UK Politics

Sir Keir Starmer has launched a major cabinet reshuffle after Angela Rayner’s resignation as housing secretary and deputy prime minister. The prime minister is seeking to relaunch his government as it lags behind Reform UK in the polls and struggles to deliver on key promises.Ms Rayner resigned after Sir Keir’s ethics advisor concluded she had breached the ministerial code by failing to pay the correct amount of stamp duty on the purchase of an £800,000 flat in Hove. Sir Keir Starmer is reshuffling his top team after the departure of Angela Rayner More

Angela Rayner’s resignation shows this government is “as bad – if not worse – than the one that went before”, Nigel Farage has told the Reform UK party conference in his main address. Ms Rayner sensationally quit as deputy prime minister and housing secretary just one hour before Mr Farage took to the stage after an investigation into her tax affairs over her purchase of an £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex.Capitalising on the chaos within government, the Reform UK leader told the Birmingham crowd the scandal “screams entitlement”.Nigel Farage brought forward his keynote speech at Reform UK’s party conference after Rayner’s resignation More

Dame Andrea Jenkyns walked onstage at the Reform UK conference, belting out a song entitled “Insomniac” that she said she wrote.The mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, walked onstage at the party’s two-day conference at Birmingham’s NEC on Friday (5 September) in a sparkly jumpsuit before breaking into song.She said: “Are this awful Labour government giving you sleepless nights as well?,” adding that she co-wrote the song 20 years ago with a friend.Dame Andrea’s website says she is a soprano who has been singing since her childhood. More

Nigel Farage mistakenly said Angela Rayner had avoided paying £40,000 in council tax after the deputy prime minister resigned on Friday, 5 September.Ms Rayner quit after ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus found that she had breached the ministerial code over her underpayment of stamp duty on her £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex.She had faced mounting pressure to stand down over recent days after admitting she had neglected to pay stamp duty by £40,000 on the flat.”You simply can’t get away from being the housing secretary and avoiding £40,000 of council tax, and it screams to entitlement,” Mr Farage told conference attendees in Birmingham. More

Reform UK members and party activists are queuing up at this year’s conference to purchase party branded football shirts, emblazoned with the names of MPs and key party figures. The shirts, which are flying off the shelves, are being sold for £40 – or particularly keen activists can buy two for £75. For those who wanted something cheaper there were £15 caps or football terrace themed scarves to cheer on their top team.Football style Reform scarf on sale More

Nigel Farage said he thinks there is “every chance now of a general election happening in 2027” as he addressed Reform UK’s party conference in Birmingham shortly after Angela Rayner resigned on Friday, 5 September.The Reform leader warned of a “big rift” in Labour and told attendees in a keynote speech: “Before long, there’ll be Labour MPs that reckon they’ve got a better chance on the Jeremy Corbyn sectarian ticket … they’ve got a better chance of being re-elected under that ticket, under Corbyn, than they do under Sir Keir.”His comments came following the deputy prime minister’s announcement that she would step down after ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus found that she had breached the ministerial code over her underpayment of stamp duty on her £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex. More

Angela Rayner has resigned from government after it emerged that she underpaid stamp duty on a seaside flat, breaching the ministerial code.Ms Rayner’s admission followed mounting pressure and media reports alleging she saved £40,000 on the property in Hove, East Sussex, by removing her name from the deeds of a family home in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency.Her resignation follows the findings of ministerial ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus, to whom she referred herself on Wednesday.Sir Laurie Magnus said the outgoing deputy prime minister had “acted with integrity”, but failed to “heed the caution” contained within legal advice she received when buying the £800,000 property in Hove.In her resignation letter, the former deputy PM wrote: “I have long believed that people who serve the British public in government must always observe the highest standards.“While the Independent Adviser has concluded that I acted in good faith and with honesty and integrity throughout, I accept that I did not meet the highest standards in relation to my recent property purchase.”Here, The Independent explains the issue and how it led to the resignation of one of the top figures in British politics:What are the rules around stamp duty?For those buying their first home, or moving from one to another, stamp duty is usually quite straightforward. There are several rates liable on the purchase, ranging from zero to 12 per cent, based on its value. Rayner’s political career hangs in the balance More

Watch as Nigel Farage delivered a speech at the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham on Friday (5 September). The party leader was due to speak later on Friday afternoon, but the talk was moved forward. It came after Angela Rayner quit as deputy prime minister and housing secretary after an investigation into her tax affairs over her purchase of an £800,000 flat in Hove, East Sussex.Mr Farage arrived back in the UK on Thursday (4 September) after a trip to the US where he spoke about freedom of speech to congress and also met with Donald Trump.During the hearing in Washington DC, Mr Farage was branded a “pro-Putin politician” and a “Donald Trump wannabe” by Kamie Raskin, the Democrat ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.“You might think twice before you let Mr Farage make Britain great again,” he warned UK voters.The two-day annual conference will see speeches from its four MPs, as well as former chairman Zia Yusuf.The night before the event saw former high-profile Conservative and Boris Johnson ally Nadine Dorries defect to Reform, handing it a boost as it continues to surge in polls. More