A senior Labour backbencher has called on Andy Burnham to cull ministers from Sir Keir Starmer’s government, arguing that only a “real change at the top of government” can deliver the new politics that has been promised.
Jon Trickett has issued a dramatic challenge to Burnham on the eve of his coronation as Labour leader, arguing that he must not simply reshuffle ministers who embodied Sir Keir Starmer’s approach, but instead install a new leadership team capable of delivering a fundamentally different political project.
His intervention comes as Burnham prepares to appoint his first Cabinet next week. The i Paper exclusively revealed yesterday that Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, is currently in poll position to become his Chancellor – amid claims he has passed over Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who was the early frontrunner to take over the Treasury. Instead, Miliband is now tipped for a move to the Foreign Office.
Shorts
Other members of Starmer’s current Cabinet expected to be given jobs include Lucy Powell, Lisa Nandy, Wes Streeting and Rachel Reeves, who is widely expected to see her job as Chancellor downgraded to a lesser Cabinet role.
