UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reshuffled his cabinet after Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner resigned. David Lammy, the former foreign secretary, is now deputy prime minister. Shabana Mahmood, an MP from Birmingham, becomes home secretary. She replaces Yvette Cooper, who moves to the Foreign Secretary. Rachel Reeves stays as chancellor. For the first time, women hold all three top offices, as reported by the BBC.
Rayner resigned after admitting she had underpaid £40,000 in stamp duty on a flat in Hove. That broke the ministerial code. Starmer’s 14‑month‑old government has faced several crises. These include U‑turns on welfare plans and rising support for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK over immigration.
'It feels a bit like the reshuffle of the deck chairs on a sinking ship.'
Former Labour adviser @MatthewTorbitt shares his thoughts on Sir Keir Starmer's cabinet reshuffle with Sky's @jonathansamuels https://t.co/xUOJNfDM5H
📺 Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/HzDaLNOoLy
— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 5, 2025On 3 September 2025, Rayner referred herself to the independent adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus. He found she failed to seek proper tax advice and broke the code. “I take full responsibility for my mistake,” Rayner wrote, citing family pressures. Starmer praised her and said she will remain a major Labour figure.
Shabana Mahmood, 44, is the second home secretary of Pakistani descent, after Sajid Javid in 2018. She was born in Birmingham to parents from Mirpur, Azad Kashmir. She studied law at Oxford and worked as a barrister. Elected in 2010, she was among the UK’s first Muslim MPs. She has said she is proud to represent a large ethnic minority community that values democracy and the rule of law.
Read: Angela Rayner Resigns as UK Deputy PM Over Tax Error
Starmer also named Nemat Talaat Shafik as his chief economic adviser. She once led Columbia University and served as a deputy governor at the Bank of England. She left Colombia after the 2024 Gaza protest disputes. Other departures include Lucy Powell from the House of Commons role and Ian Murray from the Scotland brief.
