Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, wasted no time in showing on his first day that there was more to his carefully crafted friendly image, deftly ensuring that the new cabinet was free of the former prime minister’s closest allies, writes Politico.
The former mayor of Manchester, with his first tough decisions in his new position, reminded us that he is, as one of his biggest supporters anonymously told Politico in June, a “cold-blooded political lizard” inside.
During the phone calls, former prime minister Keir Starmer’s associates, from finance minister Rachel Reeves to deputy prime minister David Lammy, were demoted. In their place, Burnham will assemble a team of the party’s most prominent politicians, including ministers who have had a falling out with Starmer.
The biggest surprise in the new cabinet is the appointment of John Healey, the defence secretary who resigned in June, as finance minister. The second most powerful post in government is a substantial pay rise for a politician whose resignation ensured that Starmer’s government could no longer exist. Healey insists that he resigned on principle because Starmer’s administration had failed to deliver the promised defence funding. At the same time, his resignation was accompanied by statements about how reluctant the Treasury, which he will now lead, is to find ways to allocate funds.
Healey will now have to find ways to plug the billion-dollar budget holes
created by the Defence Investment Plan, which was eventually agreed when he left the post of defence secretary. He will also have to figure out how to increase defense spending to the 3% of GDP he himself has called for.
For now, Healey is seen as a safe hand with extensive government experience. Burnham hopes Healey is a safe enough option not to spook bond markets, which have been a bit jittery in anticipation of a new prime minister.
The new foreign secretary is Ed Miliband. He is a former Labour leader and, although a long-time ally of Starmer, was one of the first to tell the former prime minister to resign. He is now Burnham’s voice in the world. While Burnham wants to focus relentlessly on domestic issues, he needs a strong figure to take care of foreign policy.
Miliband will have to decide how to build relations with the White House.
His departure from the post of energy secretary could give Britain the opportunity to expand oil and gas production in the North Sea, while his image as an environmentalist is unlikely to endear him to US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly encouraged Britons to expand their resource extraction. Moreover, the new foreign secretary has already shown that he can be an inconvenience to Americans. In 2013, when Miliband was leader of the opposition, he managed to block Britain from taking part in the war in Syria, causing problems for then-US President Barack Obama. This year, Miliband was among those demanding that Britain not allow the Americans to use a military base in the Indian Ocean to attack Iran, and that will not warm the US administration’s feelings either.
One politician has kept her seat. It is Shabana Mahmood, who will continue to be responsible for home affairs. One of her allies, who wished to remain anonymous, suggested that staying in office would also require some leaning towards the moderate left when it comes to immigration.
Like Miliband, Mahmood was among the first to tell Starmer it was time to step down. Both were also among the possible candidates for the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Meanwhile, Miatta Fahnbulleh will take Miliband’s place at the Energy Ministry. She served as Communities Secretary until May and was the first to resign, signaling the end of Starmer’s government.
Burnham promised to end factionalism, but
there are ample signs that those who helped usurp Starmer are reaping the rewards.
Wes Streeting, who hinted earlier this year that he could replace Starmer, has become Defence Secretary. He will take office less than six weeks after Healy was replaced by Dan Jarvis.
One of the biggest losers is former Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, who will become Health Secretary. True, this ministry could also become more politically significant, as Burnham has promised to expand his political capital by trying to reform Britain’s expensive and inefficient social care system.
Like Cooper, Starmer ally Pat McFadden has also experienced changes, and he too will have to implement extensive reforms. Burnham has kept McFadden in the government with the pensions and work minister, a signal that the new prime minister is taking his promises to fix the welfare system seriously.
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