KEIR Starmer has told his newly reshuffled Cabinet they a Government of "patriots" this morning.
The Prime Minister is setting out his stall for what he calls phase two of his leadership as his reshaped team meet for the first time.
The reshuffle was triggered following the resignation of Angela Rayner as housing secretary and deputy prime minister last Friday following a row over her underpaying stamp duty on a seaside flat she owns.
Rayner also gave up her role as deputy leader of the Labour Party.
Several ministers were handed new portfolios, with David Lammy replacing Rayner as Deputy Prime Minister and taking on the role of Justice Secretary.
Yvette Cooper replaced Lammy as Foreign Secretary while the position of Home Secretary is now held by Shabana Mahmood.
Starmer has told his Cabinet they are "the right people to deliver the growth this country needs", and he has branded them a "government of patriots".
He has told ministers they have to be part of a “team effort” and have a “patriotic duty” to offer national renewal.
It comes after the Prime Minister told a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday night that Reform UK are "plastic patriots".
Reform UK continues to outperform Labour in the polls, sitting at around 30% to Labour’s 20%, which has led to Starmer echoing many of the party leader Nigel Farage’s talking points.
Starmer claimed there are "plastic progressives on the other side too", adding "there's nothing progressive about a Green Party that opposes green infrastructure, blocks house building, and wants to take us out of Nato".
The Green Party elected a combative and charismatic new leader Zack Polanski last week, representing a fresh threat to Starmer from the left.
Several Labour MPs are now lining up to replace Rayner as deputy leader of Labour.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has thrown her hat in the ring alongside Emily Thornberry and Bell Ribeiro-Addy.
The Labour Party's National Executive Committee has laid out a timetable for the contest to elect a new deputy leader, with the result of the process set to be announced on October 25.
With nominations set to close on Thursday, the Labour leadership has been accused of trying to force through their own candidate by suspended Labour MP John McDonnell.
He claimed there was "deep seated insecurity" among Labour's senior figures, adding it was "almost impossible" for a left-wing candidate to get on the ballot.
Anyone who wishes to make it onto the ballot for deputy leader will need to gather the support of 80 MPs before Thursday.
The ballot for candidates who clear the nomination hurdles will open on October 8 and close at noon on October 23.
