While the cat’s away… Deputy PM Angela Rayner chairs Cabinet for the first time with Keir Starmer in Canada for G7 summit
Angela Rayner had an opportunity to test out the big seat today as the Deputy Prime Minister chaired Cabinet for the first time.
With Sir Keir Starmer at the G7 in Canada it was left to his number two to host the regular gathering of ministers in Downing Street.
It is the first time she has stepped up this way since Labour won power, and the first time a DPM has taken Cabinet since Dominic Raab stood in for the hospitalised Boris Johnson during the Covid pandemic.
It comes amid signs that Ms Rayner is the minister best placed to replace Sir Keir if and when he steps down.
Earlier this month she received a huge leap in popularity among Labour members after demanding tax rises in a leaked memo.
She earned a massive 71-point approval rating, up from 46 points, on LabourList’s Cabinet league table as ranked by party members, after calling on Rachel Reeves to raise £3billion to £4billion a year from the wealthy.
Ms Rayner also came second on a list of potential prime ministers should Sir Keir not fight the next general election, winning the backing of 47 per cent.
She is only behind Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who doesn’t have a Westminster seat.
With Sir Keir Starmer at the G7 in Canada it was left to his number two to host the regular gathering of ministers in Downing Street.
Donald Trump and Sir Keir signed off a US-UK deal that will slash trade barriers on goods from both countries
It is the first time she has stepped up this way since Labour won power, and the first time a DPM has taken Cabinet since Dominic Raab stood in for the hospitalised Boris Johnson during the Covid pandemic.
A Downing Street spokesman said the Government was ‘getting on with the job’ while Sir Keir is away.
He said: ‘The whole Cabinet is focused on delivering for working people, and as the Prime Minister is at the G7, focused on exactly that, the Cabinet are doing the same within the UK.’
The Prime Minister is ‘always in charge’ and kept updated and the focus of the G7 to urge de-escalation in the Middle East was reflected in the Cabinet meeting, he said.
Ms Rayner opened the meeting by saying her thoughts were with all those who lost loved ones in the Air India plane crash last week and reflected on a ‘very moving’ memorial service at the Indian High Commission on Monday.
She the report into grooming gangs published yesterday made for ‘difficult reading for all’ and that the sexual exploitation of children was ‘truly heinous’.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said we cannot afford more ‘wasted years’ as she spoke about the response to Baroness Casey’s report and the new statutory inquiry being launched.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy gave updates on developments in the Middle East amid the intensifying conflict between Iran and Israel and efforts to support British nationals in the region.
Wes Streeting and Rachel Reeves arriving for Cabinet
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle arrive in Downing Street
Bridget Phillipson and Hilary Benn in Downing Street
US President Donald Trump and Sir Keir signed off a US-UK deal that will slash trade barriers on goods from both countries at the G7 on Monday.
But US tariffs for the steel industry will stand at 25 per cent for now rather than falling to zero as originally agreed.
This is less than the US global rate of 50 per cent for steel and aluminium.
The two leaders pledged to ‘make progress towards 0 per cent tariffs on core steel products as agreed’, the Department for Business and Trade said.
The Chinese ownership of the British Steel could be a sticking point in the deal on steel as the executive order signed by Mr Trump suggests the US wants assurances that the metal originates in the UK.
‘The United Kingdom also committed to working to meet American requirements on the security of the supply chains of steel and aluminium products intended for export to the United States and on the nature of ownership of relevant production facilities,’ the order states.
After signing it, the US President was asked whether steel tariffs would be eliminated, to which he replied: ‘We’re gonna let you have that information in a little while.’
