David Lammy Appointed UK Deputy Prime Minister After Rayner’s Resignation
The UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, has been appointed deputy prime minister after Angela Rayner resigned on Friday over a £40,000 tax underpayment on her newly acquired house.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed the appointment as part of a cabinet reshuffle triggered by Rayner’s departure.
Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, has been moved to foreign secretary, Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood has taken over as home secretary, while Environment Secretary, Steve Reed replaces Rayner as housing secretary.
Rayner resigned after the prime minister’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, concluded she had acted with integrity but failed to seek correct advice when paying stamp duty on the £800,000 property.
She paid £30,000 instead of the £70,000 owed, later attributing the mistake to poor legal advice.
In a statement, Rayner said she took “full responsibility” for the error. Starmer thanked her for her service, calling her a “trusted colleague and a true friend.”
Her resignation is a setback for Labour, removing one of its most high-profile and popular ministers only months after the party’s landslide election victory.
Rayner is the fifth minister to leave the government over personal controversy since July, alongside Louise Haigh, Tulip Siddiq, Andrew Gwynne and Rushanara Ali.
The reshuffle also saw Pat McFadden appointed work and pensions secretary, Peter Kyle became business secretary, and Lucy Powell stepped down as leader of the House of Commons.
Starmer described the reshuffle as part of “phase two” of his government, focused on delivery of key priorities.
Darren Jones, formerly Rachel Reeves’ deputy at the Treasury, was earlier appointed chief secretary to the prime minister, overseeing implementation across departments.
The changes come at a difficult moment for Labour, which is trailing in opinion polls behind the Reform UK party despite its parliamentary majority.
David Lammy Appointed UK Deputy Prime Minister After Rayner’s Resignation is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
