Reeves and Lammy Out as Burnham Reshapes the Cabinet
Mr Burnham moved swiftly to remake the government, with Rachel Reeves resigning as Chancellor and David Lammy departing as Deputy Prime Minister. The business secretary, Peter Kyle, was sacked, while the housing secretary, Steve Reed, and the science secretary, Liz Kendall, also left. The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, was reported the frontrunner to become Chancellor, with Ed Miliband, John Healey and Louise Haigh seen entering No 10.
The reshuffle is the clearest early signal of Mr Burnham’s intent, both to his party and to the bond markets watching who takes the Treasury. Installing Ms Mahmood, seen as being on Labour’s right, would be read as a bid to reassure investors after a turbulent handover. Mr Lammy called it “the greatest privilege of my life” to have served in Sir Keir’s government. The scale of the clear-out — five senior figures gone — underlines the break Mr Burnham wants from the Starmer era. Watch whether the Chancellor is confirmed before markets open on Tuesday.