Keir Starmer confirms first batch of junior ministers in post-Rayner reshuffle – UK politics live

Downing Street confirms first batch of junior ministers

Downing Street has now confirmed the first swathe of junior ministers appointed in the reshuffle.

The list is as follows:

Jason Stockwood has been appointed investment minister jointly in the Department for Business and Trade and the Treasury

Dan Jarvis joins the Cabinet Office as a minister, while remaining security minister in the Home Office

Lady Jacqui Smith has taken up the role of skills minister in the Department for Work and Pensions. She will remain as both the skills and women and equalities minister in the Department for Education

Lord Patrick Vallance as a minister in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. He will remain minister in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Michael Shanks as a minister jointly in the Department for Business and Trade and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Alison McGovern has been appointed to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Dame Angela Eagle will join the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dame Diana Johnson has moved to the Department for Work and Pensions

Sarah Jones MP has been appointed to the Home Office

Lady Poppy Gustafsson, Jim McMahon and Daniel Zeichner have left the government.

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The UK cannot take its “special relationship” with the US for granted, Britain’s ambassador to Washington has warned.

In a wide-ranging speech, Lord Peter Mandelson, a key architect of New Labour, said the country cannot afford to show any “complacency” over Donald Trump’s “instinctive warmth”.

The former minister, who was a staunch Remainer during the EU referendum, also painted Brexit as a liberating force that has allowed Britain to pursue closer ties with America.

Speaking at the Ditchley Foundation, a charity focused on transatlantic relations, he said: “Like it or not, our US partnership has become indispensable to the functioning of our nation.

“Beyond President Trump’s instinctive warmth towards Britain – and it’s real – we cannot simply take it for granted that the breadth of this, and of future US administrations, will see the value of the special relationship in the way that we do.

“There can be no complacency on our part.

“It is vital that we demonstrate to the next tier of US political leadership and to the next Republican and Democrat generations, exactly how UK partnerships in economics, technology and security deliver tangible value for Americans and Brits alike.”

ShareBen Quinn

A controversial doctor given top billing at the Reform party conference has used his main-stage speech to air a claim the Covid vaccine caused cancer in the royal family.

The speech by Aseem Malhotra, a British cardiologist who was appointed as a senior adviser to the US health secretary and vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy, drew sharp intakes of breath in the Birmingham auditorium where he was handed a prime speaking slot.

After setting out what he said were findings showing that vaccines “created havoc” in the human body, Malhotra said he had been asked to share something by a doctor who he described as one of Britain’s most eminent oncologists.

“He thinks it’s highly likely that the Covid vaccines have been a factor, a significant factor in the cancer of members of the royal family,” said Malhotra, who had previously said: “This isn’t just his opinion many other doctors feel the same way.”

The remarks drew immediate condemnation from the health secretary, Wes Streeting, and others.

“When we are seeing falling numbers of parents getting their children vaccinated, and a resurgence of disease we had previously eradicated, it is shockingly irresponsible for Nigel Farage to give a platform to these poisonous lies,” said Streeting.

“Farage should apologise and sever all ties with this dangerous extremism.”

A spokesperson for Cancer Research UK said: “There is no good evidence of a link between the Covid-19 vaccine and cancer risk. The vaccine is a safe and effective way to protect against the infection and prevent serious symptoms.”

Sarah Jones’ new role in the Home Office is as policing minister, the PA news agency understands.

Newly appointed business secretary Peter Kyle has confirmed to business chiefs that he will meet the Trump administration in Washington next week ahead of travelling to China for trade talks.

On a video call of around 100 CEOs, entrepreneurs and trade unions, he highlighted the importance of technology to boost the economy and said the UK must “double down” on growth as he sought to set the tone for his future in the role.

He said: “I want Government to be seen as an active partner that delivers success, supports new business and backs wealth creation.

“This Government’s number one mission is economic growth. We need to crack on and do it. We must double down, while being creative and unrelenting in pursuit of our goal.

“I want this to be the greatest place to start a business, or scale up. We haven’t maximised the potential in this country, and I’m ambitious in wanting to see the first trillion-dollar company to emerge from the UK.”

Kyle also confirmed he would be in Washington early next week to engage with the White House ahead of the US president’s state visit, before travelling to Beijing for trade talks.

Labour’s most powerful union backer has warned that Keir Starmer is in danger of bolstering support for Nigel Farage, arguing that the government has failed to support oil and gas workers and watered down plans to boost employment rights.

Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said voters could be left feeling “duped” by Labour after the government scaled back planned changes to ban zero-hours contracts and exploitative “fire-and-rehire” practices.

As polls show Reform UK on course to become the largest party in the next parliament, the leader of the UK’s largest private sector union said Labour had not adopted its proposals to create new jobs for workers in fossil fuel industries.

Speaking to the Guardian before the start of the annual TUC conference on Sunday, Graham said Labour had a short time to turn things around or see support from union members leach away to other parties.

“They have one year to get this right because Nigel Farage is on their tail.

“And don’t get me wrong, Farage is not the answer, but he is a good communicator. And whether we like it or not, when he is talking about net zero, and about what’s happened to communities and workers, people are hearing what Labour used to say.”

She said that, with high inflation already taking a toll on household budgets, mooted tax rises in Rachel Reeves’s autumn budget would be the final straw for many Labour voters.

Graham said Labour needed to avoid taxing workers to fill the gap in the public finances and start drawing up plans for a wealth tax.

“If this keeps happening, the feeling that workers always pay, but they’re leaving the super-rich totally untouched – I think they won’t recover from it,” she said.

Downing Street has announced the latest batch of ministerial appointments.

Ellie Reeves is solicitor general, while Anna Turley will succeed Reeves as Labour Party chair who will attend cabinet.

Lucy Rigby has been moved from solicitor general to economic secretary to the Treasury, while Luke Pollard has received a promotion from under-secretary of state to minister of state.

Here is the full list:

Anna Turley MP as Minister of State in the Cabinet Office (Minister without Portfolio).

Alex Norris MP as Minister of State in the Home Department.

Sir Chris Bryant MP as Minister of State in the Department for Business and Trade.

Luke Pollard MP as Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence.

Georgia Gould MP as Minister of State in the Department for Education.

Rt Hon Ellie Reeves MP as Solicitor General.

Lucy Rigby MP as Parliamentary Secretary (Economic Secretary to the Treasury) in HM Treasury.

Nigel Farage has urged Reform UK members to keep their disputes private as he returned to the stage to close the party’s annual conference.

“My sort of big message at the end of this conference as we head towards those massive elections in Wales, in Scotland, in London, in the Midlands and elsewhere next year, is that you are the people’s army,” he said.

“And to succeed it needs one thing: discipline. Can we please exercise discipline?

“And air our disagreements between each other in private and not in public. And if we do that, we will succeed.”

He brought MP Lee Anderson to the stage and said he would be the party’s welfare spokesman.

Farage ended the Reform UK conference by bringing fellow elected party politicians onstage to sing the national anthem.

He handed the microphone to Greater Lincolnshire mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns to sing.

SharePhillip Inman

Rachel Reeves could stop giving money away if she wants to close the UK’s looming spending gap. And baby boomers could be her first target.

At the moment the chancellor gives away more than £50bn in tax relief for pension saving, most of which goes to wealthier boomers and better-paid gen Xers who do not need the money and would save anyway if state support was more limited.

A remodelling of pension subsidies – cutting the 40p higher rate to a flat rate of 25p for all savers – could claw back £10bn to £20bn in extra income tax and national insurance payments, depending on how the new regime is constructed.

In a separate but related move, Reeves could reduce or scrap the tax-free allowance, a privilege that allows for a quarter of retirement savings to be taken as a tax-free lump sum.

Richard Tice also joked about using weight loss jabs to slim down the government.

He said: “There’s a jab flying around, a jab that sort of helps reduce the size of our waste.

“So, I thought, ‘well, maybe should we apply a bit of the old Wegovy to slim down the civil service, a touch of the old Mounjaro to reduce the size of the quangos and … last but not least, a bit of the Ozempic to reduce the bloated welfare state’.”

Lucy Connolly said she may want to work with Reform UK in the future.

She was asked at the party’s conference in Birmingham on Saturday what she wanted to do going forward.

Connolly said: “I’d really love to use my experience to work with, hopefully, Reform.”

Deputy leader of Reform UK Richard Tice said Connolly has a “huge opportunity to help” the party.

Tice said: “It’s wonderful to see her back with us and to hear her direct telling her story.

“I think that she has a huge opportunity to help Reform and help the cause of free speech.”

Downing Street confirms first batch of junior ministers

Downing Street has now confirmed the first swathe of junior ministers appointed in the reshuffle.

The list is as follows:

Jason Stockwood has been appointed investment minister jointly in the Department for Business and Trade and the Treasury

Dan Jarvis joins the Cabinet Office as a minister, while remaining security minister in the Home Office

Lord Patrick Vallance as a minister in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. He will remain minister in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Michael Shanks as a minister jointly in the Department for Business and Trade and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Alison McGovern has been appointed to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Dame Angela Eagle will join the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Dame Diana Johnson has moved to the Department for Work and Pensions

Sarah Jones MP has been appointed to the Home Office

Lady Poppy Gustafsson, Jim McMahon and Daniel Zeichner have left the government.

Justin Madders first junior minister to be sacked

Justin Madders is the first junior minister to be sacked in Saturday’s further reshuffle.

The minister for employment rights, who worked under former business secretary, now chief whip, Jonathan Reynolds at the Department for Business and Trade, said he had been dismissed.

“It has been a real privilege to serve as minister for employment rights and begin delivering on our plan to make work pay,” he said.

“Sadly it is now time to pass the baton on. I wish my successor well and will do what I can to help them make sure the ERB [employment rights bill] is implemented as intended.”

Updated at 16.39 CEST

Shabhana Mahmood’s promotion to home secretary comes with a daunting in-tray, the Guardian’s Rajeev Syal reported earlier on Saturday.

Read the full report here:

Along with responsibilities around immigration and national security, Mahmood faces a difficult decision on whether to double down on Yvette Cooper’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group.

Police have already arrested dozens of people in Parliament Square, where organisers estimate 1,500 demonstrators sit behind placards that say “I oppose genocide, I suppose Palestine Action”.

PA reported that officers forced their way through crowds carrying arrested protesters and had screaming arguments with demonstrators in Parliament Square.

Several protesters fell over in a crush while water was thrown at officers, with the most frantic scenes unfolding on the western side of the park.

The police presence was reinforced partway through the protest as scores of City of London police officers joined their Metropolitan police colleagues in Parliament Square.

After a brief pause, police resumed arrests.

A protester is taken away by police officers at the Lift the Ban protest in London. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty ImagesShare

Updated at 16.52 CEST

Farage says he misspoke about Clacton home

Nigel Farage said he misspoke when he said he bought a house in Clacton before the last election.

The Reform leader said last year he had bought a home in his Clacton constituency, but it was later reported that his partner had actually made the purchase.

He told Sky News: “I should have said ‘we’. All right? My partner bought it, so what?”

He said it was “her money” and “her asset”.

“I own none of it. But I just happen to spend some time there.”

He added: “I should have rephrased it. I didn’t want … to put her in the public domain.”

The Reform UK leader initially said that he had “exchanged contracts” to buy the house in Essex last November, saying it should deal with criticism that he does not spend enough time in the constituency.

However, the detached property in an upmarket part of Clacton-on-Sea was actually solely bought by Laure Ferrari, his partner of some years.

Mr Farage’s deputy Richard Tice had earlier said the party leader’s tax affairs are “irrelevant” to voters.

Stamp duty is paid at rates up to 5% for residential property but an additional 5% is added if the purchase relates to another property on top of ones already owned. Farage already has a property worth about £1m in the village of Downe in Kent, as well as two houses in Lydd-on Sea in the same county, which are owned through his company, Thorn in the Side. He also has property in Tandridge in Surrey.

Questions about the purchase have resurfaced after Angela Rayner resigned on Friday over underpaying stamp duty on a seaside flat she bought this year, triggering a cabinet reshuffle.

Updated at 18.59 CEST

Ben Quinn

Reform MP Sarah Pochin told her party’s members that she will “see you in jail” as she suggested that she would “not be silenced” by a new Islamophobia definition.

A working group, led by the former Conservative attorney general Dominic Grieve, was set up earlier this year by Angela Rayner to provide recommendations on how to tackle anti-Muslim hatred in Britain, including whether to create a new definition of Islamophobia.

Pochin said in a keynote speech to the Reform UK conference: “Whilst we respect other religions, we are fundamentally a Christian country.”

“Are we going to find ourselves arrested and thrown into jail by the new, elite police force this government has set up to monitor our speech, our debate, our views? Well I will see you in jail because they will never silence me as I speak up for you and this country.”

The MP – who was at the centre of a row in Reform UK this year after calling on the prime minister to ban the burqa and was later accused by then Reform chair Zia Yusuf of asking a “dumb” question – also said that she had wanted to arrive on stage wearing a burqa in the turquoise colour of Reform.

She added that reform’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, had said no to this.

Updated at 16.06 CEST

Aneesa Ahmed

A local resident has paid for the cleanup of graffiti calling Angela Rayner a “tax evader” outside her flat in Hove, according to Brighton and Hove city council.

The graffiti, which called the former deputy prime minister a “tax evader” and a “b****”, appeared on a white wall outside her £800,000 seaside flat on Thursday – after she admitted to not paying the right amount of stamp duty on the property.

On the other side of the road to the property, graffiti which said “tax evader Rayner” and “Rayner tax avoidance” was sprayed onto some construction chipboard.

Sussex police said it was treating the matters as criminal damage. While originally scheduled to be cleared on Thursday afternoon, the council said that a resident had paid for the graffiti to get removed early.

A council spokesperson said: “Due to security concerns, and in line with our policy of removal of offensive graffiti, we have removed graffiti reported in Hove. This has been paid for by a resident.”

A spokesperson for Rayner called it “unjustifiable”, saying the politician nor other local residents should have to be subject to “harassment and intimidation”.

“It will rightly be a matter for the police to take action as they deem appropriate,” they said.

Reshuffle to continue with junior ministerial changes

Aletha Adu

The shake-up in Downing Street is not yet over.

A No10 source told the Guardian there will be “substantial” changes to the government’s junior ranks, with hopes to push most of them through before the end of today.

Jonathan Reynolds, Keir Starmer’s new chief whip, and Darren Jones, newly appointed chief secretary to the prime minister, were seen entering Downing Street, as the process is set to kick off.

Many Labour insiders, some reluctantly, accepted the cabinet reshuffle as Starmer aligning his government to the right, a position Morgan McSweeney is believed to see where most voters are. However, some argue it has left Labour further from its own membership. With a deputy leadership contest looming, critics warn the government could be chasing voters and drifting out of step with its base.

Today’s changes will decide who rises with Starmer’s “phase two”, who has been frozen out and could highlight how tightly Starmer will grip the PLP.

Updated at 15.20 CEST

Ben Quinn

Jacob Rees-Mogg has told a gathering at the Reform UK conference that his teenage daughter, Mary, has joined Reform UK and that he is “having my arm twisted” by her to follow suit.

The former MP told Reform UK members at a fringe event who put him under pressure to defect to their party that he was going to remain a Tory because he believed it was fundamental “to bring the family of the right together.”

There were loud cheers when Rees-Mogg said: “I am having my arm twisted by my infant daughter who is standing over there.”

“I am sorry to tell you … I am embarrassed to say I have clearly failed as a father. Mary has joined Reform but I am not going to. I am going to remain a Tory because I think it is fundamental that we bring the family of the right together. The right wing family has to unite in a first past the post system. It’s how you get a majority.”

There has been speculation that Rees-Mogg could be one of the latest Conservatives to defect to Reform since he lost the battle for the newly created seat of North East Somerset & Hanham to Labour’s Dan Norris in the 2024 general election.

He told the event on Saturday said that he had to “to be careful” because he was still a Tory, but warned of a future scenario in which Reform won a general election but did not deliver on his pledges to achieve change.

“If a Nigel-led government does not succeed in change in six months … the nation is so angry that we will then be in real real trouble. There will be no where else to go.”

Rees-Mogg recommended that if Farage wins the next election, the Reform UK leader should ask the king to appoint 500 peers so that Reform has a working majority in the House of Lords, where he said that many Tory lords such as John Gummer had “drifted leftwards.”

PA provides some more on Lucy Connolly, who is expected to appear at the Reform Party conference later today:

Connolly will appear on stage at the Reform Party conference on Saturday before Nigel Farage closes the event in Birmingham.

The former childminder and wife of a Conservative councillor was jailed for stirring up racial hatred against asylum seekers in the aftermath of the Southport murders last year.

She will speak on the main stage of the conference in a special live recording of The Telegraph’s Planet Normal podcast with Allison Pearson and Liam Halligan, the newspaper confirmed.

It comes as party leader Farage said he would stop the boats within two weeks of passing immigration legislation, having previously said he would stop them within two weeks of “winning the government”.

The party’s deputy leader Richard Tice is also due to give an address later before Farage speaks to close the two-day event at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

The main stage will also see a speech titled “Make Britain Healthy Again” by Dr Assem Malhotra, a cardiologist who campaigned against the use of the Covid mRNA vaccines.

Malhotra said the Covid vaccines should be paused in their rollout because of the “uncertainty” around excess deaths.

Updated at 14.44 CEST

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