Chancellor Rachel Reeves has thrown her weight behind Andy Burnham’s bid to become prime minister — even as reports swirl that he could demote her to a junior cabinet post. Speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce conference, Reeves urged the incoming leader to stick with her economic strategy, insisting it is “beginning to bear fruit”.
Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor, is the only contender so far to replace Sir Keir Starmer, who resigned on Monday after losing the support of Labour MPs. If no other challenger emerges, Burnham could take over as soon as 17 July.
“Reeves urges Burnham to continue her economic plan, despite reports he may demote her.”
Reeves told the conference, hosted by Sky News journalist Sophy Ridge, that she would not pre-empt Burnham’s choice of chancellor. But she stressed their close work together on fiscal devolution — transferring more powers to English regions — a policy Burnham is committed to.
Despite speculation Burnham is considering Ed Miliband, Wes Streeting or Shabana Mahmood as possible replacements, Reeves pointed to Burnham’s explicit backing of her fiscal rules. “Andy has been really explicit — he backs those fiscal rules,” she said, referring to the rules designed to balance day-to-day spending with tax revenue, only borrow for capital investment, and reduce debt as a share of GDP. Some on the left of the party have called for those rules to be relaxed to free up money for defence and other priorities.
Reeves claimed she had brought “stability” to the economy and was “proud” of her record on inflation and growth. “Yes, there is more to do,” she said, promising further reforms to business rates and fiscal devolution in the budget later this year. “I hope that whoever is chancellor, in the future… sticks to what I’m doing because it is beginning to bear fruit.”
Asked if a change at the top was needed, Reeves said: “Clearly we need to do more to connect to the country to tell a better story of what we’ve done in government but also set out the vision of where we want the country to go.” She praised Burnham as “a great communicator” with “a great track record of delivering in Greater Manchester”, adding: “I have no doubt he will bring that to the position of prime minister.”