Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has kicked off a reshuffle of his top team following Angela Rayner’s dramatic resignation.
Starmer will have to fill in two major spots in the cabinet with the post of Deputy Prime Minister and housing secretary up for grabs after Rayner’s departure.
But the Prime Minister is also expected to be conducting a wider reshuffle coming just ahead of the Labour’s party conference at the end of the month.
Rachel Reeves’ role as Chancellor is understood to be locked in, according to Sky News.
There had been talks of reshuffle in junior ministerial roles taking place this past Monday, but was subsequently delayed after Rayner’s stamp duty scandal.
The Prime Minister’s standards adviser concluded Rayner had breached ministerial code but praised her for “full and open cooperation in assisting me with my inquiries”.
The exit of Rayner marks the seventh departure in nearly a year for Labour following resignations from former Transport Secretary Louise Haigh’s and City minister Tulip Siddiq.
The deputy leader question
The departure of Angela Rayner raises a big question beyond government as Labour now finds itself without a deputy leader.
The party elects their leader and deputy through internal elections. In 2020, Rayner bested Rosena Allin-Khan and Richard Burgon to the leadership title with nearly half of the vote.
The Deputy Prime Minister and leader roles are distinct titles with precedent for the posts to be filled by different MPs.
In 2007 Harriet Harman was elected deputy leader, a role she continued in until 2015, but was never made Deputy Prime Minister.
Starmer’s appointment of a Deputy Prime Minister would be set to have significant implications on a leadership for the deputy position.
The frenzy and speculation is bound to mark a headache for the Prime Minister who announced “phase two of his government” on Monday.
This story is being actively updated.