{"id":6546,"date":"2025-09-06T19:32:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T19:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/6546\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T19:32:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T19:32:08","slug":"keir-starmer-confirms-first-batch-of-junior-ministers-in-post-rayner-reshuffle-as-it-happened-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/6546\/","title":{"rendered":"Keir Starmer confirms first batch of junior ministers in post-Rayner reshuffle \u2013 as it happened | Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Downing Street confirms first batch of junior ministers<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Downing Street has now confirmed the first swathe of junior ministers appointed in the reshuffle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/ministerial-appointments-5-september-2025#full-publication-update-history\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">list<\/a> is as follows:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Jason Stockwood has been appointed investment minister jointly in the Department for Business and Trade and the Treasury<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Dan Jarvis joins the Cabinet Office as a minister, while remaining security minister in the Home Office<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Lady Jacqui Smith has taken up the role of skills minister in the Department for Work and Pensions. She will remain as both the skills and women and equalities minister in the Department for Education<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Lord Patrick Vallance as a minister in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. He will remain minister in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Michael Shanks as a minister jointly in the Department for Business and Trade and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Alison McGovern has been appointed to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Dame Angela Eagle will join the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Dame Diana Johnson has moved to the Department for Work and Pensions<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Sarah Jones MP has been appointed to the Home Office<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Lady Poppy Gustafsson, Jim McMahon and Daniel Zeichner have left the government.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Keir Starmer confirms first batch of junior ministers in post-Rayner reshuffle \u2013 as it happened&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/live\/2025\/sep\/06\/no-early-election-angela-rayner-resignation-nigel-farage-reform-uk-politics-live-news-latest?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68bc48b08f087e152e27fc79#block-68bc48b08f087e152e27fc79\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Key events<\/p>\n<p>Show key events only<\/p>\n<p>Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n<p>A summary of today&#8217;s developments<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Downing Street has confirmed the first swathe of junior ministers appointed in the reshuffle. Jason Stockwood has been appointed investment minister jointly in the Department for Business and Trade and the Treasury, while Dan Jarvis joins the Cabinet Office as a minister, while remaining security minister in the Home Office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Lady Jacqui Smith has taken up the role of skills minister in the Department for Work and Pensions. She will remain as both the skills and women and equalities minister in the Department for Education, while Lord Patrick Vallance is a minister in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Dame Angela Eagle will join the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Dame Diana Johnson has moved to the Department for Work and Pensions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Lady Poppy Gustafsson, Jim McMahon and Daniel Zeichner have left the government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Justin Madders was the first junior minister to be sacked in Saturday\u2019s further reshuffle. The minister for employment rights, who worked under former business secretary, now chief whip, Jonathan Reynolds at the Department for Business and Trade, said he had been dismissed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Ellie Reeves is solicitor general, while Anna Turley will succeed Reeves as Labour Party chair who will attend cabinet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Lucy Rigby has been moved from solicitor general to economic secretary to the Treasury, while Luke Pollard has received a promotion from under-secretary of state to minister of state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2025\/sep\/06\/nigel-farage-admits-he-was-wrong-to-say-he-had-bought-house-in-clacton\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nigel Farage said he misspoke when he said he bought a house in Clacton<\/a> before the last election. The Reform leader said last year he had bought a home in his Clacton constituency, but it was later reported that his partner had actually made the purchase.He told Sky News: \u201cI should have said \u2018we\u2019. All right? My partner bought it, so what?\u201d He said it was \u201cher money\u201d and \u201cher asset\u201d. \u201cI own none of it. But I just happen to spend some time there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2025\/sep\/06\/unite-sharon-graham-labour-has-one-year-to-get-it-right-farage-starmer\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Labour\u2019s most powerful union backer <\/a>has warned that Keir Starmer is in danger of bolstering support for Nigel Farage, arguing that the government has failed to support oil and gas workers and watered down plans to boost employment rights. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said voters could be left feeling \u201cduped\u201d by Labour after the government scaled back planned changes to ban zero-hours contracts and exploitative \u201cfire-and-rehire\u201d practices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Newly appointed business secretary Peter Kyle has confirmed to business chiefs that he will meet the Trump administration in Washington next week ahead of travelling to China for trade talks. On a video call of around 100 CEOs, entrepreneurs and trade unions, he highlighted the importance of technology to boost the economy and said the UK must \u201cdouble down\u201d on growth as he sought to set the tone for his future in the role.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Keir Starmer confirms first batch of junior ministers in post-Rayner reshuffle \u2013 as it happened&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/live\/2025\/sep\/06\/no-early-election-angela-rayner-resignation-nigel-farage-reform-uk-politics-live-news-latest?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68bc80228f085f50533e902b#block-68bc80228f085f50533e902b\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The UK cannot take its \u201cspecial relationship\u201d with the US for granted, Britain\u2019s ambassador to Washington has warned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In a wide-ranging speech, Lord Peter Mandelson, a key architect of New <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/labour\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Labour<\/a>, said the country cannot afford to show any \u201ccomplacency\u201d over Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cinstinctive warmth\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The former minister, who was a staunch Remainer during the EU referendum, also painted Brexit as a liberating force that has allowed Britain to pursue closer ties with America.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Speaking at the Ditchley Foundation, a charity focused on transatlantic relations, he said: \u201cLike it or not, our US partnership has become indispensable to the functioning of our nation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cBeyond President Trump\u2019s instinctive warmth towards Britain \u2013 and it\u2019s real \u2013 we cannot simply take it for granted that the breadth of this, and of future US administrations, will see the value of the special relationship in the way that we do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThere can be no complacency on our part.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIt is vital that we demonstrate to the next tier of US political leadership and to the next Republican and Democrat generations, exactly how UK partnerships in economics, technology and security deliver tangible value for Americans and Brits alike.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Keir Starmer confirms first batch of junior ministers in post-Rayner reshuffle \u2013 as it happened&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/live\/2025\/sep\/06\/no-early-election-angela-rayner-resignation-nigel-farage-reform-uk-politics-live-news-latest?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68bc7b828f085f50533e9019#block-68bc7b828f085f50533e9019\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Ben_Quinn.png\" alt=\"Ben Quinn\" class=\"dcr-lysqes\"\/>Ben Quinn<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A controversial doctor given top billing at the Reform party conference has used his main-stage speech to air a claim the Covid vaccine caused cancer in the royal family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The speech by Aseem Malhotra, a British cardiologist who was appointed as a senior adviser to the US health secretary and vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy, drew sharp intakes of breath in the Birmingham auditorium where he was handed a prime speaking slot.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">After setting out what he said were findings showing that vaccines \u201ccreated havoc\u201d in the human body, Malhotra said he had been asked to share something by a doctor who he described as one of Britain\u2019s most eminent oncologists.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cHe thinks it\u2019s highly likely that the Covid vaccines have been a factor, a significant factor in the cancer of members of the royal family,\u201d said Malhotra, who had previously said: \u201cThis isn\u2019t just his opinion many other doctors feel the same way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The remarks drew immediate condemnation from the health secretary, Wes Streeting, and others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWhen we are seeing falling numbers of parents getting their children vaccinated, and a resurgence of disease we had previously eradicated, it is shockingly irresponsible for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/nigel-farage\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nigel Farage<\/a> to give a platform to these poisonous lies,\u201d said Streeting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cFarage should apologise and sever all ties with this dangerous extremism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A spokesperson for Cancer Research UK said: \u201cThere is no good evidence of a link between the Covid-19 vaccine and cancer risk. The vaccine is a safe and effective way to protect against the infection and prevent serious symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Keir Starmer confirms first batch of junior ministers in post-Rayner reshuffle \u2013 as it happened&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/live\/2025\/sep\/06\/no-early-election-angela-rayner-resignation-nigel-farage-reform-uk-politics-live-news-latest?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68bc72598f087e152e27fd92#block-68bc72598f087e152e27fd92\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Sarah Jones\u2019 new role in the Home Office is as policing minister, the PA news agency understands.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Keir Starmer confirms first batch of junior ministers in post-Rayner reshuffle \u2013 as it happened&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/live\/2025\/sep\/06\/no-early-election-angela-rayner-resignation-nigel-farage-reform-uk-politics-live-news-latest?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68bc68498f087e152e27fd5b#block-68bc68498f087e152e27fd5b\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Newly appointed business secretary Peter Kyle has confirmed to business chiefs that he will meet the Trump administration in Washington next week ahead of travelling to China for trade talks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">On a video call of around 100 CEOs, entrepreneurs and trade unions, he highlighted the importance of technology to boost the economy and said the UK must \u201cdouble down\u201d on growth as he sought to set the tone for his future in the role.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He said: \u201cI want Government to be seen as an active partner that delivers success, supports new business and backs wealth creation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThis Government\u2019s number one mission is economic growth. We need to crack on and do it. We must double down, while being creative and unrelenting in pursuit of our goal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI want this to be the greatest place to start a business, or scale up. We haven\u2019t maximised the potential in this country, and I\u2019m ambitious in wanting to see the first trillion-dollar company to emerge from the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Kyle also confirmed he would be in Washington early next week to engage with the White House ahead of the US president\u2019s state visit, before travelling to Beijing for trade talks.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Keir Starmer confirms first batch of junior ministers in post-Rayner reshuffle \u2013 as it happened&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/live\/2025\/sep\/06\/no-early-election-angela-rayner-resignation-nigel-farage-reform-uk-politics-live-news-latest?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68bc65d78f08638a14b78b6c#block-68bc65d78f08638a14b78b6c\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Labour\u2019s most powerful union backer has warned that Keir Starmer is in danger of bolstering support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/nigel-farage\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nigel Farage<\/a>, arguing that the government has failed to support oil and gas workers and watered down plans to boost employment rights.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/profile\/sharon-graham\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sharon Graham<\/a>, the general secretary of Unite, said voters could be left feeling \u201cduped\u201d by Labour after the government scaled back planned changes to ban zero-hours contracts and exploitative \u201cfire-and-rehire\u201d practices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">As polls show <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/brexit-party\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Reform UK<\/a> on course to become the largest party in the next parliament, the leader of the UK\u2019s largest private sector union said Labour had not adopted its proposals to create new jobs for workers in fossil fuel industries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Speaking to the Guardian before the start of the annual TUC conference on Sunday, Graham said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/labour\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Labour<\/a> had a short time to turn things around or see support from union members leach away to other parties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThey have one year to get this right because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/nigel-farage\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nigel Farage<\/a> is on their tail.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cAnd don\u2019t get me wrong, Farage is not the answer, but he is a good communicator. And whether we like it or not, when he is talking about net zero, and about what\u2019s happened to communities and workers, people are hearing what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/labour\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Labour<\/a> used to say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">She said that, with high inflation already taking a toll on household budgets, mooted tax rises in Rachel Reeves\u2019s autumn budget would be the final straw for many Labour voters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Graham said Labour needed to avoid taxing workers to fill the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/business\/2025\/jul\/08\/uk-public-finances-obr-national-debt-gdp\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">gap in the public finances<\/a> and start drawing up plans for a wealth tax.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIf this keeps happening, the feeling that workers always pay, but they\u2019re leaving the super-rich totally untouched \u2013 I think they won\u2019t recover from it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Keir Starmer confirms first batch of junior ministers in post-Rayner reshuffle \u2013 as it happened&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/live\/2025\/sep\/06\/no-early-election-angela-rayner-resignation-nigel-farage-reform-uk-politics-live-news-latest?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68bc5baf8f085f50533e8f34#block-68bc5baf8f085f50533e8f34\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Downing Street has announced the latest batch of ministerial appointments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Ellie Reeves is solicitor general, while Anna Turley will succeed Reeves as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/labour\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Labour<\/a> Party chair who will attend cabinet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Lucy Rigby has been moved from solicitor general to economic secretary to the Treasury, while Luke Pollard has received a promotion from under-secretary of state to minister of state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Here is the full list:<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Anna Turley MP as Minister of State in the Cabinet Office (Minister without Portfolio).<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Alex Norris MP as Minister of State in the Home Department.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Sir Chris Bryant MP as Minister of State in the Department for Business and Trade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Luke Pollard MP as Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Georgia Gould MP as Minister of State in the Department for Education.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Rt Hon Ellie Reeves MP as Solicitor General.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Lucy Rigby MP as Parliamentary Secretary (Economic Secretary to the Treasury) in HM Treasury.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Keir Starmer confirms first batch of junior ministers in post-Rayner reshuffle \u2013 as it happened&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/live\/2025\/sep\/06\/no-early-election-angela-rayner-resignation-nigel-farage-reform-uk-politics-live-news-latest?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68bc5c818f085f50533e8f3b#block-68bc5c818f085f50533e8f3b\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Nigel Farage has urged Reform UK members to keep their disputes private as he returned to the stage to close the party\u2019s annual conference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cMy sort of big message at the end of this conference as we head towards those massive elections in Wales, in Scotland, in London, in the Midlands and elsewhere next year, is that you are the people\u2019s army,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cAnd to succeed it needs one thing: discipline. Can we please exercise discipline?<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cAnd air our disagreements between each other in private and not in public. And if we do that, we will succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He brought MP Lee Anderson to the stage and said he would be the party\u2019s welfare spokesman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Farage ended the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/brexit-party\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Reform UK<\/a> conference by bringing fellow elected party politicians onstage to sing the national anthem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He handed the microphone to Greater Lincolnshire mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns to sing.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Keir Starmer confirms first batch of junior ministers in post-Rayner reshuffle \u2013 as it happened&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/live\/2025\/sep\/06\/no-early-election-angela-rayner-resignation-nigel-farage-reform-uk-politics-live-news-latest?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68bc575d8f087e152e27fcd3#block-68bc575d8f087e152e27fcd3\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Philip_Inman.png\" alt=\"Phillip Inman\" class=\"dcr-lysqes\"\/>Phillip Inman<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Rachel Reeves could stop giving money away if she wants to close the UK\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/2025\/aug\/06\/tax-rises-budget-deficit-rachel-reeves-niesr\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">looming spending gap<\/a>. And baby boomers could be her first target.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">At the moment the chancellor gives away more than \u00a350bn in tax relief for pension saving, most of which goes to wealthier boomers and better-paid gen Xers who do not need the money and would save anyway if state support was more limited.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A remodelling of pension subsidies \u2013 cutting the 40p higher rate to a flat rate of 25p for all savers \u2013 could claw back \u00a310bn to \u00a320bn in extra income tax and national insurance payments, depending on how the new regime is constructed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In a separate but related move, Reeves could reduce or scrap the tax-free allowance, a privilege that allows for a quarter of retirement savings to be taken as a tax-free lump sum.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Keir Starmer confirms first batch of junior ministers in post-Rayner reshuffle \u2013 as it happened&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/live\/2025\/sep\/06\/no-early-election-angela-rayner-resignation-nigel-farage-reform-uk-politics-live-news-latest?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68bc54698f087e152e27fcbe#block-68bc54698f087e152e27fcbe\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Richard Tice also joked about using weight loss jabs to slim down the government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He said: \u201cThere\u2019s a jab flying around, a jab that sort of helps reduce the size of our waste.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cSo, I thought, \u2018well, maybe should we apply a bit of the old Wegovy to slim down the civil service, a touch of the old Mounjaro to reduce the size of the quangos and \u2026 last but not least, a bit of the Ozempic to reduce the bloated welfare state\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Keir Starmer confirms first batch of junior ministers in post-Rayner reshuffle \u2013 as it happened&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/live\/2025\/sep\/06\/no-early-election-angela-rayner-resignation-nigel-farage-reform-uk-politics-live-news-latest?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-68bc54428f087e152e27fcbc#block-68bc54428f087e152e27fcbc\" type=\"button\" class=\"dcr-1mulgdf\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Downing Street confirms first batch of junior ministers Downing Street has now confirmed the first swathe of junior&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6547,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-6546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}