Andy Burnham promises to be ‘circuit-breaker’ PM as he purges cabinet

Once in Downing Street, Andy Burnham brutally purged the cabinet, promising a “circuit breaker” moment for Britain and surprisingly appointing John Healey as chancellor.

It comes after weeks of speculation that Mr Burnham was planning to give the job to Ed Miliband or Shabana Mahmood, but there were fears either election would lead to divisiveness within the Labor Party. Mr Miliband will instead become foreign secretary and Ms Mahmood will remain home secretary.

In a post on X, Ms Mahmood said she would press ahead with immigration reform. “It’s an honor to remain in Andy Burnham’s cabinet as home secretary. I may be biased, but it’s the best job in the industry,” he said.

Louise Haigh, who ran Mr Burnham’s Makerfield campaign, will become first secretary of state, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Cabinet Office minister.

Mr Healey, who resigned from Sir Keir Starmer’s government over defense spending, won respect in the party after his strong performance as defense secretary and his appointment demonstrates Mr Burnham’s determination to strengthen Britain’s military capabilities.

Mr Burnham made his first speech as prime minister vowing to end decades of failure by eliminating rough sleeping and overhauling social care, and vowed his arrival in Downing Street would be a “circuit breaker” moment for Britain.

After meeting King Charles at Buckingham Palace, the new Prime Minister admitted politicians “need to step up their game and be better” and insisted he would “make Britain believe and hope again” by winning over jaded voters.

He reiterated his pledge to move power beyond Westminster and said he would produce a 10-year plan later this year, adding: “Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again.”

In a sign of change, he purged Starmer loyalists, including former chancellor Rachel Reeves and deputy Prime Minister David Lammy.

In a brief speech delivered without a podium, Mr Burnham said: “I am conscious that I am the sixth person to walk this street in the last 10 years and the seventh prime minister since 2016, making this a moment of reflection and new solutions.

“My generation of politicians need to step up our game and take on new challenges.”

In his first remarks as Prime Minister, he said he would “end insomnia in our country” by visiting homelessness charity The Passage in Victoria, London, early on Monday.

He also announced he would reduce Britain’s welfare bill by helping more young people into work, building more social housing and creating what he called a “preventive state”, investing in people’s success rather than paying the price for failure.

This, he said, was “the fair and sustainable way to bring down the welfare bill, meet our fiscal rules, and meet our defense commitments to our international partners.”

He has made it clear that his first priority will be tackling the cost of living crisis, making an announcement within the next 24 hours to address issues such as bus fares, rent freezes or reductions in energy bills.

Earlier, Sir Keir gave his farewell speech at Downing Street before visiting Buckingham Palace.

He said he offered Mr Burnham his “full support” and left “with good grace and a smile”.

But some of the other cabinet ministers were less generous about losing their jobs.

Steve Reed, who was sacked as communities secretary, wrote harshly: “Keir Starmer showed loyalty to me by appointing me to his cabinet. I make no apology for repaying that loyalty. That is what is expected of functioning teams and I hope those who have shown no loyalty to Keir will now show that to you.”

“I am proud that I acted with integrity every step of the way during the tumultuous last few months.”

Mr Lammy said: “I would be proud to continue serving in the cabinet. But a new prime minister has the right to build his own team.”

Speaking to reporters in the Downing Street rose garden, Mr Burnham made clear he wanted to ensure that as well as ending rough sleeping, he also tackled the social care crisis before his time in Downing Street ended.

The issue is unfinished business for Mr Burnham, who failed to achieve cross-party consensus when he was health secretary in 2009; His proposal for the tax was criticized by Conservatives as a “death tax”.

Mr Burnham made it clear that the situation was now more personal for him as his father had Alzheimer’s and he was unaware that his son was now Prime Minister.

He said: “I think the country needs to take a step back here and say: ‘How can we allow this to continue when we know this is a major problem and no one has the courage to fix it?’

“I think that’s pretty embarrassing for my generation of politicians. Doesn’t anyone have the ability anymore to say, ‘Right, this is a tough thing, but we’re going to do it’?”

“If I look at the NHS at the moment, what I’m hearing from people is that corridor care is becoming the norm all year round, not just in the winter months, and the standards around A&E are not achievable for the 90-plus per cent of people who come in within four hours.”

He will also look at how people are being made to pay more income tax by freezing thresholds, which he said was the biggest complaint from voters in Makerfield during the last by-election campaign that brought him back to parliament.

But Mr Burnham insisted he was “cautious” and would stick to the former chancellor’s financial rules on borrowing, which he set as chancellor before he was sacked.

Following his speech, Mr Burnham received hugs, applause and a kiss from his wife, Marie-France van Heel, before walking through the black doors of No 10 to be greeted by cabinet secretary Dame Antonia Romeo and applauded by staff.