Starmer to gather new-look Cabinet as deputy leader race gets under way

Sir Keir Starmer will hold the first meeting of his new-look Cabinet on Tuesday as the race to replace Angela Rayner as deputy Labour leader gets under way.

Sir Keir’s official spokesman said his message to the “refreshed, reshaped” Cabinet would be to put delivery and growth “front and centre” in the second phase of government.

The Prime Minister completed a major Government reshuffle triggered by Ms Rayner’s resignation after she was found to have breached the ministerial code over her underpayment of stamp duty on a seaside flat earlier this year.

But he now faces the prospect of weeks of manoeuvring for the deputy Labour leadership role she has vacated as the race to replace her is set to stretch past the Labour Party conference and into October.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy became the first person to officially throw her hat in the ring on Monday evening with an announcement on X.

“I look forward to explaining why, over the three short and undemocratic days we have to do so,” she added.

The Clapham and Brixton Hill is from the left of the party – she was recently removed from a trade envoy job as punishment for voting against the Government’s welfare reforms.

Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman Dame Emily Thornberry has indicated she is thinking about a bid, but like both Sir Keir and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy she represents a north London constituency which could count against her.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and former Cabinet minister Louise Haigh have ruled themselves out of the running, while Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is also not expected to run.

Labour veteran Baroness Harriet Harman said the role should be filled by a woman from outside London.

The former deputy leader said that the party needs someone who is “complementary to the leader” and who will “broaden the reach of the leader and galvanise the party”, in comments to BBC Radio 4’s Today.

Nominations open on Tuesday, with a hustings on Wednesday as part of the fast-tracked election process.

In the first stage, candidates have to secure nominations from 80 MPs – a fifth of the total on the Labour benches – by 5pm on Thursday.

They will then have to secure the support of 5% of constituency parties or at least three affiliates – including at least two affiliated trade unions.

The ballot for candidates who clear the nomination hurdles will open on October 8 and close at noon on October 23, with the result announced on October 25.

Labour’s annual conference starts on September 28 and is likely to be used as a key moment in the campaign, potentially causing problems for Sir Keir as candidates set out rival visions for the party.

The successful candidate will replace Ms Rayner as deputy Labour leader but not as deputy prime minister, a position which has been handed to Justice Secretary Mr Lammy.