Nigel Farage admits he was wrong to say he had bought house in Clacton

Nigel Farage has admitted he misspoke when he claimed to have bought a house in his constituency of Clacton, saying the property is in fact solely owned by his long-term partner.The Guardian revealed in May that the detached property in an upmarket part of Clacton-on-Sea was actually solely bought by Laure Ferrari, and when approached by the newspaper the Reform UK leader insisted his name did not appear because of “security reasons”.Farage had claimed to be the buyer of the property last November, in hope of dismissing criticism that he had not been spending enough time in is constituency.But on the final day of Reform’s conference in Birmingham, he admitted he was wrong to say he had “exchanged contracts” on the Clacton house.He told Sky News: “I should have said ‘we’

‘This is not chaos’: PM’s chief secretary defends reshuffle after Rayner’s exit

Keir Starmer’s government is not in chaos, the prime minister’s new chief secretary, Darren Jones, has said following an emergency reshuffle triggered by Angela Rayner’s resignation as deputy prime minister.The cabinet reshuffle, which had been planned for later in the autumn, was brought forward by Starmer in an attempt to assert control after Rayner was forced to step down from all three of her roles, having been found to have breached the ministerial code over her tax arrangements.Asked whether the public should see the flurry of ministerial changes as instability, just a week into the new parliamentary session and barely days after Starmer announced he had started “phase two” of his premiership, Jones told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the reshuffle was actually a show of leadership.“No, this is not chaos,” he said. “This reshuffle was accelerated ahead of what [Starmer] had wanted to do

What are the priorities for the new home secretary, Shabana Mahmood?

Shabana Mahmood’s promotion from lord chancellor to home secretary, making her the first Muslim woman in charge of a great office of state, comes with an in-tray groaning under the weight of perilous tasks.The MP for Birmingham Ladywood has won admirers for being an effective justice secretary and persuasive communicator while forcing through potentially explosive policies such as prisoners’ early release schemes and a new sentencing regime.But her ability to tackle her new responsibilities – which include immigration, national security and policing – will be seen as key to curbing the growing electoral threat of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party.Since 2018, six Conservative home secretaries and Mahmood’s predecessor, Yvette Cooper, have tried and failed to curb a steady rise in the number of people attempting to make it to the UK by climbing into small boats in France.Critics have pointed out that the “push factors” of war, famine and the climate crisis are beyond the control of the UK government

Who could replace Angela Rayner as deputy Labour leader?

Angela Rayner’s resignation not only as deputy prime minister but also as deputy Labour leader has triggered a fierce internal election battle to find her successor, and potentially a simultaneous battle for the soul of the party … again.Rayner, who was seen by many across the party as a future leader, dramatically quit her two government positions and the party’s deputy leadership on Friday after the independent adviser on ministerial interests concluded she had breached the code by underpaying stamp duty on her seaside flat in Hove.The MP for Ashton-under-Lyne won the deputy leadership in 2020 within the same ballot that propelled Keir Starmer to succeed Jeremy Corbyn.Her resignation now forces Labour to hold an election for the deputy leader of the party, though the winner will not necessarily become deputy prime minister – as David Lammy has now been appointed to the role.This contest comes at a problematic time for Starmer

Lammy made deputy PM with Cooper as foreign secretary and Mahmood at Home Office – as it happened

Here is the full list of the new-look cabinet.David Lammy will be justice secretary and deputy prime ministerYvette Cooper will be foreign secretaryShabana Mahmood will be home secretaryDarren Jones will be chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, and retains his new role as chief secretary to the prime ministerSteve Reed will be housing secretaryPeter Kyle will be business secretaryLiz Kendall will be science secretaryEmma Reynolds will be environment secretaryDouglas Alexander will be Scotland secretaryJonathan Reynolds will be chief whipAlan Campbell will be leader of the House of Commons.Keir Starmer implements a major reshuffle of his cabinet following Angela Rayner’s resignation earlier today from her government posts and position as deputy Labour leader over failing to pay enough tax on her £800,000 flat in East Sussex.The PM’s ethics adviser found that while Rayner “acted with integrity”, she had breached the ministerial code. Rayner said she takes “full responsibility” in her resignation letter

Crisis engulfs Labour as Angela Rayner is forced to step down as deputy PM

Keir Starmer is battling to get a grip on the crisis that has engulfed his government, with his deputy prime minister Angela Rayner forced to step down after breaching the ministerial code over her tax arrangements.The prime minister brought forward a major cabinet reshuffle in an attempt to restore order and get back on the front foot after a damaging few days, with Yvette Cooper, David Lammy and Shabana Mahmood all moved to prominent new roles.However, the fallout from the controversy over Rayner, who as housing secretary underpaid about £40,000 stamp duty on her seaside flat, is likely to further damage Labour’s already battered reputation, as it struggles to take on the challenge from Reform UK.With Rayner standing down from all three of her roles – which also included deputy leader of the Labour party – Downing Street is now braced for a bruising internal party contest to replace her, which frustrated MPs could use to try to force Starmer into a change of direction.It comes days after Downing Street attempted a reset after a difficult summer recess, during which Nigel Farage and migration policy dominated the headlines, and before a tough autumn during which Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, is expected to raise taxes to balance the nation’s books