UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has begun a sweeping cabinet reshuffle following the resignation of Angela Rayner, who stepped down as housing secretary and deputy prime minister after being found in breach of the ministerial code.

The overhaul comes as Labour struggles in the polls, trailing Reform UK, and seeks to regain momentum on key pledges. A wider reshuffle had been expected later this autumn, but Rayner’s sudden departure accelerated the changes.

Why Angela Rayner resigned

Rayner quit after Sir Keir’s ethics advisor, Sir Laurie Magnus, ruled that she failed to pay the correct amount of stamp duty on the purchase of an £800,000 flat in Hove. She avoided a £40,000 bill and was accused of ignoring calls to seek professional tax advice.

In her resignation letter, Rayner praised Matthew Pennycook, her junior minister at the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who is seen as a potential successor.

However, Starmer appointed David Lammy as his new deputy prime minister, Downing Street announced, with Yvette Cooper succeeding Lammy as foreign minister and Shabana Mahmood replacing Cooper at the interior ministry.

Out: Lucy Powell, Ian Murray

Lucy Powell, leader of the House of Commons, was sacked in the wake of Rayner’s departure. Powell had faced criticism over her performance and for dismissing the grooming gangs scandal as a “dog whistle” issue.

Defending Rayner during the stamp duty row, Powell insisted critics attacked her “because she is so bloody good at her job.”

In a farewell statement, Powell said, “It has been an honour to serve in the first Labour government in 15 years.” She highlighted her work on reforming MPs’ second jobs and modernising Commons rules.

Ian Murray, the Scottish secretary, was also removed from his post. Once Labour’s only MP in Scotland, Murray had been a long-standing figure in the party.

After Labour’s major gains in Scotland at the last general election, Starmer now has a wider pool of MPs to replace him.

Murray said he was “hugely disappointed to be leaving government, with so much done and so much more to do.” Warning that UK politics is at a “dangerous crossroads", he urged colleagues to push for “progressive change that brings prosperity, hope and our communities together.”

 What comes next

Starmer’s reshuffle is ongoing, and new appointments are expected in the coming days. The departures of Rayner, Powell, and Murray mark the most significant changes in his top team since Labour’s return to government last year.

Observers say the prime minister is attempting to reassert control and signal a reset, as his government faces pressure to deliver on housing, the economy, and public trust.