45 m. ago Reshuffle it how you like, Starmer’s ‘grownup’ Labour has the Tory whiff of spiteful incompetence | Nesrine Malik

Here we are again: constant rebooting, cruel rhetoric and crackdowns. And hurtling towards a Reform-shaped futureSign up for our new weekly newsletter Matters of Opinion, where our columnists and writers will reflect on what they’ve been debating, thinking about, reading and moreThere has been a familiar feeling in the air for a while, but not one I could identify until last week, when it finally settled. It is a sense that this Labour government is just as terminally dysfunctional and directionless as its predecessor. I am beginning to feel the same sense of frustration, confusion, anger and depletion that I carried through all those years of Conservative government.Here we are again, with the pettiness and authoritarianism, the performatively cruel rhetoric and crackdown on immigration, the ridiculous posturing on flags, the empty sloganeering – and with the constant rebooting in order to jumpstart a broken machine. The result is that government has been reduced to the same intrus...

Politics

8 h. ago Scottish Labour MP becomes minister as part of Starmer's cabinet reshuffle

The Prime Minister has completed a major overhaul of his Cabinet and ministerial team in the aftermath of Angela Rayner's resignation on Friday.

Politics

9 h. ago UK politics live: Starmer completes reshuffle as new home secretary faces small boat Channel crossings crisis

A government source said ‘nothing is off the table’ for the new home secretary Shabana Mahmood

Society

11 h. ago Senior Labour figures tell Keir Starmer to stop making mistakes

Prime minister faces criticism from Emily Thornberry, who highlights risk of ‘handing country to Farage’Keir Starmer has been warned by senior Labour figures to stop making mistakes, before a battle over the party’s deputy leadership and amid fears the government could row back on workers’ rights.As candidates began to jostle to replace Angela Rayner, the prime minister faced public criticism from Emily Thornberry, a potential contender, who said further mistakes from Starmer could lead to having to “hand our country to [Nigel] Farage”. Continue reading...

Politics

11 h. ago Top union leader delivers warning to Labour as Keir Starmer hit by criticism

Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham, who has been a vocal critic of Keir Starmer, said her union members would want to cut ties with Labour if asked to vote today

Events

12 h. ago Contest to replace Rayner will be ‘Labour’s referendum’ on Starmer’s government, PM warned

PM told he needs to listen to members as Emily Thornberry becomes first senior MP to confirm she is considering running

Events

14 h. ago Starmer’s reshuffle continues after minister says asylum seekers could be moved to barracks: UK politics live

A government source said “nothing is off the table” for the new home secretary Shabana Mahmood

Politics

15 h. ago Angela Rayner’s exit proves it. Unless Starmer is able to meet this moment, Reform is on the path to power | John Harris

The prime minister increasingly looks like a man next to a burning house, offering to buy a new bookcase and rugSign up for our new weekly newsletter Matters of Opinion, where our columnists and writers will reflect on what they’ve been debating, thinking about, reading and moreOne hundred and twenty miles from Westminster, it felt like I had arrived at the perfect place to understand the meaning of Angela Rayner’s exit from the government: Reform UK’s brief conference, a giddy and surreal gathering of about 10,000 people in a hangar-like box on the edgelands of Birmingham.News of her resignation broke a couple of hours into the event’s first day, and the symbolism was glaring. Among midday pints, onstage pyrotechnics and a huge stand advertising the wonders of investing in gold, a party led by those bumptious public schoolboys Nigel Farage and Richard Tice was suddenly rejoicing in the departure of British politics’ most prominent working-class woman. The news, moreover, only boost...

Politics

16 h. ago Blow for Keir Starmer as two Labour heavyweights publicly hit out at his leadership

Andy Burnham and Dame Emily Thornberry - who is considering running for Labour deputy leader - both publicly voiced alarm over Keir Starmer's leadership

Politics

16 h. ago Labour civil war to replace Rayner: New nightmare for Starmer as party's left try to take control and hammer his 'mistakes'

Dame Emily Thornberry, a senior Labour MP, said she was 'considering' a bid for the deputy role as she delivered a withering assessment of the Prime Minister's first year in power.

Events

17 h. ago Keir's next nightmare: Starmer faces Labour civil war over party's deputy leadership as senior MP delivers withering verdict on PM in wake of Angela Rayner row and migrant crisis

Dame Emily Thornberry, a senior Labour MP, said she was 'considering' a bid for the deputy role as she delivered a withering assessment of the Prime Minister's first year in power.

Events

18 h. ago Asylum seekers could be moved from hotels to barracks as Starmer’s immigration crackdown begins: UK politics live

A government source said “nothing is off the table” for the new home secretary Shabana Mahmood

Politics

19 h. ago Starmer to move migrants to military barracks to face down Farage threat and orders Cabinet to 'go up a gear' after his shambolic reshuffle

Defence Secretary John Healey has now signalled Sir Keir is finally poised to take a harder line on immigration in the wake of Labour's panicked reshuffle.

Events

20 h. ago Keir Starmer to move migrants to barracks to face down Nigel Farage threat and orders Cabinet to 'go up a gear' after shambolic reshuffle

The Prime Minister has made sweeping changes to his ministerial ranks following Angela Rayner 's resignation on Friday.

Events

20 h. ago Military sites could be used as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers, minister says – UK politics live

Starmer to ‘go up a gear’ as ministers consider changes to human rights laws in bid to head off Reform UKThe most significant moves in Starmer ’s reshuffle d cabinetConservative party chair Kevin Hollinrake has accused Reform UK of copying the former government’s migration policies.Speaking on Sky News this morning, Hollinrake said:All Reform are doing now – a few weeks ago they were talking about towing the boats back to France and they realised they couldn’t do that.And all their plans now are a copycat – exactly the plans that we had in the last government. Continue reading...

Politics

21 h. ago Ministers considering human rights reform in bid to head off Reform as defence secretary say Starmer going ‘up a gear’ – UK politics live

New home secretary Shabana Mahmood expected to to say asylum seekers will be moved from hotels to barracksJohn Healey also said Shabana Mahmood will be “just as tough as Cooper” on Palestine Action, the campaign group opposing Israel’s assault on Gaza that the government controversially proscribed under the Terrorism Act in July, making membership of or support of the group a criminal offence.More than 425 people were arrested in London yesterday at the largest demonstration yet opposing the proscription of Palestine Action.I think you’ll start to see Keir Starmer insist that dealing with the small boats, solving the immigration illegal immigration crisis, is part of the jobs the whole of government, not just the Home Office.So with the Home Office, I have been putting military planners into their Border Command and into their planning for the future, and we are looking at the potential use of military and non military use sites for temporary accommodation for the people who come ac...

Politics

22 h. ago UK politics live: Asylum seekers ‘to be moved from hotels to barracks’ as Starmer toughens immigration plans

Sir Keir Starmer has reshuffled key ministerial posts, including sweeping changes in the Home Office

Politics

32 h. ago Cabinet reshuffle live: Starmer overhauls Home Office and ousts Rachel Reeves’s sister

Keir Starmer’s is reshuffling key ministerial posts, including sweeping changes in the Home Office.

Society

35 h. ago Sweeping changes were needed for Labour to be serious about a fresh start

Editorial: Moving so many ministers after such a short time may not seem ideal, but the end result is a team better matched to the challenges ahead

Politics

35 h. ago UK cannot take US special relationship for granted, Mandelson warns

In a wide-ranging speech, Lord Mandelson, a key architect of New Labour, said the country cannot afford to show any ‘complacency’.

Events