brought in a new deputy and foreign and interior ministers on Friday in a sweeping reshuffle intended to restore his authority after the resignation of his deputy, Angela Rayner.

Starmer moved foreign minister David Lammy to become deputy prime minister and replaced him with interior minister Yvette Cooper. She was in turn replaced by justice secretary Shabana Mahmood. All are loyal, trusted hands.

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After reshaping his Downing Street team last week to bolster his economic advice, a ministerial reshuffle had been expected. Rayner’s departure meant it was much deeper than widely predicted, forcing Starmer to draw a line under more than a week of distracting speculation over her tax affairs.

Starmer could do little to protect Rayner after Britain’s independent adviser ruled that she had breached the ministerial code by failing to pay the correct tax.

“Angela is a ‘big beast’ and hard to replace,” said one Labour lawmaker, adding that the three new appointments were “sound” if not overly exciting.

While Lammy has been given the position of deputy prime minister, he has also been forced to hand over the much sought after role of foreign secretary and replace Mahmood at justice.

Cooper is one of Labour’s most senior figures after serving former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Her appointment will be seen as a promotion of sorts after overseeing the government’s often criticised policy to tackle illegal migration.

Mahmood, 44, is also seen as a “safe pair of hands” in Labour, a no-nonsense politician who has not been scared to take bold action while running the justice system.

Loyalty is seen as vital by Starmer, who has suffered the most ministerial resignations – outside government reshuffles – of any prime minister early in their tenure in almost 50 years.

“There is a sense at the moment that they don’t know what they are doing and what they stand for,” Chris Hopkins, political research director at polling firm Savanta, told Reuters.

REGRETS

Rayner, 45, was the eighth, and the most senior, ministerial departure from Starmer’s team, and the most damaging yet after the British leader offered her his support when she was first accused of avoiding 40,000 pounds ($54,000) in tax.

Rayner apologised to Starmer in her resignation letter. “I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice,” she said.

She also stepped down as a minister and as deputy party leader, a position that Lammy will now be in pole position for.

The independent adviser on ministerial standards ruled Rayner had broken the ministerial code – rules to ensure the conduct of politicians meet the standards of public service – because she failed to heed a warning within legal advice which she said she had relied on to seek expert advice on her complicated financial situation.

Rayner’s resignation has put more pressure on Starmer, with Labour trailing Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK in the polls.

Starmer faces difficult state spending and tax choices as he seeks to repair the centre-left party’s image after they also came under fire for accepting expensive items including clothing and concert tickets from donors, before they were forced to water down cuts to the welfare budget.

On the first day of Reform’s party conference in the central English city of Birmingham, Farage brought forward his speech by three hours to address Rayner’s resignation.

He said the Labour government was in “deep crisis” and the next election may take place in 2027, implying that Labour, which has a big majority and does not need to call an election until 2029, may find itself unable to govern.

“Despite all the promises that this would be a new, different type of politics, is as bad, if not worse, than the one that went before,” he told the audience to loud applause.

Rayner had registered a new home in the southern English seaside resort of Hove as her primary residence, after she sold her share of her family home in northern England to a trust that was set up for one of her sons, who has lifelong disabilities.

Rayner said she had believed she would not have to pay the higher rate of tax charged when buying a second home. But after media reports drew attention to the fact she may have avoided 40,000 pounds, she took further legal advice and said she had made a mistake and would pay the additional tax.

($1 = 0.7402 pounds)

Reporting by Andrew MacAskill and Elizabeth Piper; additional reporting by Alistair Smout, William James and Muvija M; Editing by Kate Holton, Alex Richardson, Philippa Fletcher and Timothy Heritage

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Ukraine is responding to Russia’s strikes on its energy infrastructure and will continue to do so. It will not endure in the dark, stated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a joint press conference with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Uzhhorod, APA reports citing RBC Ukraine.

“Ukraine is responding to Russian attacks on our energy facilities and will continue to respond,” Zelenskyy said.

At the same time, he emphasized that Ukraine strongly wants the war with Russia to end.

“However, no one will simply endure in the dark,” the President stressed.

Britain’s Labour government is enduring a disastrous start to its second year in power, after the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner sparked a major cabinet reshuffle.

Ms Rayner, widely viewed as a successor to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, quit on Friday, after she admitted underpaying property tax on a new home.

Scrutiny of her had been intensifying in the British media, with multiple calls for her resignation from opposition parties.

Sir Keir, who won a landslide victory just over a year ago, was then forced to embark on a wider reshuffle of his top team.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy — a key Starmer ally — replaced Ms Rayner as deputy prime minister and was given a second role as justice secretary.

Yvette Cooper, previously home secretary, was made foreign secretary while another minister, Shabana Mahmood, was named home secretary. Ms Mahmood had previously been justice secretary.

UK deputy PM admits $80,000 tax underpayment Photo shows Angela Rayner getting out of a car in Number 10 Downing Street. Angela Rayner, who is considered one of the potential successors to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, says she is “devastated” after learning she underpaid stamp duty on the purchase of a beachside flat.

But the most high-profile movement was Ms Rayner, 45.

She was the eighth, and the most senior, ministerial exit, and the most damaging yet after Sir offered her his full support when she was first accused of deliberately trying to avoid paying the correct tax rate.

“I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice … I take full responsibility for this error,” Ms Rayner said in her letter to Sir Keir.

The prime minister said in response that he was very sad that her time in government had ended in this way but she had reached the right decision.

With Labour trailing Britain’s populist Reform UK in the polls, Sir Keir faces yet more challenges in trying to repair his authority and his party’s image, which has previously been hit by accusations of hypocrisy by critics over accepting expensive items including clothing and concert tickets from donors.

Losing his deputy is particularly damaging for Sir Keir, especially because Ms Rayner, who rose from a working-class teenage mother to one of Britain’s highest political positions, had been able to mediate between Labour’s left and centrist wings to keep the party united, and had a wider appeal than the prime minister.

Sometimes tipped as a potential successor to Sir Keir, Ms Rayner had been forced to refer herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards on Wednesday after admitting that she had made a mistake over the tax payment.

In an interview in which she appeared close to tears, Ms Rayner described setting up a trust for one of her sons, who has life-long disabilities as a result of an injury.

It was to that trust that she sold her share of her family home in northern England to pay for an apartment in the southern English seaside resort of Hove, believing she would not have to pay the higher rate of tax charged when buying a second home.

After taking further legal advice, she then said she had made a mistake and was taking steps to pay the additional tax.

Another blow for British government

Losing eight cabinet and junior ministers, five of whom resigned over wrongdoing, means Sir Keir has suffered the most ministerial resignations, outside government reshuffles, of any prime minister at the beginning of their tenure since at least 1979.

Sir Keir has suffered even more departures than Boris Johnson, the next highest, whose administration was later embroiled in allegations of COVID-19 lockdown-breaking parties.

It leaves Sir Keir wounded as he prepares for a difficult end to the year, when his government must craft a budget that analysts and markets expect to contain further tax rises and try to contain the growing threat from Nigel Farage’s Reform.

Returning from a summer break on Monday, Sir Keir had hoped that a reshuffle in his Downing Street team would show he was ready to tackle the second half of the year with renewed vigour, bolstering his economic advice.

But that was quickly eclipsed by the allegations against Ms Rayner and by Mr Farage’s accusation that Sir Keir was stifling free speech.

Reuters

Former UK Secretary of State for the Home Department Yvette Cooper has been appointed Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, according to a press release from the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Office, APA reports.

“Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP [was appointed] as Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs,” it said.

Cooper, 56, replaced David Lammy, who was appointed Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, and also Deputy Prime Minister. Shabana Mahmood, former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, was appointed Secretary of State for the Home Department.

The U.K.’s deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, resigned Friday after an independent inquiry found that she did not meet the ethical standards required for government ministers over a recent home purchase, APA reports, citing AP News.

Rayner, who admitted on Wednesday that she did not pay enough tax on her purchase of an apartment in Hove, on England’s south coast, earlier this summer, said the report found that she acted in good faith but that she should have sought more specific tax advice.

“I take full responsibility for this error,” she said in her resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Rayner referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards, Laurie Magnus, on Wednesday, who delivered his report to Starmer on Friday.

In the U.K., levies are charged on property purchases, with higher charges due on more expensive homes and secondary residences. Reports have suggested that Rayner saved 40,000 pounds by not paying the appropriate levy, known as a stamp duty.

Rayner, who holds the housing brief in the Labour government and has forged a reputation as one of its most forthright speakers, has often railed against those who deliberately underpay tax, particularly those in the preceding Conservative administration, which Labour replaced in July 2024.

Starmer said Rayner had made the right decision but said he was “very sad” to see her leave his government.

“I have nothing but admiration for you and huge respect for your achievements in politics,” Starmer wrote. The handwritten letter signed off “with very best wishes and with real sadness.”