(July 14): Andy Burnham’s picks for senior Cabinet positions will reflect both experience and a broad church of ideas, he plans to tell colleagues in his first address to the parliamentary Labour Party.
Britain’s next prime minister faces questions from fellow members of Parliament at a one-person hustings later on Monday, after receiving well over 300 nominations to lead the Labour Party, allowing him to be uncontested. He will say that government appointments will also reflect MPs contribution and commitment to the Labour movement, according to people familiar with the matter.
His comments offer some insight into the people he wants to put into senior positions, as speculation mounts over who will enter his Cabinet. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary and former party leader, is the bookmakers’ favourite to be the chancellor, with former health secretary Wes Streeting, former transport secretary Louise Haigh and deputy leader Lucy Powell also expected to get key roles. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper have been making the case to stay in post. All are experienced politicians, who come from different factions of the party.
Burnham on Monday will also promise to ensure he is accessible to MPs, and to establish a feedback loop between them, the areas they represent and the government — something outgoing prime minister Keir Starmer was criticised for not doing more during his two years in office. He will also pledge to improve the culture in government, where colleagues are valued more, the people said, and set out his priorities in driving economic growth, devolving more power to local authorities and tackling the cost-of-living crisis, they said.
Little is known of the policies Burnham plans to pursue so far, though he has already said devolution will be central to the way he governs, including by launching a Number 10 in the north of England. He has also suggested he wants to retain much of the UK’s positions on foreign policy, including its Nato commitments and support to Ukraine. In other areas he has been less clear, having wavered and then committed to maintaining the government’s fiscal rules.
He has also suggested he wants to extend public control of utilities and has said there is “some room” for movement on tax while vowing to stick to his Labour Party’s manifesto promises not to raise income, national insurance or value-added tax. He suggested last week that increased business rates on warehouses could be used to fund tax cuts for small hospitality businesses.
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