Politics · ArchiveBurnham Reshuffles Cabinet: Healey as Chancellor, Miliband as Foreign Secretary — 50 New FacesAired July 21, 2026 at 9:52 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Andy Burnham used his first full day in0:02Downing Street to name a radically0:03reshuffled cabinet, sweeping out several0:05Starmer era ministers and installing his0:07own team. Jon Healey, the former defense0:09secretary who resigned over a spending0:11dispute, is now Chancellor of the0:12Exchequer. Ed Miliband moves from energy0:14to foreign secretary, and Rachel Reeves0:16was sacked as Chancellor after0:18reportedly declining an alternative0:19role.0:21The full lineup shows a dramatic reset.0:23Yvette Cooper takes health. Angela0:25Rayner returns as housing secretary, and0:28Wes Streeting shifts to defense. Shabana0:30Mahmood is the only minister retained in0:32an identical role from the Starmer0:34cabinet. In total, around 50 new faces0:37enter ministerial positions, and just0:39seven ministers remain in the same job0:40they held before. Burnham also placed a0:42call to President Donald Trump within an0:44hour of taking office. The two discussed0:46North Sea oil trade and security in the0:49Strait of Hormuz, signaling an early0:51focus on international relations and0:53energy policy. The call from Downing0:55Street to Washington came within the0:57first hour of Burnham's premiership. The0:59topics, North Sea oil trade and the1:01Strait of Hormuz, suggest energy and1:04foreign policy will dominate his early1:06agenda. Inside Downing Street, Burnham1:08also announced a centerpiece cost of1:10living measure, zero VAT on domestic1:13electricity from October 1st. The policy1:16saves the typical household £45 over the1:18rest of the year, funded by scrapping1:20the digital ID program. But those1:22savings could be swallowed whole by1:24rising energy bills. The price cap1:26currently sits at £1,663.1:30It is forecast to climb to 1,7471:33in October and 1,838 by January. All of1:37this lands on a daunting economic1:39backdrop. Burnham inherits a £67 billion1:42pound defense spending black hole, a1:44£133 billion pound fiscal deficit, and1:47an IMF warning about the fallout from1:48the Iran conflict. The accountability1:51question is clear. This team was built1:52to deliver his circuit breaker promises,1:54but the arithmetic leaves very little1:56room to maneuver.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗