It comes moments after John Healey was announced as chancellor in a surprise move for the prime minister. <\/p>\n
Louise Haigh, who managed Mr Burnham\u2019s Makerfield campaign, will be first secretary of state, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and minister for the cabinet office.<\/p>\n
Angela Rayner, a long-time ally of Mr Burnham, has also been seen entering the Downing Street address, as well as political veterans Pat McFadden and Yvette Cooper.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, chancellor Rachel Reeves, deputy prime minister<\/a> David Lammy and housing secretary Steve Reed, all allies of Sir Keir Starmer<\/a>, were sacked by the former mayor of Greater Manchester during the selection of his top team.<\/p>\n The new prime minister earlier delivered his first speech at Downing Street<\/a>, in which he said he would bring \u201clife\u2019s essentials back under stronger public control\u201d to make them more affordable for the public and pledged to end rough sleeping.<\/p>\n Concluding the address, he said: \u201cI will give this my all, and I ask you all to pull with me. Let\u2019s build a new national sense of unity, of common purpose and positivity.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a>Jonathan Reynolds arrives at No 10<\/p>\n Jonathan Reynolds, who many have tipped as the future business secretary, has arrived at Downing Street.<\/p>\n Bryony Gooch20 July 2026 19:18<\/p>\n <\/a>Mahmood celebrates staying in ‘best job in the business’<\/p>\n Shabana Mahmood said the post of home secretary is \u201cthe best job in the business\u201d, after Andy Burnham kept her in the role.<\/p>\n In a post on X, Ms Mahmood said she would continue with immigration reform.<\/p>\n She said: \u201cIt is an honour to remain as home secretary in Andy Burnham\u2019s cabinet.<\/p>\n \u201cI may be biased, but it\u2019s the best job in the business.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have begun the work of major reform, to make our streets safer and our immigration system fair for all. Now let\u2019s finish the job.\u201d<\/p>\n Bryony Gooch20 July 2026 19:15<\/p>\n <\/a>How Ed Miliband has made his way into Andy Burnham’s cabinet<\/p>\n Energy secretary since 2024, Ed Miliband has been involved in politics since the early 90s, resigning from an advisory role in the treasury in 2005 to stand as MP in Doncaster North.<\/p>\n He has represented the area since, holding ministerial positions in both the Blair and Brown governments before becoming Labour leader himself \u2013 then in opposition \u2013 in 2010.<\/p>\n The former Manchester mayor then served first as Mr Miliband\u2019s shadow education secretary, and later as shadow health secretary.<\/p>\n Now, Mr Miliband will hold a key position as foreign secretary in Andy Burnham\u2019s government.<\/p>\n Mr Miliband resigned as Labour leader following the party\u2019s defeat by the Conservative Party at the 2015 general election. He was succeeded by Jeremy Corbyn, who beat Mr Burnham \u2013 making his second leadership bid \u2013 with 59.5 per cent of the vote share to his 19.<\/p>\n During Mr Corbyn\u2019s tenure, lasting from 2015 to 2020, Mr Miliband was a backbench MP while Mr Burnham served as Mr Corbyn\u2019s shadow home secretary.<\/p>\n Elected with an increased majority at the 2024 general election, Mr Miliband was appointed energy secretary by Sir Keir Starmer, a position he continues to hold.<\/p>\n During this time, he has focused on a moved towards green initiatives and energy independence, especially in light of price shocks like those caused by the wars in Ukraine and Iran.<\/p>\n Experts have pointed out that the idea is markedly similar to the political vision of \u2018Manchesterism\u2019 touted by Mr Burnham in the months before his ascendancy to Number 10. In a nutshell: greater public control of public services, with more power devolved to local leaders.<\/p>\n It is perhaps for this reason, alongside the pair\u2019s long political relationship and shared position on Labour\u2019s \u2018soft left\u2019 that the new prime minister has picked Mr Miliband as his chancellor.<\/p>\n Albert Toth20 July 2026 19:13<\/p>\n <\/a>Analysis: Burnham\u2019s appointments of Miliband, Mahmood and Haigh show that he has a plan<\/p>\n David Maddox, The Independent\u2019s political editor, says:<\/p>\n The Independent was the first to reveal that Louise Haigh would get a beefed up role as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster running the Cabinet Office which is the engine of government but also with a policy development brief.<\/p>\n Added to that The Independent revealed over the weekend that Ed Miliband\u2019s appointment as foreign secretary is linked to serious reform of the Foreign Office including a roadmap back for restoring international aid to 0.7 per cent of GDP.<\/p>\n Finally, The Independent also highlighted the reasons why Shabana Mahmood missed out on being chancellor because of her desire to cut tax and welfare.<\/p>\n Their appointments though reveal that Andy Burnham has a plan. He will ignore the cries of those on the left who want Labour to go soft on immigration so has given Ms Mahmood the green light to continue with her tough reforms.<\/p>\n But he is listening to the left on foreign policy and we can expect changes to Middle East policy and perhaps the approach to Brexit.<\/p>\n Finally, with Ms Haigh he wants an intelligent key lieutenant running the engine of his government and developing new policies which represent not just a break from Keir Starmer but 40 years of economic orthodoxy.<\/p>\n Ms Haigh is a serious figure on the soft left of the party who backs wealth taxes and higher spending.<\/p>\n The shape of the Burnham government is becoming clear.<\/p>\n Bryony Gooch20 July 2026 19:08<\/p>\n <\/a>John Healey breaks silence on taking top job in Burnham’s cabinet<\/p>\n John Healey breaks silence as he\u2019s made chancellor of the exchequer.<\/p>\n He said on social media: \u201cIt is the greatest privilege to be appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by the Prime Minister. <\/p>\n \u201cTogether, we will build a new economy, build new hope and advance the working people of this country. Time to get on with the job.\u201d<\/p>\n Bryony Gooch20 July 2026 19:07<\/p>\n <\/a>BREAKING: Angela Rayner enters No 10<\/p>\n Angela Rayner, a long-time ally of Andy Burnham, has arrived as the new prime minister continues to make his appointments in cabinet.<\/p>\n Bryony Gooch20 July 2026 18:59<\/p>\n <\/a>Lisa Nandy enters No 10<\/p>\n Culture secretary Lisa Nandy has entered No 10 as prime minister Andy Burnham continues to make appointments to his cabinet.<\/p>\n Bryony Gooch20 July 2026 18:57<\/p>\n <\/a>Who is Louise Haigh? Burnham’s right hand woman and first secretary of state<\/p>\n Former transport secretary Louise Haigh was manager of Andy Burnham\u2019s campaign in Makerfield, and a key proponent in Westminster of his return to parliament.<\/p>\n She is now first secretary of state, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and minister for the cabinet office.<\/p>\n She resigned as a cabinet secretary in November 2024 after it emerged she had pleaded guilty to a fraud offence a decade ago, telling police she had her work mobile taken in a mugging<\/a>, but later finding it had not been taken.<\/p>\n In the time since, Ms Haigh is understood to have become a \u201cright-hand\u201d to Mr Burnham, credited with elevating his campaign to return to parliament as leader.<\/p>\n Elected as the MP for Sheffield Heeley in 2015, she became the youngest MP in that intake and quickly established herself as a front bench talent.<\/p>\n Ms Haigh has held a number of shadow positions, from Northern Ireland secretary to transport secretary.<\/p>\n She would carry this title into government, leading the wholesale renationalisation of Britain\u2019s rail network and the expansion of local bus networks. Her legislative push mirrored the transport model built by Andy Burnham as Manchester\u2019s mayor with his pioneering Bee Network.<\/p>\n But despite hitting the ground running, her resignation would come just four months after Labour\u2019s general election victory, in November 2024.<\/p>\n Since leaving government, Ms Haigh has made several political interventions calling for a different economic direction from the Starmer administration.<\/p>\n She was part of the relaunch of the Tribune Group of Labour MPs in autumn 2025, writing alongside several other members in January that while the government had made important progress, \u201cwe haven\u2019t clarified who we stand for.\u201d<\/p>\n Albert Toth20 July 2026 18:56<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2026-07-20T181451Z_135366339_RC2UHMAJV7K7_RTRMADP_3_BRITAIN-POLITICS.JPG\")
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