UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has been appointed deputy prime minister, replacing Angela Rayner after her dramatic resignation on Friday over a tax controversy.
Gatekeepers News reports that Rayner admitted to breaching the ministerial code by underpaying stamp duty on a flat, saying in her resignation letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer that she had “not met the highest standards” and would step down as deputy prime minister, housing minister, and Labour’s deputy leader.
“I deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice,” she said, acknowledging she had wrongly paid a lower rate of tax. “I take full responsibility for this error.”
Starmer, who has faced a string of crises since taking office in July 2024, said he was “very sad” to lose her but stressed: “You will remain a major figure in our party.”
The resignation has triggered political turmoil within Labour. Rayner, long seen as a champion of the party’s left and a possible future leader, was regarded as Labour’s strongest link to its working-class roots. “In losing her, Keir Starmer loses perhaps the closest link the Labour Party has to its working-class roots,” noted Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull.
The timing is particularly damaging for Labour, with national polls now placing Nigel Farage’s Reform UK ahead of the governing party. Reporting from London, Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands said many voters appeared “disenchanted” with both Labour and the Conservatives, instead drawn to the “flashy right-wing populism” of Farage’s movement.
Starmer responded to the crisis with a major cabinet reshuffle. Yvette Cooper has been promoted from interior minister to foreign secretary, while Shabana Mahmood moves from justice to home secretary. Lammy will also hold the justice secretary portfolio alongside his new role as deputy prime minister.
The shake-up also saw Commons leader Lucy Powell and Scotland secretary Ian Murray depart the government. In a post on X, Powell confirmed Starmer had informed her he would appoint a new Commons leader. “This has not been an easy time for the government,” she wrote. “People want to see change and improvements to their difficult lives.”
The tax controversy surrounding Rayner stems from underpayment of stamp duty on a seaside flat in southern England. Ethics adviser Laurie Magnus said while the rules were “complex” and Rayner had been twice advised the lower rate applied, her failure to seek further expert guidance meant she “cannot be considered to have met the highest possible standards of proper conduct.”
Rayner, who rose from poverty to become a union representative and senior Labour figure, had often been tipped as a future leader. Her resignation is widely seen as a serious blow to Starmer’s attempts to revive his struggling government amid economic woes and rising social unrest.
