Andy Burnham pledges to ‘bring back hope’ as John Healey made chancellor

Andy Burnham pledged to “bring back hope” to Britain, as he began his tenure as prime minister by appointing Labour stalwart John Healey as chancellor.

In his first speech to the nation in Downing Street, Burnham said he wanted to bring forward the “biggest changes in the last 40 years” to British politics.

He outlined his intention to unveil a 10-year “new plan for Britain” later this year, explaining this would lay out a path to where he believes “we all want Britain to be”.

Burnham promised to make announcements this week to “give people some breathing space now, some help with the cost of living” and explain how he would pay for them.

Burnham also started making cabinet appointments after removing loyalists of former PM Sir Keir Starmer. Out went Rachel Reeves as chancellor, David Lammy as deputy prime minister and justice secretary, and Steve Reed as communities secretary.

Healey, who quit Sir Keir’s government due to a row over defence spending, was in as chancellor.

With Burnham saying he wants to honour the UK’s commitments on defence spending, Healey will face the challenge of finding the extra money he believed the last government failed to deliver to keep the UK safe.

Speaking to broadcasters, Healey said the pair will “work in lockstep to meet the fiscal rules with a buffer against uncertainty” and on how they will “make life more affordable for working people right across the UK”.

Ed Miliband moves from energy secretary to foreign secretary, replacing Yvette Cooper who is now the health secretary.

Miliband told the BBC it was the “honour of my lifetime” to become foreign secretary, a role his brother David held between 2007 and 2010.

Shabana Mahmood remains as home secretary and Louise Haigh takes on the role of Burnham’s fixer across government, serving as first secretary of state, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and minister for the Cabinet Office.

Angela Rayner returned to a cabinet job as housing secretary, a role she previously held in Sir Keir’s government. She stood down in September 2025 after admitting she underpaid stamp duty on her £800,000 flat in Hove.

Wes Streeting, the former health secretary who at one stage was seen as a possible leadership challenger, is the new defence secretary.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch welcomed Burnham to his new role but said he has not “set out a clear plan for government”.

She said “Britain needs a leader who can take difficult decisions, not a people pleaser” and criticised him for “promising to undo Margaret Thatcher’s policies”.