It took more than four hours, nine brutal sackings of Sir Keir Starmer’s allies and a conversation with Donald Trump before we got the first hint of Andy Burnham’s much anticipated pick for Chancellor.
It was around 5pm when the Cabinet reshuffle got underway with John Healey arriving in Downing Street in a clear sign he was on his way to the Treasury in a move that took Westminster by surprise.
It followed days of briefing that the Prime Minister had made up his mind to appoint Shabana Mahmood to the Treasury, triggering a backlash from the Labour left who had long been expecting Burnham ally Ed Miliband.
Instead, Miliband and Mahmood arrived in Downing Street after Healey, walking to No 10’s famous black door together in a show of unity.
‘Are they fighting it out?’
Miliband was made Foreign Secretary, beating his elder brother to the role if rumours that David Miliband was set for a shock return to politics are to be believed, while Mahmood got her wish to stay as Home Secretary, with Healey taking up the all-important and much coveted Chancellor job.
It triggered a round of furious speculation, echoed by Green leader Zack Polanski who said Healey’s appointment was “clearly a political compromise” after Miliband was rejected by “bankers” and Mahmood by the Labour Party.
However, The i Paper has been told that Burnham had genuinely not made up his mind on the Cabinet last week and that none of the senior ministers in question were offered jobs, or even given a nod or a wink by his team before their appointments today.
Mahmood was understood to be delighted to be staying on at the Home Office, with a source close to her saying she “has been clear throughout this process her desire to remain Home Secretary”, adding that she “will now finish the job to make our immigration system fair for all”.
Some however wondered if there had been a tussle over the Great Offices of State – after the Prime Minister these are Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary and Chancellor – given it took more than an hour after Healey arrived in Downing Street to be made Chancellor, with Mahmood, Miliband and Burnham’s close ally Louise Haigh, now First Secretary of State, all going into No 10 in the meantime.
One Government source said: “This feels and looks properly messy. Are they fighting it out in there?”
‘Briefings cover up indecisiveness’ official claimed
But a source close to Miliband denied any suggestion that there had been a bust-up, despite the ex-energy secretary having long believed to have coveted the role of chancellor: “Not at all. That’s complete mischief. On Ed, the PM offered him FCDO [Foreign Office] and he was honoured to accept.”
A Labour insider suggested Burnham would have wanted to make clear to his top four ministers his expectations given he had just promised outside Downing Street the biggest change to British politics in 40 years: “Unlike other leaders, he’s fresh in.
“Likely he’ll be talking them through what he wants to deliver.”
Elsewhere, some wondered if Burnham’s allies had been briefing about the chancellor role in advance to cover up the fact that he could not make his choice.
“The briefing covers up the indecisiveness,” a second Labour Party official said.
John Healey leaves 10 Downing Street after being appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. (Photo by Henry Nicholls / AFP via Getty Images)The official also wondered if Healey’s appointment was a “debt repaid” by Burnham after the ex-defence secretary resigned over defence spending and helped trigger Sir Keir Starmer’s downfall: “Of all the U-turns and events and resignations Healey’s resignation delivered the fatal blow. Funny isn’t it?”
One Labour MP with experience in financial services said Healey’s appointment was clearly “a huge nod to [a] likely defence spending boost in the coming months”.
A source close to Healey also hinted at this, saying: “He was the man that led Labour defence recovery in opposition and was respected in opposition and now he will rebuild from the Treasury.
“John gets on with the job – results, results and results.”
Another MP said it would “calm the PLP [parliamentary Labour Party]”, elements of which had begun a pitched battle over Mahmood versus Miliband for the Treasury job.
Suggestions that the markets could react adversely to a surprise appointment and the implication of higher defence spending were also dismissed by the MP: “”[I] can’t see how John won’t be seen as a safe pair of hands in the mould of Alistair Darling.”
A Burnham supporter however raised fears of unrest over Healey’s appointment, suggesting there may yet be a left-wing backlash: “The membership, having been teased with the idea of Ed for years, will be delighted I’m sure”.
Burnham may have created enemies
Starmer loyalists meanwhile warned Burnham might have created enemies after he wielded the axe against the ex-PM’s allies in a series of phone calls on Monday afternoon.
Former chancellor Rachel Reeves was the highest profile to go, amid claims she turned down the role of defence secretary.
One Starmer loyalist MP said Burnham’s so-called night of the long eyelashes amounted to “riding roughshod over the unity required within the PLP”.
However one minister who has been largely loyal to Starmer warned that those who have been sacked must stay loyal or Labour risks losing the next election.
“Everyone knows this is our last chance so we need to pull together,” the minister said.
“Seriously, if we mess about again as a party we won’t recover.
“We need to get on with it now.
“I can see all those sacked secretaries of state back at some point. They are very talented.”
The Cabinet appointments were understood to be further delayed by the need for the new Prime Minister to make a series of international calls.
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