LABOUR leader Burnham said yesterday that he had still not decided who will be in his Cabinet, ahead of him taking over from Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister today.
Asked why he had not announced his top team, the new Labour leader said: ‘It would be somewhat premature and would, I think, cause complete chaos if you start half a reshuffle before you’re in the position.’
There has been widespread speculation about Burnham’s Cabinet, with Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood thought to be in the running to replace Rachel Reeves as Chancellor.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said Burnham ‘comes in with absolutely no mandate of any kind at all’ and called for ‘an immediate general election so the country can decide the future’.
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey however welcomed Burnham’s call for a more collaborative politics, adding ‘my door is open’.
Burnham however is backed by 379 Labour MPs, as well as all 11 trade unions affiliated to the party. He will take over from Starmer as Prime Minister today, following a reception with King Charles III.
Asked by reporters about who will be in his Cabinet, Burnham said: ‘I am finalising those decisions, and I will come to conclusions very shortly, and then I will announce those on Monday.’
In his first speech as Labour leader at the TUC headquarters in central London, he said his appointments for Cabinet would reflect ‘all parts of our party’ and ‘all communities’. He said: ‘We won’t beat Britain’s new right if we are consumed by infighting and pulling in different directions.’
He added that he knows what he believes and what he wants to do in government, telling the audience: ‘I have a plan.’ This plan he kept to himself.
He, however, told reporters a top priority would be reforming the social care system. Social care is devolved, meaning any reforms Burnham will look to implement will only apply to England.
Unlike the NHS, social care is not free at the point of use and high costs sometimes mean people are forced to sell their homes to pay for what they need.
Burnham has long called for reform. As health secretary under Gordon Brown, just weeks before the 2010 general election, he published a White Paper calling for the creation of a National Care Service which would be free at the point of use.
Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said Burnham should recall Parliament, which is now in recess until September, to explain his plan to MPs.
‘It’s not too late for Andy Burnham to do the right thing, make a statement, and answer questions from members of Parliament on Monday about his “plan”,’ he said.
Linda Hobson, from Unison, one of the unions linked to Labour, said Burnham ‘must get this right and bring back the hope he promises’.
Labour has trailed Reform UK in opinion polls for almost 18 months and supporters will be hoping Burnham’s arrival as Prime Minister will reverse their fortunes.
However, Starmer resigned as Labour leader last month, saying he accepted he was not best placed to lead his party into the next general election.
Heavy Labour losses in May’s local elections followed by Burnham’s by-election victory in Makerfield had left Starmer facing widespread calls from his own MPs for him to stand aside and allow Burnham to replace him.
Burnham paid tribute to Starmer on Friday, celebrating his record in government including improving rights for workers and renters, seeing NHS waiting lists fall and bringing rail back under public control.
Now is the time for the TUC to break its silence and make a call for action.
It must call a general strike of all of its member trade unions to bring down the current indecisive Labour regime and to bring in a Workers Government that will nationalise the banks and the major industries and see to it that the working class that creates the wealth, enjoys the fruits of its labour in a socialist economy, based on satisfying the needs of the people.
Capitalism on a world scale is now in a desperate crisis, in fact it is in its death agony. The working class must make sure that capitalism is consigned to the dustbin of history and is replaced by a worldwide Socialist Republic!
