Andy Burnham used his first Downing Street speech to acknowledge that politicians had not been “good enough”, vowing to be a “circuit breaker for Britain” as he unveiled a cabinet that rewarded loyalists and purged allies of his predecessor Keir Starmer.
In a five-minute address that echoed themes from his leadership acceptance speech, Burnham said his “first instruction” as PM would be to end rough sleeping. He told voters: “I know people at home are fed up with politics. I hear you and I want to be honest with you: we have not been good enough and we need to be better.”
“Andy Burnham named John Healey chancellor and vowed a 'circuit breaker' for UK in first speech.”
The new prime minister, who took power after deposing Starmer just two years into a second Labour term, framed the moment as a mass political mea culpa. UK politicians must “raise our game and rise to the new challenge”, he said, referring to the failures of “my generation” of leaders.
The speech, familiar to Burnham watchers, also included his key mantras of reversing Thatcher-era deindustrialisation, reducing factionalism and devolving power. Labour MPs view this as the party’s final chance to ward off a possible Nigel Farage government.
Hours earlier, Burnham announced a cabinet that stunned Westminster. John Healey, the former defence secretary who resigned over a lack of defence funding under Starmer, was named chancellor of the exchequer — a surprise appointment after Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood had been tipped for the role.
Healey, an MP since 1997 and a Treasury minister under Tony Blair, grew up in Wakefield and studied political science at Cambridge. He worked as a journalist and campaigns director at the Trades Union Congress before entering parliament. Allies expect him to push for a fuller funding settlement for the Ministry of Defence, denied to him under Rachel Reeves’s Treasury. He shares with Burnham a focus on reindustrialisation.
Shabana Mahmood kept her role as home secretary, a position she was given by Starmer last year. Considered on the Blue Labour right of the party — socially conservative and tough on crime — she grew up in Small Heath, Birmingham.
The clearout of Starmer allies was brutal, with many on the right of the party or close to the former prime minister losing their jobs. Burnham had promised to pick his team from all wings, but the result was a cabinet heavy on loyalists.
With a 10-year plan promised and the biggest change since the mid-1980s on the agenda, Burnham now faces the challenge of delivering on his rhetoric. As one ally put it, unlike Starmer, Burnham has a credo — a coherent set of beliefs that could prove crucial when difficulties arrive.