Red Monday: the arrival of the new order
Andy Burnham’s arrival in Downing Street: the new Cabinet, Number 10 and what it means for Labour
Andy Burnham’s arrival in Downing Street marks a change in the direction, language and political identity of the Labour Government, not just its leader. Power passed between two Labour Prime Ministers without a General Election, yet Burnham has cast his premiership as a political “circuit breaker”: immediate help with the cost of living, then a ten-year plan to reshape the economy and public services.
Burnham’s politics blends soft-left economics, communitarian values and radical devolution, increasingly known as “Manchesterism”. His first Cabinet makes John Healey Chancellor and Ed Miliband Foreign Secretary, while several of Keir Starmer’s senior advisers stay in Number 10. Social care, where he has long called for a National Care Service, has the greatest potential to define his premiership, for better or worse.
The appointments made on Red Monday set the shape of the new administration; delivering is harder. For organisations working with government, the environment is likely to get more complex, not simpler: if devolution delivers, metro mayors and combined authorities will gain influence over funding, infrastructure, housing, transport and skills, and engagement will have to reach beyond Whitehall.
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Get the full reportWhat we found
1. John Healey as Chancellor is the new Cabinet’s most unexpected appointment
Healey has held junior Treasury posts, including Chief Secretary to the Treasury, but has never led national economic policy. Ed Miliband, hotly tipped for the Treasury, becomes Foreign Secretary, Wes Streeting, who resigned as Health Secretary in May, takes Defence, and Shabana Mahmood stays as Home Secretary. Rachel Reeves and David Lammy have left Government, and Louise Haigh, one of Burnham’s closest allies, becomes First Secretary of State.
2. The first policy takes VAT off electricity bills, and its funding is already disputed
Within 24 hours the Government moved from appointments to policy, removing VAT on domestic electricity bills from 1 October as part of an initial cost-of-living package. Ministers said cancelling Keir Starmer’s proposed Digital ID programme would pay for it, but former Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones argued the programme had never been funded, so could not produce the savings claimed. Sterling weakened and government borrowing costs rose after Burnham’s appointment.
3. Devolution is what most clearly separates Burnham’s Government from Starmer’s
His proposed Number 10 North reflects an ambition to hand more responsibility for transport, housing, skills and economic development to regional leaders and combined authorities; its success will depend on whether real decision-making powers come with it. He is the first Prime Minister in modern times to arrive directly from leading a combined authority, and the relationship between central and local government has become one of the defining constitutional questions of this Parliament.
4. Burnham has kept several of Starmer’s senior advisers in Number 10
James Purnell, a former Cabinet minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, is Chief of Staff, and Matthew McGregor joins as Director of Political Strategy. Jonathan Powell stays as National Security Adviser and Varun Chandra as Business and Investment Adviser, while Graeme Cooke is promoted to lead the Number 10 Policy Unit. After years away from Westminster, Burnham may find that continuity valuable, both in Number 10 and in relationships across Whitehall and with outside organisations.
What’s in the report
- Who Andy Burnham is, from Merseyside to Number 10, and what he believes
- His vision for the economy, cost of living, housing, public services, welfare and devolution
- The full Cabinet and House of Lords appointments, and who has left
- The new Number 10 team and what Red Monday means for business and public affairs
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