Who is David Lammy? Starmer’s new deputy PM and the faces of his reshuffled cabinet

David Lammy

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer named Foreign Secretary David Lammy as Deputy Prime Minister in a significant Cabinet reshuffle, following the resignation of Angela Rayner over a property tax underpayment issue.

Rayner stepped down after admitting she had underpaid stamp duty on a property, a controversy that has intensified pressure on Starmer’s Labour government just months before the next general election. Her departure is being seen as a major political setback for the centre-left administration.

Lammy, 53, has been elevated to Deputy Prime Minister while also retaining responsibility as Justice Secretary.

In the reshuffle, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper moves to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), replacing Lammy, while British Pakistani Shabana Mahmood takes charge of the Home Office after serving at the Ministry of Justice. The shake-up marks a broad reset at the top levels of government.

The changes come after a week of deliberations and shortly after Parliament reconvened from its summer break. Starmer had pledged a “phase two” for his Labour government, but the plan was overshadowed by revelations of Rayner’s tax default, which undermined her position.

Three senior ministers exited the Cabinet in the reshuffle: Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, Commons Leader Lucy Powell, and Scotland Secretary Ian Murray.

Starmer voiced regret over the departure of his top deputy after Sir Laurie Magnus, the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, concluded that Rayner had not upheld the “highest possible standards of proper conduct” and was therefore in breach of the Ministerial Code.

Who is David Lammy? 

David Lammy, a long-standing Labour politician, is widely recognised for his legal background, advocacy on social justice, and steady rise through government ranks.

Appointed Deputy Prime Minister in Keir Starmer’s Cabinet reshuffle on Friday, Lammy had served as Foreign Secretary from July 2024 to September 2025. He previously held ministerial roles under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown between 2002 and 2010, spanning health, culture, constitutional affairs, higher education and intellectual property.

Elected as MP for Tottenham in 2000 at just 27, Lammy has represented the constituency ever since. Born in North London in 1972 to Guyanese parents, he won a choral scholarship to The King’s School, Peterborough at age 10 and later became the first Black Briton to study at Harvard Law School, graduating with an LLM in 1997.

Lammy holds dual British and Guyanese citizenship and traces his roots to India through his great-grandmother, who migrated from Calcutta to Guyana under the indenture system. Outside politics, he is an author and broadcaster, best known for his book Tribes, which explores identity and belonging in modern Britain.

In July, as Foreign Secretary, he visited New Delhi to review bilateral ties in trade, defence, and security.