Andy Burnham’s first Labour cabinet: who’s in and who’s out? | Labour

Rachel Reeves

Reeves had always wanted the job of chancellor and was proud to be the first woman to hold the post in the UK. He worked hard to instill strict fiscal discipline in the Labor Party, generally adhering to self-imposed fiscal rules and imposing spending restrictions across departments.

However, some in the Labor Party blamed early missteps by the Treasury for Starmer’s downfall; starting with the cut in the winter fuel payment, as well as the increase in national insurance for employers, which his business critics argue is hindering the job market and growth.

But Reeves can claim that he is starting to turn the economy around. He fought hard to keep his job, but was ultimately judged to be too close to the Starmer project to remain at the Treasury. He is believed to have turned down another senior position.

Reeves, a former child chess champion and Oxford economics graduate, had also faced criticism from some newspapers for exaggerating her credentials as an economist on her LinkedIn page, allowing some plagiarism to slip into a book she wrote about female economists, and mistakenly failing to pay for a landlord’s licence.

In her departure statement, she said: “It has been the privilege of my life to serve as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Today, the economy is stronger, fairer and more resilient, thanks to the elections we have made as a Labor government over the last two years. Stability has been restored, investment has been delivered and reforms to our economy are on the way… I am proud to say this. And let my time in office show every young woman and girl that there should be no limits to your ambitions, hopes or dreams.”

David Lammy

Lammy has long been a front-bencher after serving as a minister in the last New Labor governments.

A former lawyer, he served as Keir Starmer’s foreign secretary and was promoted to deputy prime minister and justice minister when Angela Rayner stepped down. He was by the former prime minister’s side during many of his most difficult moments.

His experience and poise were such that there was some speculation that he might remain in a different ministerial post. In a post announcing her departure from X, Lammy made it clear that she was happy to stay but wasn’t wanted.

HE wrote: “I would be proud to continue serving in cabinet. But a new prime minister has the right to build his own team and I wish Andy Burnham and the new cabinet every success.”

Darren Jones

From No. 10’s center of operations to zero. as Jones put it In a bluntly worded social media post: “Andy Burnham called me to tell me I would not be part of his new cabinet. I wish him and his team every success.”

An MP since 2017, Jones’ meteoric rise to the top began with his well-reviewed performances as chairman of the business and trade committee. It started with Reeves’ tough but powerful role as the number two Treasury principal secretary.

He was so central to spending talks there that when Starmer undertook one of his various organizational revamps as part of the September 2025 reshuffle, Jones took on the new and somewhat artificial role of chief secretary to the prime minister, tasked with leading the change from No 10.

Vague hints that Jones could run for the Labor leadership came to nothing and, as his tweet suggested, he would be happy to take on another role but that wasn’t on the cards either.

Steve Reed

Reed was one of the most loyal cabinet ministers to the Starmer administration, but in recent weeks he has made a play to retain his post by highlighting his achievements.

Reed, a former ally of Starmer’s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, was a senior figure in South London local government before entering parliament in 2012. He served as environment minister before his current role and will now return to the backbenchers.

The letter he wrote to Burnham after leaving the government was a bit pointed; warning him not to harm London and also conveying his hopes that those who were not loyal to Starmer would become loyal to the new prime minister.

Peter Kyle

Kyle took on the job of business secretary during an emergency reshuffle last year caused by Angela Rayner’s departure for council tax matters. This meant he suddenly found himself jetting off to the US and China at a critical time in negotiations over trade and technology companies. He previously served as science secretary; This role is now likely to be included in the business department.

Kyle entered parliament in 2015 and has spoken openly about his struggle to get there. He had difficulties at school due to dyslexia and left, in his words, “without any usable skills”. After several unsuccessful attempts, he managed to go to college in his 20s.

Kyle, an ally of both Wes Streeting and Starmer, appears to be leaving the cabinet largely to make way for Burnham’s closer supporters, but he has also been criticized for the perception that he is too open towards tech companies.

Richard Hermer

Hermer was probably Starmer’s closest friend in politics. He was a fellow human rights lawyer and was made a peer to join the prime minister’s first cabinet.

However, he quickly became a boogeyman for the right-wing press, which disliked his role in ceding the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and generally espoused views on the liberal left. His past legal work, including representing Gerry Adams and advising Caribbean countries seeking compensation, has been seized upon by the Tories, who are publicly demanding he withdraw from some territories.

Criticism was not limited to the right; Maurice Glasman, founder of the Blue Labor Party and associate of US vice president J.D. Vance, called Hermer “an arrogant, progressive fool who thinks law has superseded politics.”

Starmer remained steadfastly loyal to him, and Hermer became an invaluable source of advice and friendship in the final months of his premiership. It was also a bastion of progressive thought in the cabinet, which many in Labor saw as moving too far from core party values.

Liz Kendall

Also to be filed: No surprises here. Kendall has always been to the right of the Labor Party and has been ideologically closer to Starmer than the new Prime Minister.

Always at the forefront of Starmer, the Leicester West MP started out as work and pensions minister, whom he shadowed in opposition before moving to the science brief in the wholesale cabinet reshuffle in September last year.

Kendall, who became an MP in 2010, supported David Miliband in that year’s Labor Party leadership election. When Jeremy Corbyn became leader five years later, he stood as the last of four candidates.

Kendall thanked Starmer and other cabinet colleagues in a tweeted letter and said he stood ready to support Burnham “in any way we can”.

Jo Stevens

The Cardiff East MP, who is also not expected to remain in office, has been a fixture in the Wales office since 2021, filling in for briefings in opposition and then government, having previously served as Starmer’s shadow culture secretary.

Stevens, who was a supporter of Starmer when he was Labor leader, served as shadow Wales secretary under Corbyn but resigned in opposition to Corbyn’s decision to support formal moves for the UK to leave the EU.

Hilary Benn

Some had speculated that Benn might be among the ministers to keep his job and ensure continuity, given that he was not overtly partisan and did a reasonably good job in a sensitive briefing.

But Benn tweeted that he was gone. It marks a return to the backbench for a Labor leader who was in parliament for more than 25 years and held a series of ministerial posts under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.