Burnham's Cabinet: Healey Chancellor, Miliband To Foreign, Rayner Returns, Streeting To Defence
New Chancellor John Healey walks up Downing Street (Alamy)
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Andy Burnham has appointed John Healey as his Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Healey, who resigned as defence secretary in June over former prime minister Keir Starmer's planned defence spending, was Burnham's first Cabinet appointment on Monday.
The new Prime Minister has made Ed Miliband his Foreign Secretary and Lou Haigh the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The latter played a key role in Burnham's journey from the Manchester mayoralty to No 10.
Shabana Mahmood will stay as Home Secretary, despite being linked with other ministerial positions. Pat McFadden (Work & Pensions), Lisa Nandy (Culture) and Heidi Alexander (Transport) are also staying in their roles.
Yvette Cooper has been made Health Secretary and Lucy Powell the new Education Secretary.
Wes Streeting, who was seen as Burnham's main rival to the Labour leadership, is the new Defence Secretary.
Miatta Fahnbulleh, who helped Burnham with policy before becoming PM, is the new Energy Secretary.
Angela Rayner has returned to government after resigning over unpaid stamp duty last year. Rayner will be the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the role she left when she quit in September.
Elsewhere, Jonathan Reynolds will take charge of an expanded business department, while another of Burnham's allies, Knowsley MP Anneliese Midgley, is the new Chief Whip.
Bridget Phillipson has been made Minister for Women and Equalities, having held the education brief under Starmer.
Angela Eagle is the new Environment Secretary, while Kanishka Narayan becomes the first ever Cabinet minister for Artificial Intelligence.
Chris Bryant and Stephen Kinnock are the new secretaries of state for Northern Ireland and Wales respectively, while Douglas Alexander keeps the Scottish brief.
Here is Burnham's Cabinet in full:
Chancellor of the Exchequer - John Healey
Foreign Secretary - Ed Miliband
Home Secretary - Shabana Mahmood
Defence Secretary - Wes Streeting
Health Secretary - Yvette Cooper
Education Secretary - Lucy Powell
Housing Secretary - Angela Rayner
Energy Secretary - Miatta Fahnbulleh
Environment Secretary - Angela Eagle
Work & Pensions Secretary - Pat McFadden
Business Secretary - Jonathan Reynolds
Justice Secretary - Alex Norris
Transport Secretary - Heidi Alexander
Culture Secretary - Lisa Nandy
AI Minister - Kanishka Narayan
Scotland Secretary - Douglas Alexander
Northern Ireland Secretary - Chris Bryant
Wales Secretary - Stephen Kinnock
Chief Whip - Anneliese Midgley
Chief Secretary to the Treasury - Emma Reynolds
Attorney General - Ellie Reeves
European Relations Minister - Hamish Falconer
House of Commons Leader - Alan Campbell
House of Lords Leader - Baroness Smith
Healey, a Yorkshire MP, has said that Britain should increase its decrease spending to reach 3 per cent of GDP by 2030 in response to global threats, up from the current planned level of 2.7 per cent.
He replaced Rachel Reeves, who has left government along with other close Starmer allies to make way for the new administration.
In a statement on X, he wrote: "It is the greatest privilege to be appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by the Prime Minister.
"Together we will build a new economy, build new hope and advance the working people of this country. Time to get on with the job."
Burnham's decision to put Healey in the Treasury came somewhat as a surprise, with Mahmood and Miliband seen as frontrunners for the job.
Burnham officially became prime minister earlier on Monday, succeeding Starmer and becoming the UK's seventh PM in a decade.
In a speech outside No 10, the former Manchester mayor pledged to end rough sleeping and take new action to tackle cost-of-living pressures. The PM also said he would bring forward a 10-year plan for Britain later in the year.
Starmer said in his farewell address that he was leaving office with "good grace" and a "smile", adding that he would give Burnham his full support from the backbenches.
Additional reporting by Adam Payne
