Six things we learnt from Andy Burnham’s choices for his top team

{"text":[[{"start":7.95,"text":"Andy Burnham’s cabinet will be very different from the one his predecessor presided over."}],[{"start":14.15,"text":"By putting his own stamp on the government, the new prime minister has signalled he will depart from Sir Keir Starmer’s policies in some areas while stressing continuity in others. "}],[{"start":25.450000000000003,"text":"It is one of a number of points to emerge from Burnham’s choices for his top team:"}],[{"start":31.300000000000004,"text":"Purge of the Starmer-ites"}],[{"start":33.45,"text":"For all his talk about ending “factional politics” and assembling a cabinet that reflected the breadth of the Labour Party, Burnham’s sackings were overwhelmingly close allies of Starmer."}],[{"start":45.45,"text":"Liz Kendall and Peter Kyle were leading Blairites in the cabinet, while Steve Reed and Darren Jones were also seen as being on the right of the party. Rachel Reeves, David Lammy, Baroness Jenny Chapman and Lord Richard Hermer were also personally aligned with Starmer, as was Nick Thomas-Symonds, the minister in charge of relations with the EU."}],[{"start":67.25,"text":"It represents a far wider cabinet clearout than many were expecting and could store up trouble for the future. One ally of the former prime minister said the reshuffle “is in danger of building a Starmer faction in the way he never did so for himself”."}],[{"start":83.85,"text":"For now Burnham’s power over the party is such that grumbles will be muted. But Reed’s parting letter to the prime minister was pointed. Loyalty, he said, is “what’s expected of functioning teams and I hope those who did not show loyalty to Keir will now show it to you”."}],[{"start":102.1,"text":"A chancellor curveball"}],[{"start":104.3,"text":"One of the biggest shocks of the day was Burnham’s decision to appoint former defence secretary John Healey as chancellor, replacing Rachel Reeves."}],[{"start":113.5,"text":"In the weeks ahead of the coronation, there were briefings from members of Burnham’s team first that energy secretary Ed Miliband and then home secretary Shabana Mahmood would be given the keys to Number 11. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":125.85,"text":"Burnham received strong pushback to both proposals from opposing wings of the Labour Party. Mahmood’s hardline immigration crackdown as home secretary did not win her many friends on the Labour left, while many MPs and members were concerned about her lack of economic experience. "}],[{"start":142.15,"text":"Miliband, the new foreign secretary, is meanwhile loved by many progressives but seen as a dangerous radical by rightwingers because of his forthright stance on tackling climate change."}],[{"start":153.4,"text":"Burnham’s decision could end up being painted by his supporters as a sign of his willingness to listen to the concerns of his party and by his critics as evidence of his inability to stick to and confidently defend a difficult decision. "}],[{"start":167.4,"text":"An expensive government"}],[{"start":169.1,"text":"Even before he made any explicit spending commitments, the new prime minister spent his first day in office making decisions that come with an implied price tag. Although Healey’s appointment as chancellor is reassuring to many, it is hard to see how he can credibly avoid a big increase in defence spending after quitting as defence secretary by accusing the Treasury of failing to find the money needed to keep Britain safe. "}],[{"start":192.65,"text":"He was asking for at least £3bn more immediately than Reeves was willing to find, and insists there needed to be a path towards spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence, which would ultimately cost £25bn a year. "}],[{"start":207.1,"text":"Burnham has also installed Yvette Cooper as health secretary with a brief to drive reform of social care “that operates on the NHS principle” — an ambition that could cost £18bn a year."}],[{"start":218.4,"text":"More broadly, Burnham’s vision of a “preventative state” implies much more upfront spending in the hope of bigger pay-offs further down the line, while he has also said he wants to use “flexibility” in the fiscal rules to borrow more to invest. "}],[{"start":233.8,"text":"A commitment to contentious reforms"}],[{"start":236.65,"text":"Burnham’s decision to keep Mahmood as home secretary sends a clear signal that he is keen to broadly stick with her highly contentious migration reforms."}],[{"start":246.1,"text":"In the run-up to the Makerfield by-election, Burnham stressed that he is serious about continuing to reduce small boat crossings to Britain and continuing to slash net migration. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":255.85,"text":"Yet Labour MPs are expecting a climbdown on the most controversial aspect of her reforms: a proposal that would mean migrants who arrived in the UK since 2021 will have to wait 10 to 15 years for permanent residency instead of five. Burnham’s choice here will offer a key test of how he resolves the tension between listening to voters in Makerfield and Labour MPs."}],[{"start":280.65,"text":"By retaining Pat McFadden as work and pensions secretary, Burnham is also signalling he wants to press ahead with plans for further welfare reforms. McFadden, the last senior Starmer ally standing, has deftly won round many backbenchers by emphasising the need to support young people into work rather than cost savings. Burnham said in Downing Street that this was a “fair and sustainable way to bring the welfare bill down”."}],[{"start":310.34999999999997,"text":"A more powerful centre"}],[{"start":312.15,"text":"Louise Haigh, a key Burnham ally, was given the title of “first secretary of state” alongside her co-ordinating role of chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. "}],[{"start":322.29999999999995,"text":"This is a title usually reserved for the effective deputy prime minister, having been held in the past by such figures as John Prescott, George Osborne and Peter Mandelson. The appointment highlights her centrality to Burnham’s project."}],[{"start":335.49999999999994,"text":"A critic of the “imperial” Treasury, Haigh is expected to focus on strengthening the centre of government to give Downing Street more control over economic and spending policy. "}],[{"start":345.74999999999994,"text":"Fewer women in top jobs"}],[{"start":348.09999999999997,"text":"Burnham has vowed to end the “boys’ club” that many claim dogged Starmer’s premiership, bringing more women into senior roles in his government."}],[{"start":358.04999999999995,"text":"While he has appointed several new women to key cabinet positions, including notably Haigh and Lucy Powell, the top offices of state are actually more male-dominated than they were last week."}],[{"start":368.74999999999994,"text":"While three out of four of the traditional “great offices of state” were held by women under Starmer, only one is under Burnham: home secretary. The rest are all white men who served under former prime minister Tony Blair."}],[{"start":388.19999999999993,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784610014_6095.mp3"}