Burnham Names His Cabinet: Healey Is Chancellor, Miliband To Foreign, Rayner Returns
New Chancellor John Healey walks up Downing Street (Alamy)
3 min read
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 will also remain as Work and Pensions Secretary, and Lisa Nandy is staying on as Culture Secretary.
Yvette Cooper has been made Health Secretary and Lucy Powell the new Education 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.
Several Cabinet positions, including defence, had not been filled at the time of writing.
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 replaces 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 today, 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.
