Starmer completes reshuffle as new home secretary faces small boat Channel crossings crisis: Live updates

The leader of the UK’s biggest trade union has warned it would be a “huge mistake” for the government to water down its Employment Rights Bill.

Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said she is concerned the government is no longer committed to implementing the bill in full, following Angela Rayner’s departure.

“We will do everything we can to make sure this is not watered down. We’re expecting a clear timetable, and if that doesn’t happen, there will be some very very unhappy trade union leaders around, including me,” she said.

The Bill is set to include protection against unfair dismissal, and a ban on “exploitative” zero-hours contracts.

Sir Keir Starmer has set out a plan to create new jobs in the defence sector in a bid to boost growth.

John Healey, the Defence Secretary, will unveil the Government’s new defence industrial strategy (DIS) on Monday, backed by £250m in investment, the Telegraph reported.

Ministers claim that the plans could create demand for up to 50,000 new jobs in defence by 2034-35.

Sir Keir Starmer has appointed ­“Blairites” to key roles in a cabinet ­reshuffle and handed the main economic departments to ministers on Labour’s reforming right flank, the Times reported.

The new housing secretary, Steve Reed, told civil servants to “build, baby, build” to kick-start growth.

Peter Kyle, appointed business secretary, is expected to focus on overhauling burdensome regulation, as Labour aims to cut costs on business by 25 per cent.

Some 1,097 migrants crossed the Channel in 17 boats on Saturday, bringing the total in 2025 so far to 30,100, Home Office figures show.

It is the earliest point in a calendar year at which the 30,000 mark has been passed since data on Channel crossings was first reported in 2018.

Last year, the figure was not passed until October 30 and in 2023 it was never reached as crossings totalled 29,437 for the whole year.

In 2022, the number was reached on September 21.

Angela Rayner’s replacement as Housing Secretary has vowed to “build baby build”.

Steve Reed has pledged to boost housebuilding amid concern in government that the economy is not growing quickly enough.

The Housing Secretary has identified that there are believed to be up to 1.4 million homes that have been granted permission but have not yet been built, the Telegraph reported.

Sir Keir Starmer has been warned by senior Labour figures to stop making mistakes.

Emily Thornberry, MP for Islington South and Finsbury, who confirmed she is considering running for the role of deputy prime minister, said further mistakes from Starmer could lead to having to “hand our country to [Nigel] Farage”.

Thornberry told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “Domestically, things just don’t seem to be working … People hear about the mistakes. And the question is, why are we making these mistakes?

“We can’t afford to keep doing this, because we’ve gone from having the fantastic gift from the British public of a huge majority to now being at 20 per cent in the polls, and we will have in the next election the biggest fight of our lives coming against Farage. And the last thing we want is to go from a position where it was thought we would be in for two terms, to hand our country over to Farage.”