Burnham reshapes UK cabinet with new roles for senior Labour figures

Andy Burnham was due on Tuesday to hold his first meeting with a sharply reshaped cabinet after removing some senior figures and giving new roles to others.

Burnham gave top posts to several politicians who helped his path to power and removed senior figures seen as loyal to former prime minister Keir Starmer, including finance minister Rachel Reeves.

John Healey returned to government as finance minister. The 66-year-old Labour veteran quit as defence secretary last month after a funding dispute. As defence minister, he had argued for changes to military infrastructure, more investment and tougher responses to Russian aggression. He has been a member of parliament for nearly three decades and represents a constituency in northern England.

Ed Miliband became foreign minister. He was Labour leader in opposition from 2010 until 2015, when he resigned after losing the general election. Under Starmer, he served for two years as energy security minister and campaigned for a transition to a net zero economy. The source said opponents called him an eco-zealot and that rumours he could become finance minister had unsettled markets.

Wes Streeting became defence minister after resigning as health minister in May and saying he had lost confidence in Starmer. The 43-year-old MP for an east London constituency first said he would stand against Starmer before backing Burnham. Streeting said he would make sure the armed forces have the resources they need. Former Conservative defence minister Ben Wallace criticised the appointment on X, saying it showed contempt for defence. Streeting has also faced questions about links to Peter Mandelson, who was removed as US ambassador because of his association with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but Streeting has denied they are close friends.

Shabana Mahmood remained interior minister. The former barrister and justice minister has overseen changes to the asylum system since being appointed interior minister in 2025. The 45-year-old was born in Birmingham and became one of Britain's first women Muslim MPs. After being reappointed, she said she would finish the job and carry out major reform.

Angela Rayner returned as housing minister after resigning in September over unpaid property tax. She paid the amount and was cleared of deliberate wrongdoing. The 46-year-old is popular with Labour's left-wing grassroots, previously worked for trade unions, grew up in social housing in northern England and left school at 16 after becoming a single mother.

Miatta Fahnbulleh became energy security and net zero minister, replacing Miliband in that role. The 46-year-old has been an MP for two years. She was born in Liberia, where her father served as foreign minister, and her family fled to the UK when she was a child. She later earned a PhD in economics and worked on policy ideas in government and at think tanks before becoming an MP in 2024. In May, she became the first junior minister to resign and called on Starmer to do the right thing for the country.

Yvette Cooper, 57, moved from foreign minister to health minister after less than a year in the foreign policy post. She had earlier led the interior ministry under Starmer and, in previous Labour governments, headed the housing and work and pensions departments.