Angela Rayner’s departure has precipitated a wide-ranging reshuffle that means some of the government’s biggest names will be moving jobs. Here are the most significant changes.

Shabana Mahmood

The big move of the reshuffle. As home secretary, Mahmood, the daughter of immigrants, faces the daunting task of fronting the government’s approach to immigration and Channel crossings. The issue has been relentlessly pursued by Reform UK over the summer, boosting its polling numbers in the process and spooking Labour at all levels.

The former justice secretary impressed Starmer’s team with her handling of the prisons crisis, tackling some of the most difficult issues of the ageing estate in the early months of government. She also impressed during her time as campaign coordinator before the last general election.

However, Mahmood has faced personally difficult issues, most obviously with her concerns over the government’s initial reluctance to call for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza. Last year, Labour’s most senior Muslim woman urged her party to rebuild relations with Muslim voters.

Justice secretary to home secretary

Yvette Cooper

Cooper remains in one of the great offices of state. She becomes foreign secretary at a time of huge global uncertainty, from the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, to the delicate relations with Donald Trump’s White House. In reality, her move ensures she remains in a top job while freeing up the home secretary role for someone regarded by No 10 as a clearer communicator, with immigration continuing to fuel Reform’s rise.

While Cooper has concentrated on the detail of immigration policy, Labour figures have persistently questioned her decisiveness in the role. Along with the economy, dealing with immigration remains Downing Street’s clear priority.

The more diplomatic role leans into Cooper’s strength of moulding carefully trodden policy positions – a quality needed on the world stage at a time of international unrest. The move keeps an established figure in a big job.

Home secretary to foreign secretary

David Lammy

Moving from the Foreign Office to the Ministry of Justice would undoubtedly be a demotion, but the added bauble of the deputy prime minister title means Lammy will retain a close relationship with No 10 and Keir Starmer, his fellow London MP.

Giving the deputy role to Lammy means that – after Angela Rayner’s departure from the post – it remains in the hands of a figure who has risen to the top of government from a working-class background. Lammy has talked of having a “dysfunctional” childhood.

He also knows the justice brief well, having covered it in opposition. He comes into the job with the Tories and Reform raising questions about crime and shoplifting.

The move also has to be seen as part of a three-way cabinet shift that allows the Home Office to be freed up, without putting the noses of Lammy and Cooper out of joint.

Foreign secretary to justice secretary and deputy prime minister

Peter Kyle

The former technology secretary is close to Downing Street and Starmer’s team rate his communication skills. He is also perceived as one of the ministers who have embraced No 10’s order to the cabinet to prioritise growth, which has led him to forge a close relationship with some of big tech’s biggest players. That, in turn, has caused concern among some, worried about the overbearing power of the sector. However, he has created a reputation as a figure looking to bring the technologies of the future to Britain.

It is hoped that in the business brief he will bring a similar zeal to the government’s misfiring attempts to ignite economic growth – key to the success of Starmer’s administration. However, his first task may be to build bridges with business leaders angry about recent tax changes and rebuild the strong relationship the party had with industry before the election.

Technology secretary to business secretary

Pat McFadden

The veteran Blairite has wielded significant sway within the government for some time as a cabinet office minister. He has been perceived as someone with the experience and calm head to get things done, even as others struggle with the pressure. His favoured status has only been enhanced by the arrival in Downing Street of Tim Allan, Starmer’s new communications chief and another prominent figure from the Blair years.

However, the decision to hand McFadden a new “super ministry” focused on growth, taking in work and pensions and responsibility for skills that previously sat with the education department, is a sign that Downing Street realises it needs to go harder on its economic growth plans. 

McFadden is trusted, but he has a huge task on his hands in showing that the government can move the dial on welfare and Britain’s economy.

Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster to work and pensions secretary and head of ‘super ministry’

Douglas Alexander

Alexander’s appointment suggests Starmer believes Labour needs a more cerebral and effective political operator in the post as Scottish Labour struggles to overturn a steep slump in the polls. A former aide to Gordon Brown, Alexander is Labour’s most experienced Scottish MP. A former international development secretary, transport secretary and briefly Scotland secretary under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, he is intimately familiar with the corridors of Whitehall and known for his deep understanding of political strategy.

Starmer’s decision to sack Murray shocked many in Scottish Labour – he was the party’s sole Scottish MP for eight years, building an unassailable electoral coalition in his seat of Edinburgh South. But some sources suggest Murray did not have sufficient weight and presence at the cabinet table.

With the polls suggesting Starmer faces a humiliating defeat in next May’s Holyrood elections at the hands of the Scottish National party, the prime minister decided to act.

Cabinet Office minister to Scotland secretary