Every paper on Saturday morning is leading on Angela Rayner’s resignation – after failing to pay enough stamp duty on her flat in Hove – and the ministerial shake-up it triggered. The Times headline reads “The great Rayner reshuffle”, reporting on Sir Keir Starmer’s new cabinet appointments as he tries to “overhaul his top team”.
The Daily Mail calls it “nightmare on Downing Street”. The paper says Yvette Cooper is appointed foreign secretary after “failing to tackle the small boats crisis” from her position in the Home Office. Former Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood will take up Cooper’s previous position.
The i Weekend says Shabana Mahmood, the new home secretary, is a “rising star” in the Labour Party, and has been “installed” in the Home Office to take a “harder line” on migrants and “slow Nigel Farage’s momentum”.
“Exit Rayner, now Starmer takes the fight to Reform” reads the headline of the Daily Telegraph, picturing MPs Pat McFadden and Ed Miliband alongside an image of Rayner. According to the paper, Miliband will retain his post as net zero secretary, while McFadden has been given a new “super-charged” department that will focus on “growth, containing benefits, pensions and skills briefs”.
“Starmer upends his cabinet after Rayner resigns over tax scandal” says the Financial Times. The paper calls the reshuffle a “big gamble”, and says that the moving of 11 ministers into new roles raises questions about whether they will perform better after the change.
“PM battles to contain crisis” says the Guardian, writing that fallout from the controversy is “likely to further damage Labour’s reputation”. The front page features a quote from Rayner’s resignation letter, which reads “for a teenage mum from a council estate to served at the highest level of government has been the greatest honour of my life”.
The Mirror brands Reform UK leader Nigel Farage a “stamp duty ‘hypocrite'”, alleging that he would have had to pay additional stamp duty for a home in Clacton were it not purchased by his partner.
Farage says Labour is “not fit to govern”, is a quote carried by the front page of the Daily Express. The paper writes that the Reform UK leader has urged voters to “kick Sir Keir Starmer’s government out of No10”, vowing to “save Britain”.
“Rayn’s over” says the Saturday edition of the Star, labelling the subsequent changes to cabinet a “government meltdown” and “frontbench mayhem”.
“Sunk” declares the Sun, with a photo of Rayner in an inflatable boat emblazoned on the front page.
