{"id":401939,"date":"2025-09-06T06:22:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T06:22:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/401939\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T06:22:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T06:22:17","slug":"david-lammy-named-uk-deputy-prime-minister-amid-labour-party-turmoil-government-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/401939\/","title":{"rendered":"David Lammy named UK deputy prime minister amid Labour Party turmoil | Government News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lammy appointment follows resignation of left-wing champion Angela Rayner, who stepped down over a tax scandal.<\/p>\n

Published On 5 Sep 20255 Sep 2025<\/p>\n

United Kingdom foreign minister David Lammy has been appointed as the country\u2019s new deputy prime minister, replacing Angela Rayner after she resigned amid a tax scandal.<\/p>\n

Rayner\u2019s resignation on Friday for breaching ministerial code after underpaying tax on her flat prompted a major cabinet reshuffle, with Lammy\u2019s elevation to deputy prime minister among a raft of new appointments.<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

The departure of Rayner \u2013 a figure viewed by many as a ballast of the left and a potential successor to Prime Minister Keir Starmer \u2013 has created turmoil in the Labour Party, which now trails hard-right firebrand Nigel Farage\u2019s Reform UK party<\/a> in national polls.<\/p>\n

In a letter to Starmer on Friday, Rayner conceded she \u201cdid not meet the highest standards\u201d and would resign from her roles as housing minister and deputy leader of Labour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI deeply regret my decision to not seek additional specialist tax advice,\u201d she said, having last week admitted to underpaying a surcharge<\/a> on the flat. She said she took \u201cfull responsibility for this error\u201d.<\/p>\n

Starmer, whose government has endured a series of crises since taking power in July 2024, replied that he was \u201cvery sad\u201d to lose her from government, but added: \u201cYou will remain a major figure in our party.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn losing her, Keir Starmer loses perhaps the closest link the Labour Party has to its working-class roots,\u201d reported Al Jazeera\u2019s Jonah Hull from Birmingham in the UK.<\/p>\n

\"Britain'sAngela Rayner has resigned as UK deputy prime minister [File: Oli Scarff\/AFP]<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s reshuffle also saw Yvette Cooper moved from the interior ministry to replace Lammy as foreign secretary, the prime minister\u2019s office said. Shabana Mahmood, who was justice secretary, replaces Cooper as home secretary; while Lammy now takes on the role of justice secretary in addition to his position as deputy prime minister.<\/p>\n

House of Commons leader Lucy Powell and Scotland secretary Ian Murray confirmed in statements on Friday that they were leaving government, following earlier reports they had been fired.<\/p>\n

In a post on X, Powell said Starmer had told her he intended to replace her with a new Commons leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has not been an easy time for the government. People want to see change and improvements to their difficult lives,\u201d Powell said.<\/p>\n

\n

A Statement from me: pic.twitter.com\/5NmhJeKDRV<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Lucy Powell MP (@LucyMPowell) September 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u2018Complexity\u2019 in Rayner tax scandal<\/p>\n

Rayner disclosed on Wednesday that she had underpaid so-called stamp duty on a seaside flat in southern England following days of reports suggesting that she had saved 40,000 pounds ($53,000) by removing her name from the deeds of another property.<\/p>\n

After looking into the case, ethics chief Laurie Magnus said the rules \u201centailed a considerable degree of complexity\u201d and recognised that Rayner had twice been advised that the lower rate of stamp duty was applicable.<\/p>\n

That advice, however, was qualified by the admission that it did not constitute expert tax advice.<\/p>\n

Rayner\u2019s failure to seek further guidance meant she \u201ccannot be considered to have met the highest possible standards of proper conduct\u201d, said Magnus.<\/p>\n

Rayner, who became a single mother at the age of 16 after growing up in poverty, worked her way up from the shop floor as a union representative, forging a lifelong involvement with the Labour Party.<\/p>\n

Often tipped to become Labour leader one day, she has been a top target for political attacks by the Conservatives and right-wing media.<\/p>\n

Her demise is viewed by many as a major setback for Starmer who has been trying to resurrect his flagging government after a difficult summer marked by economic gloom and anti-immigration protests.<\/p>\n

Reporting from London, Al Jazeera\u2019s Rory Challands questioned whether he would succeed, with UK voters \u201cdisenchanted\u201d with the mainstream Labour and Conservative parties looking\u00a0to the \u201cflashy right-wing populism\u201d of Nigel Farage\u2019s Reform UK party.<\/p>\n

\"GraffitiGraffiti reads \u2018tax evader\u2019 outside British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner\u2019s second property, in Hove, UK, on September 4, 2025 [Carlos Jasso\/Reuters]