Shake-up focuses on economic know-howpublished at 13:23 BST 1 September

13:23 BST 1 September

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

There is a pronounced focus in this shake-up on beefing up the economic know-how in 10 Downing Street.

Jones - appointed to a new position in Starmer's team - has spent the past fourteen months as Rachel Reeves's second in command.

The civil servant now running Starmer's private office has spent his career at the Treasury. Baroness Shafik, the prime minister's new chief economic adviser, is a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, among other illustrious qualifications.

This is a recognition that this autumn's Budget will not just be a defining moment of the next few months but of this entire government, however long it lasts.

Some senior government figures are interpreting this as the prime minister wanting to take a bigger personal role in the discussions in the run-up to the Budget.

Those around Reeves say that she had been pushing for some time for Starmer to boost his economic team, and that she was heavily involved in discussions with the prime minister about the broader rejig of his staff.

Image source, PA Media

Ahead of Parliament resuming this afternoon and after a flurry of new updates this morning, you'd be forgiven for needing a refresher on the who, what and where of MPs in Starmer's cabinet.

For that, we've got a handy interactive guide.

Tim Allan, a former adviser to Tony Blair, has returned to government as an executive director of communications.

Allan advised Blair in the 1990s, first in opposition and then taking on a Downing Street communications role when Labour won power.

He left in 1998 to become director of communications at TV company BSkyB, and went on to found the high-profile political communications consultancy firm Portland Communications.

As we've been reporting, one of Starmer's directors of communications is departing in today's shake-up. James Lyons, who had been sharing the role with Steph Driver since March, is leaving No 10.

Another former Blair adviser, Matthew Doyle, left the Downing Street communications team in March.

Image source, Reuters

We've been following changes to Keir Starmer's top team all morning - and we're going to hear from the prime minister directly on BBC Radio 5 Live shortly.

You can tune into the interview with presenter Matt Chorley from 14:00 BST.

You'll be able to follow the interview by pressing watch live at the top of this page, on the radio or via BBC Sounds - and we'll also be bringing you the key lines here, too. Stick with us.

Image source, UK Pool

Ahead of the government's asylum announcement later, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch says: "There is a lot more that can be done on immigration control... Labour do not have the stomach to do it."

Speaking during a visit to a housing development in Surrey, she criticises the government over its response to an injunction barring asylum seekers from staying at a hotel in Epping, Essex. That injunction was overturned after the government appealed.

Badenoch says the intervention shows the government "believe that illegal migrants have more rights than our local communities".

As a reminder, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is expected to announce later that the government will tighten the rules on asylum seekers bringing family members to the UK.

It's Parliament's first morning back after summer recess and already there's plenty to report.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has made some changes in his ranks, moving cabinet minister Darren Jones to a new role as chief secretary to the prime minister, a shift from chief secretary to the Treasury.

James Murray, who was the exchequer secretary to the Treasury, is moving to fill that chief secretary role.

James Lyons, a No 10 director of communications, is leaving his role after a year, and Baroness Shafik, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, has been hired as the prime minister's economic adviser.

New changes to childcare provisions also came into force today, as the government is funding more free places for working parents under certain conditions.

There's more to come, too, as Parliament resumes at 14:30 this afternoon.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is due to speak on tightening the rules on asylum seekers bringing their families to the UK.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier it was announced that James Murray is taking over the role of chief secretary to the Treasury, as Darren Jones departs for a new role in No 10.

Since Labour returned to power last year, Murray has been a junior minister at the Treasury.

The 42-year-old has been an MP for Ealing North since 2019, and prior to that was a councillor in Islington, London, for a decade.

He was also an adviser to London mayor Sadiq Khan, serving as his deputy housing lead.

The new role means Murray will be responsible for public spending, including spending reviews and planning, and will effectively serve as Chancellor Rachel Reeves' deputy.

Away from the political intrigue in Westminster, the government has been reminding people that more free childcare becomes available for eligible parents today.

Working parents of children aged between nine months and four years old in England now have access to 30 hours a week of childcare during term time, funded by the government.

Earlier this morning, Stephen Morgan, minster for early education, says the move "eases pressure" on hundreds of thousands of families.

He says Labour "inherited a pledge without a plan" on boosting childcare from the previous government, but have delivered it.

Pushed on a lack of staffing in the sector, Morgan admits that has been a challenge, but says officials have been working with businesses to help them find suitable staff.

• How working parents can get 30 hours of free childcare

There has been some critical reaction from the Conservatives and Reform UK to this morning's changes at No 10.

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel writes that the government "is a complete circus" and "full of jokers".

Tory MP Andrew Griffiths says moving Darren Jones from the Treasury to No 10 is "not the largest vote of confidence in Rachel Reeves".

And Reform UK chairman David Bull says the government is "in a death spiral".

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

One of Keir Starmer's directors of communications is leaving Downing Street.

James Lyons has been sharing the role with Steph Driver since March, having been part of the prime minister's team since October last year.

His departure is part of a broader shakeup of Downing Street staff at the start of the new parliamentary year.

Last week the BBC revealed that the prime minister's principal private secretary, the civil servant Nin Pandit, was being moved to a policy role.

Baroness Shafik, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England, has been hired as the prime minister's economic adviser.

And as we've been reporting, Darren Jones has been appointed to a new No 10 role.

Today's No 10 shake-up is a big deal - here are three reasons whypublished at 10:22 BST 1 September

10:22 BST 1 September

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Image source, EPA

Many of the names involved in this shake-up are not even household names in Westminster. But this is a big deal in three ways.

First, in its organisational innovation. If you’re struggling to recall who was chief secretary to the prime minister before Darren Jones, the answer is that there wasn’t one. The role is a new creation, designed to give Starmer firmer command of the government machine he has complained is sluggish and unwieldy.

Second, in its ruthlessness. This is a theme of Starmer’s leadership but he is willing to demote, sideline or dispense with people who have served him very closely. On the other hand, some of those being sidelined today were appointed not long ago at all by Starmer himself – so, to some, ruthlessness could just be a nice way of saying he is correcting his own errors.

Third, in what it says about how Starmer himself sees his premiership having gone so far. The shake-up is, implicitly, an admission that the first year and a bit of Starmer’s tenure has not exactly gone to plan. And this is his attempt to ensure the next year and a bit goes a lot better. If it doesn’t work, the political implications will be significant.

As we've been reporting, Keir Starmer has created a brand new role in his cabinet this morning: chief secretary to the prime minister.

He has appointed Darren Jones to that job, a serving minister who has been in the Commons since 2017.

The Bristol North West MP has been chief secretary to the Treasury - effectively Chancellor Rachel Reeves' deputy - since Labour came to power last July.

Jones, 38, has been a regular spokesperson for the government in the media, particularly on economic issues.

He caused some controversy in March after likening disability benefits to pocket money during an appearance on the BBC.

Jones was a guest on Nick Robinson's Political Thinking podcast last year, where he spoke about growing up in a household where food was sometimes scarce, and his political rise.

On the first day back after summer recess, there have been some immediate changes at No 10.

Here's what we have heard so far this morning:

• Prime Minister Keir Starmer appoints cabinet minister Darren Jones as chief secretary to the Prime Minister
• He previously held the role of chief secretary to the Treasury
• This role will be replaced by James Murray, previously the exchequer secretary to the Treasury
• Murray will be replaced by Dan Tomlinson, an economist who was first elected as a Labour MP at last year's general election
• Last week, Starmer replaced principal private secretary Nin Pandit, the top civil servant in his Downing Street office

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Darren Jones will continue to attend cabinet.

His title will be chief secretary to the Prime Minister.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

The cabinet minister Darren Jones has been appointed to a new position in Keir Starmer's Downing Street.

Jones, previously chief secretary to the Treasury, will be responsible for helping to deliver the prime minister's priorities.

He will be replaced as chief secretary to the Treasury by James Murray, previously the exchequer secretary to the Treasury.

Murray's replacement is Dan Tomlinson, an economist who was first elected as a Labour MP at last year's general election.

Appointing an MP to a backroom role in Downing Street is unusual but not unprecedented.

Steve Barclay, a Conservative MP, was Boris Johnson's Downing Street chief of staff.

We can now bring you fresh response from the shadow home secretary, who says the government's proposed rule changes around the asylum system are a "tiny tweak that will make very little difference".

As reminder, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is set to speak in the House of Commons this afternoon, where she will outline reforms to rules for asylum seekers' family members' seeking to join them in the UK.

Philp tells BBC Breakfast: "People who cross the Channel illegally shouldn’t be able to bring any family members over here at all."

Instead, he says that if the government is "serious" about fixing the issue, they should be ensuring that everyone who arrives illegally is immediately removed.

Pressed on how the Conservatives would act differently, Philp raises the former government's plans to send migrants to Rwanda, and argues Labour "made a terrible mistake" in cancelling the scheme when it came to power in July.

“The government seems to be in complete denial that they’re presiding over a borders crisis," he says.

Image source, Reuters

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper wants to tighten the rules which govern how migrants granted asylum are able to bring their families to the UK.

When she speaks in the House of Commons later this afternoon, she is expected to set out new criteria for family members - including tougher English language standards and new rules on access to sufficient funds.

Cooper will also outline reforms to the asylum appeals system, and will reiterate the government's stance that it wants to end the use of hotels for migrants arriving on small boats.

As for the government's progress on immigration so far, the home secretary will highlight the National Crime Agency's efforts in tackling people smugglers, saying it led 347 disruptions of immigration crime networks in 2024-25 - the highest level on record and a 40% increase on the previous 12 months.

In the Commons, the home secretary is expected to say the NCA efforts have led to "a significant and long term impact" on people smugglers.

Cooper will also update MPs on the UK's returns deal with France, with the first deportations due to take place in the coming weeks.

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will today announce plans to tighten rules for migrants granted asylum in the UK - by introducing stricter criteria on how family members can be brought into the country.

Cooper will address the Commons a little later as her fellow MPs don their uniforms for the resumption of Parliament following summer recess today.

The immigration announcement follows a series of protests over the summer, as the government faces pressure to end its use of hotels for migrants arriving on small boats.

The home secretary will say that an overhaul of a "broken" asylum system seeks to end the use of hotels for migrants arriving on small boats, but the Conservatives say "Labour's claim to have smashed the gangs is completely discredited".

As we gear up to coverage of Cooper's speech - which we expect around mid-afternoon - we'll catch you up on what's been happening since Westminster went on recess.