The people around Andy Burnham who could shape UK politics

Andy Burnham looks likely to become the UK’s next prime minister after Keir Starmer announced his resignation and potential rivals endorsed Parliament’s newest MP to succeed him.

Assuming he’s able to secure the backing of his Labour Party colleagues in the leadership contest that kicks off next month, the next question for Burnham will be what his team, cabinet and government will look like.

“Burnham is obviously going to transition mid-parliament and he’s going to have to form a team in very quick succession, so it is going to be challenging,” Harry Quilty-Pinner, of the Institute for Public Policy Research, told Bloomberg Radio. He contrasted Burnham’s position now with Starmer, who had years to prepare his team for government.

Bloomberg reported last week that Burnham has been taking advice from former Bank of England Chief Economist Andy Haldane, former Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill, former IPPR executive director Carys Roberts and former Office for Budget Responsibility Chairman Richard Hughes. But who else on the political side could shape his cabinet and wider political operations?

Here are some prominent figures around Burnham:

Ed Miliband, 56, Energy Secretary

When Burnham first ran for the leadership in 2010, finishing fourth, it was Ed Miliband who won. He led Labour to defeat in 2015 and spent years in the political wilderness before returning to the front lines as Starmer’s energy secretary. His focus on net zero has made him one of the more polarizing figures in government, especially as North Sea oil and gas drilling has become an increasingly salient political issue.

But allies and opponents alike say he has been one of Starmer’s more effective ministers. Miliband has supported Burnham from inside government and was among the first cabinet ministers to tell Starmer privately that he should set out a timetable for his resignation. He is seen as a possible chancellor in a Burnham government, but also carries the baggage of the 2015 loss — and of an infamous conference speech, delivered without notes, in which he forgot to mention the deficit or immigration.

Shabana Mahmood, 45, Home Secretary

Shabana Mahmood has been central to the government’s more restrictive immigration agenda, including plans to make it harder for migrants to obtain settled status and for refugees to remain in the UK permanently. While Labour figures including former deputy leader Angela Rayner have criticized her reforms, Burnham is seen to be supportive of their general thrust. Touted as another potential chancellor, her economic views are less clearly defined. Another possibility is that she remains at the Home Office, where she would provide Burnham with credibility on a politically sensitive issues.

Wes Streeting, 43, Former Health Secretary

Wes Streeting is far from a Burnham acolyte, hailing from the right of the Labour Party, unlike Burnham from its so-called soft left. He’s argued for a much closer relationship with the European Union, and in an economic speech last week, sought to reassure markets, saying: “Bond markets are not Bond villains and fiscal rules matter” — a remark that appeared to slight Burnham, who said last year the UK needs to move past being “in hock” to the markets. Until explicitly backing Burnham on Monday, Streeting had been seen as a rival who could most plausibly accumulate the required nominations. But he said he’d been convinced after speaking at length with the Manchester politician that there was room for his ideas under a Burnham leadership. He later denied being offered any jobs.

Louise Haigh, 38, Former Transport Secretary

Louise Haigh served as Starmer’s transport secretary, advocating for greater investment in the transport network in the north of England. She became his first cabinet minister to quit in late 2024 when it emerged she had a fraud conviction from a decade earlier. But she’s remained influential on Labour’s soft left and was a prominent rebel in the 2025 welfare vote, a pivotal moment that showed the party’s backbenchers had the power to force Starmer to change policy.

Last week, she set out her economic thinking, arguing for a more active state. “Our economic institutions and fiscal framework are designed for short-term firefighting when long-term renewal is required,” she wrote. Haigh has advised Burnham for months, and was based in Makerfield during his by-election campaign. She’s widely expected to be in line for a big job in a Burnham cabinet.

Lucy Powell, 51, Deputy Labour Leader

Lucy Powell served as leader of the House of Commons under Starmer before losing her government role in the September 2025 reshuffle. A month later, she became Labour’s deputy leader, with Burnham’s endorsement — defeating Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson in a result considered a rebuke to the government by Labour members. A Manchester-area MP like Burnham, Powell’s experience in Parliament and the party machine, plus her personal mandate as deputy leader would be strengths in helping a Burnham government manage the fractious House of Commons.

Anneliese Midgley, 50, Member of Parliament

Anneliese Midgley became MP for Knowsley, near Burnham’s new Makerfield constituency, in 2024. Before entering Parliament, she worked in Starmer’s office in opposition and was previously a trade union official. Alongside Haigh, Midgley is a prominent member of Tribune, a faction of soft-left Labour MPs which has grown more assertive as Starmer’s authority has ebbed. Her local roots in the northwest and links to both the union movement and Starmer’s former operation make her a useful bridge between different parts of the party.

Miatta Fahnbulleh, 46, Former Communities Minister

Miatta Fahnbulleh, an economist, became a minister shortly after entering Parliament in 2024 — but quit after last month’s local elections, saying the government had failed to act with enough “vision, pace and ambition.” She also criticized its attempts to cut winter fuel payments and disability benefits. Since leaving government, Fahnbulleh has been helping Burnham on policy. Before becoming an MP, she ran the New Economics Foundation think tank and served as head of cities in the Cabinet Office policy unit.

Yuan Yang, 36, Member of Parliament

Yuan Yang became the first MP to have been born in mainland China when she was elected in 2024. A former Financial Times journalist, since entering Parliament she has served on the influential cross-party Treasury Select Committee, scrutinizing the work of Britain’s finance ministry. Another MP who called for Starmer to resign after the local election results, she’s also been a vocal critic of Thames Water, last week opposing a rescue deal proposed by its creditors. That dovetails with Burnham’s wider promise to put essential services under greater public control.

Josh Simons, 32, Former Cabinet Office Minister

Josh Simons was the MP who quit in Makerfield to give Burnham a route back to Parliament. Before entering politics, he worked on Meta’s AI program and later led Labour Together, a think tank that supported Starmer’s leadership. He became a minister after entering Parliament in 2024, but resigned at the start of this year when it emerged Labour Together had hired a PR firm that investigated the private affairs of several journalists. When standing down, Simons said “complacency has become a rot” and that Westminster and Whitehall were “so often a barrier to getting things done.” Burnham has praised Simons as “selfless.” But since as he’s no longer an MP, he can’t get a ministerial role unless he’s given a place in the House of Lords.

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With assistance from Joe Mayes and Chloe Chaplain.

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