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Keir Starmer says former deputy PM Angela Rayner will return to cabinet
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of UK politics. Keir Starmer has said the “hugely talented” former deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, will return to his cabinet.
Rayner stood down from the government in September after the prime minister’s ethics adviser found she had breached the ministerial code over her underpayment of stamp duty on her £800,000 seaside flat.
Rayner had been seen as a frontrunner to succeed Starmer, who is hugely unpopular with the public, until the shock resignation.
Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner were close political allies. Photograph: Temilade Adelaja/Reuters
Starmer said in an interview with The Observer on Sunday that Rayner, who had her first baby at 16 and grew up on one of Stockport’s poorest council estates, is the best example of social mobility “this country has ever seen”.
Asked if he misses her, the prime minister told journalist Rachel Sylvester: “Yes, of course I do. I was really sad that we lost her. As I said to her at the time, she’s going to be a major voice in the Labour movement.”
Pressed as to whether she will be back in the cabinet, Starmer said: “Yes. She’s hugely talented.” Stick with us as we give you the latest on this story and the other major political developments in the UK.