UK PM Burnham appoints Healey as chancellor in new cabinet

Andy Burnham has announced his first cabinet after taking office as UK prime minister, succeeding the recently resigned Sir Keir Starmer. Burnham secured the backing of 379 of Labour's 403 MPs to take the leadership.

The new government's economic direction will be steered by John Healey as chancellor of the exchequer. The surprise appointment sees Healey return to a department where he previously served as a minister under Gordon Brown. He recently criticised a "Treasury orthodoxy that's a dead hand on dynamic government" for viewing defence as "a drain rather than a driver of growth".

For investors and European allies, Burnham's policy platform represents a distinct shift in the UK's economic model. He has pledged to introduce "greater public control" of the water and energy sectors alongside a major housebuilding programme. He has also committed to keeping Labour's election pledge not to raise the main rates of income tax, VAT or National Insurance, leaving Healey with the complex task of balancing reindustrialisation ambitions with fiscal constraints.

In foreign affairs, Ed Miliband moves from the energy and net zero brief to become foreign secretary. Miliband has actively opposed calls to drop the UK's net zero targets, framing the green power transition as essential to national security. His appointment signals continuity in the country's climate diplomacy, while Healey brings established links with economic allies in Europe, the Middle East and the United States to the Treasury.

Louise Haigh, a close Burnham ally who was central to the backbench rebellion that blocked the previous government's welfare cuts in 2025, becomes chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. She will run the Cabinet Office to coordinate the delivery of the new prime minister's agenda.

The defence brief passes to Wes Streeting, who replaces Dan Jarvis after only weeks in the role. Yvette Cooper takes on health and social care, while Shabana Mahmood remains home secretary, maintaining her focus on overhauling the asylum system. Lucy Powell, who became deputy leader after Angela Rayner's resignation, is appointed education secretary, and Pat McFadden stays on as work and pensions secretary.