https://www.scmp.com/rss/523298/feed The latest news and top stories on Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government since July 2024. Known for her working-class background and trade union roots, she is also the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A defiant British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sought to move on Tuesday from fevered speculation about his future after fighting off strident calls to resign over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. Following a day of drama on Monday, the Labour leader told a meeting of government ministers that they were “strong and united” after he vowed not to depart office just 19 months into a five-year term. Starmer’s position had looked precarious on Monday when Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar demanded his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3343103/starmer-claims-uk-government-united-amid-calls-quit-over-epstein-fallout?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3343103/starmer-claims-uk-government-united-amid-calls-quit-over-epstein-fallout?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 14:48:51 +0000 Reuters Reuters British Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused on Monday ‌to heed calls to quit, even by the leader of his party in Scotland, pledging to fight on after his appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador plunged his government into ‍crisis. Under pressure over the appointment of a man whose close ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have come into full focus, Starmer has attempted to change the narrative. But a demand from Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, for him to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3342974/uks-starmer-refuses-heed-calls-quit-over-fallout-epstein-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3342974/uks-starmer-refuses-heed-calls-quit-over-fallout-epstein-scandal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Feb 2026 17:26:28 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned his governing Labour Party that removing him in 2026 would plunge Britain into “utter chaos” and open the door to a far-right government. The turmoil wrought by the constant chopping and changing of staff under the previous Conservative administration is “amongst the reasons that the Tories were booted out so effectively at the last election”, Starmer told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Sunday. Any repeat of that instability “would gift Nigel Farage”,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3338692/uks-starmer-says-ousting-him-would-lead-chaos-far-right-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3338692/uks-starmer-says-ousting-him-would-lead-chaos-far-right-government?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jan 2026 14:21:53 +0000 Cliff Buddle Cliff Buddle A disaster on the scale of Hong Kong’s deadly Wang Fuk Court fire requires an immediate response to support victims, pursue those responsible and make sweeping changes that will ensure such a tragedy never occurs again. Hong Kong is taking action on all these fronts following the blaze last month that killed 160 people, left around 5,000 homeless and plunged the city into mourning. Survivors have quickly been provided with accommodation and compensation. Citywide safety checks have been... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3336354/what-hong-kong-can-learn-deadly-london-flats-blaze?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/article/3336354/what-hong-kong-can-learn-deadly-london-flats-blaze?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2025 15:36:28 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A pep talk from Australian leader Anthony Albanese kick-started UK Labour’s annual conference on Sunday, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer struggling to convince nervous members that he can lead the “fight of our lives” against the surging hard-right. Although the ex-lawyer led Labour back to power in Britain in July last year after 14 years in opposition, scandals and policy missteps have already raised doubts about his future. The four-day gathering in Liverpool, northwest England, comes amid... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327167/starmer-warns-uk-labour-fight-our-lives-party-meets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3327167/starmer-warns-uk-labour-fight-our-lives-party-meets?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Sep 2025 17:55:11 +0000 Reuters Reuters US President Donald Trump kicked off his historic second state visit to Britain on Wednesday amid unprecedented pomp, intense security, technology investments and protests as King Charles and other royals welcomed their nation’s closest ally. Trump and his wife Melania are being hosted by the king at Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world and family home to British monarchs for almost 1,000 years, where he is being treated to the full array of British pageantry from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3325785/trump-arrives-uk-unprecedented-second-state-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3325785/trump-arrives-uk-unprecedented-second-state-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Sep 2025 22:18:04 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted on Monday that he would never have appointed Peter Mandelson as his ambassador in Washington if he had known the full extent of the diplomat’s relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The comments, Starmer’s first since he sacked Mandelson last week, come as the prime minister faces growing questions about his judgment, including from his own Labour MPs. Starmer, whose popularity has tanked since taking office in July 2024, has endured several days... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325645/embattled-starmer-defends-himself-over-ex-diplomat-peter-mandelsons-epstein-links?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325645/embattled-starmer-defends-himself-over-ex-diplomat-peter-mandelsons-epstein-links?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Sep 2025 17:53:29 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Prime Minister Keir Starmer was elected last July promising a “quieter” politics after years of chaos and scandal under the Conservatives. Losing two senior members of the UK government to scandal in less than a week sees the premier facing a charge he could never have imagined: that his Labour administration is no less noisy than the Tories. That is the perilous domestic subtext as US President Donald Trump flies to Britain for a historic second state visit on Tuesday. The timing of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325464/epsteins-ghost-may-haunt-trumps-uk-visit-starmer-swamped-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3325464/epsteins-ghost-may-haunt-trumps-uk-visit-starmer-swamped-crisis?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Sep 2025 04:26:26 +0000 Reuters Reuters British Prime Minister Keir Starmer brought in a new deputy and foreign and interior ministers on Friday in a sweeping reshuffle intended to restore his authority after the resignation of his deputy, Angela Rayner. Starmer moved foreign minister David Lammy to become deputy prime minister and replaced him with interior minister Yvette Cooper. She was in turn replaced by justice secretary Shabana Mahmood. All are loyal, trusted hands. After reshaping his Downing Street team last week to bolster... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324535/uks-deputy-pm-rayner-quits-over-property-tax-error?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324535/uks-deputy-pm-rayner-quits-over-property-tax-error?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Sep 2025 11:34:08 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press Angela Rayner, the deputy British prime minister, faced calls to resign on Wednesday after she admitted to not paying enough tax on a home purchase. Following weeks of press speculation regarding the tax paid on her purchase of a flat in Hove, on England’s south coast, Rayner said she has referred herself to the independent adviser on ministerial standards and that she has considered resigning. Prime Minister Keir Starmer offered his support to Rayner as opposition lawmakers demanded that she... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324219/starmers-deputy-pm-angela-rayner-considers-resigning-over-tax-error-us1-million-flat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3324219/starmers-deputy-pm-angela-rayner-considers-resigning-over-tax-error-us1-million-flat?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Sep 2025 11:47:14 +0000 Mark Logan Mark Logan In a world increasingly defined by digital diplomacy and virtual communication, the persistent struggle over bricks and mortar might seem like an old-fashioned skirmish. However, the ongoing saga of China’s proposed new embassy in London, England, proves that physical buildings remain potent symbols of power, prestige and national ambition. The dispute over the diplomatic compound is more than just a planning row; it is a microcosm of the complex, often fraught relationship between the UK and... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3322136/how-beijings-proposed-new-embassy-london-could-benefit-britain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3322136/how-beijings-proposed-new-embassy-london-could-benefit-britain?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Aug 2025 21:30:07 +0000