Introduction
With Andy Burnham increasingly likely to become prime minister next month, speculation is growing about the composition of his top team.
The BBC understands that Rachel Reeves is expected to be replaced as chancellor and offered a more junior cabinet position.
Below is a detailed overview of the MPs and advisers anticipated to be part of a Burnham government if he succeeds in gaining power.
James Purnell
James Purnell, a longstanding ally of Burnham who served alongside him in Gordon Brown's cabinet, is reportedly lined up to become Burnham's Downing Street chief of staff.
When Purnell stepped down as the MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, in Greater Manchester, in 2010, Burnham described it as
"a great loss to frontline politics", adding:
"James is a great friend of mine and a man of huge intellect and talent."
A year earlier, Purnell had resigned as work and pensions secretary in an unsuccessful attempt to challenge Brown's leadership.
After leaving politics, Purnell returned to the BBC, where he had previously been head of corporate planning. He served as director of strategy and digital, then head of radio and education, before moving into lobbying as chief executive of Flint Global.
Ed Miliband
When Miliband won the Labour leadership in 2010, Burnham came fourth, positioning himself to Miliband's right during that contest.
In recent years, the two have aligned in their support for a more interventionist state.
Many around Sir Keir Starmer have been deeply suspicious of Miliband's actions as energy secretary over recent months, believing he was advocating for Burnham behind the scenes.
Miliband is thought to desire the role of chancellor, having spent many years advising Gordon Brown in the Treasury under New Labour.
Wes Streeting
The former health secretary has endorsed Burnham rather than pursuing a long-promised leadership bid of his own.
Team Streeting insists this decision was not influenced by any job offer from Burnham.
"He's done it because it's the best way forward for the country,"an adviser told the BBC.
However, speculation exists that he may be offered the crucial role of chancellor.
Angela Rayner
The former deputy prime minister had been preparing her own leadership bid after resolving her tax affairs with HM Revenue and Customs.
She remains a powerful figure on Labour's "soft left"—now the dominant faction in Parliament—and is widely expected to be offered a role in a Burnham government.
Louise Haigh
Louise Haigh and Anneliese Midgley at Burnham's by-election victory rally
The former transport secretary was the first of Sir Keir's cabinet ministers to resign, following revelations in November 2024 of a fraud conviction prior to entering parliament.
On the backbenches, she emerged as a key power broker on Labour's "soft left" and played a central role in the significant rebellion that blocked the government's welfare cuts in 2025.
Haigh was a major figure in Burnham's Makerfield by-election campaign, basing herself in the constituency, and is considered likely to receive a significant cabinet position.
Anneliese Midgley
Midgley has been the MP for Knowsley, near Makerfield, since 2024 but has been influential in the Labour movement for much longer.
She worked in Sir Keir Starmer's office in opposition after roles at the TUC, Unite, and in former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's team.
Midgley is viewed as a plausible candidate for chief whip or political secretary in Downing Street, a role not typically held by an elected politician.
Miatta Fahnbulleh
Fahnbulleh resigned as a junior minister for communities following the May elections. Unlike most who quit the government, she is from Labour's soft left.
Since then, she has been developing policy ideas for a potential Burnham government. Previously, she was a civil servant and led the New Economics Foundation think tank.
Lucy Powell
Lucy Powell is a longstanding Burnham ally
As the independently-elected deputy leader, Lucy Powell holds a significant role regardless of who leads Labour.
Currently, she is not in the cabinet and thus has influence over party matters but not government affairs.
This is expected to change if Burnham becomes prime minister. The two have worked closely for years, as she is a Manchester MP.
Heidi Alexander
Only four MPs remain who voted for Burnham in his first Labour leadership bid in 2010; one is Alexander, now transport secretary.
She also supported him in 2015, a race he began as frontrunner, and is likely to be offered a significant role should he gain power.
Lord O'Neill and Richard Hughes
Burnham consulted senior advisers, especially on economics, before his by-election win in Makerfield.
To prepare national policy programmes and signal market stability if he becomes prime minister, Burnham has sought advice from Lord O'Neill, a former Treasury minister and economist.
He has also been advised by Richard Hughes, former chairman of the Office of Budget Responsibility, who resigned following an IT leak of Budget numbers.
Kate Green
Green was Burnham's deputy mayor for policing and crime and has been canvassing MPs about their views on a Burnham government’s priorities.
She is considered a potential candidate for a role in Downing Street.
Before her current role, which she assumed in 2023, she was an MP for 12 years, including a period in Sir Keir's shadow cabinet.
Kevin Lee
Kevin Lee has been at Burnham's side for many years
Burnham's closest adviser, Lee managed his first Labour leadership campaign in 2010, advised him as shadow health secretary, and has run his mayoral office since 2017.
He is widely expected to hold a role in a Burnham Downing Street administration.
Josh Simons
Josh Simons and Miatta Fahnbulleh in the front row at Burnham's victory rally
Simons gave up his Makerfield seat for Burnham and is reported to have assisted Team Burnham on policy, despite differing ideological backgrounds from Fahnbulleh.
His political trajectory has been rapid: he worked for and later fell out with Jeremy Corbyn; ran a pro-Starmer think tank; became an MP and minister, from which he resigned over conduct allegations related to the think tank.
Simons is considered a likely candidate for a role in Burnham's Downing Street team.
Neal Lawson
A veteran figure on Labour's progressive left as founder of the pressure group Compass, Lawson has also been a leading figure in the relatively new organisation Mainstream, generally viewed as aligned with Burnham.
However, his views on electoral reform and alliances between progressive parties are somewhat at odds with others in Burnham's circle, making it uncertain whether he will be given a role.
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