I have, for hours now, sat diligently in front of my laptop to write this emergency ToryDiary in the wake of Burnham’s Cabinet appointments. Since his election victory in Makerfield, rumours have been afloat over who will take which brief in his rehashed Number 10 operation.
Would Shabana Mahmood remain as Home Secretary? Perhaps Ed Miliband would move into Number 11 as Chancellor of the Exchequer? David Miliband could return to government as Foreign Secretary? Wes Streeting might move across to the MOD? So many different ideas and possibilities which we had no answers to until today.
But now, at last, we know. The rumours are no more.
Readers will have to wait until tomorrow morning to see my deeper analysis of these appointments and what this means for the Conservatives more widely, but for now a simple breakdown of who has gone where (particularly with respect to the Great Offices of State) will suffice.
Of course, we must begin with the most significant role of them all – Chancellor. Names have been ricocheting around Whitehall for some time. Sources from the Treasury inform me that they believed he would look for a Blairite-style Chancellor to counteract a radical Chief Secretary such as Miatta Fahnbulleh. Others believed that he would defy the noise and put Miliband in nonetheless – in a sort of two fingers up to the markets. Given this, his decision to appoint John Healey as Chancellor looks to be a way of reassuring the markets.
In an effort to claw back voters from Reform, Burnham will be keen to have a strong Home Secretary who will continue to bring the numbers down. Mahmood was broadly successful at this, with net migration dropping to close to half of the figure it was in 2024, and so the decision to keep her in place is self-evident.
Continuing the trend of examining the Great Offices of State, his decision to put Miliband in the Foreign Office is notable. Burnham, after entering No. 10, reaffirmed his support for Zelensky and Ukraine, stating that he will “be there” for his Ukrainian counterpart. He then had a phone call with American President Donald Trump – at a time when there is rather a lot of friction between the two nations. Considering such concerns, his choice of Miliband is rather revealing – not so much in what it says about his foreign policy direction but how he views Miliband.
It is customary to put one’s political rivals in the post of Foreign Secretary. May did it with Johnson, and it means that you silence your would-be contenders by flying them around the world in a small metal tube. Perhaps, then, his appointment of Miliband as Foreign Secretary suggests he views the former Labour leader as a possible rival.
Louise Haigh’s return to Cabinet as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster was fairly expected too, given her ties to Burnham’s campaign.
Defence was another brief which people were watching closely. Healey’s resignation as Defence Secretary helped bring about the end of Starmer’s government, and Al Carn’s insistence that the role is a “poisoned chalice” at the moment does little to help matters. Burnham insisted that his government would “honour our commitments on defence to our international partners” and has previously affirmed that he will find the money to make the Defence Investment Plan work. Considering such complexities, the decision to originally offer the role to Reeves was interesting – and her rejection of the role is telling. Perhaps it is a matter of loyalty to Starmer, but perhaps it is more telling about the nature of the role itself.
The movement of Yvette Cooper to the Department for Health and Social Care is notable too. Having rid the Cabinet of most of Starmer’s allies, the decision to retain Cooper (and, to a lesser extent, Mahmood) is rather revealing of Burnham’s vision of how he wishes to run the country. A shift away from constant political point scoring and factionalism, perhaps. But what is noticeably striking is that Rayner was rumoured, just days ago, to be taking on the brief. She was said to have been annoyed at this, having wanted to return to the Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government – and the fact that, as of writing, she has been seen to have entered No 10 suggests that this could still be on the table.
Lisa Nandy has been appointed to DCMS, whilst Angela Rayner returns to her old brief in the department for Housing, Communities and Local Government – an integral part of Burnham’s mission. Jonathan Reynolds has been made the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade whilst Lucy Powell takes on the Education brief. Anneliese Midgley has been named as the Chief Whip.
As we go later into the night, Streeting has been announced as the Defence Secretary, Alex Norris has been moved to Justice, Angela Eagle has taken on the DEFRA brief and Miatta Fahnbulleh succeeds Miliband in DEZNEZ.
And breathe, for now. There we have it, folks – the major moves from today.
I will continue updating this article when more information comes in – but this is the essential information to date.
Burnham has begun his premiership with a culling of the old guard, and has imposed a new regime which is committed – most of all – to moving power out of Westminster. Much of my evening will now be spent texting Tory MPs in an attempt to understand where the party stands on these appointments, and what the Party should do – if anything – in response…
(UKR)