UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Holds First Cabinet Meeting, Announces Electricity Tax Cut
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New Prime Minister Andy Burnham convened his cabinet, pledged a cost-of-living agenda and introduced a £45-per-year electricity tax relief funded by scrapping a digital ID plan.
Andy Burnham, who became Britain’s prime minister on Monday after replacing Keir Starmer as Labour leader, chaired his first cabinet meeting on Tuesday and outlined a "cost-of-living government" aimed at easing financial pressure on households. He said the administration would adopt a "one-team approach" despite removing several of Starmer’s allies from senior posts.
Burnham announced a tax cut on domestic electricity bills that will save the average household about £45 a year, taking effect on Oct. 1. Funding for the relief will come from cancelling a proposed digital identity card scheme.
In his opening remarks, Burnham emphasized the need to "think every day what can we do just to take that little bit of pressure off people’s shoulders, to give them that little extra sense that help is coming, so they can have that bit of hope that things are getting better." > Burnham said the government would have to make "hard" financial decisions and "take a really hard look at what our priorities are."
Key cabinet changes included appointing John Healey as finance minister, Wes Streeting as defence secretary, and Louise Haigh as first secretary of state and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, effectively deputy prime minister. Other senior posts went to Ed Miliband (foreign secretary), Angela Rayner (housing secretary) and Jonathan Reynolds (business secretary with added innovation and science responsibilities).
Burnham also held early talks with foreign leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. He told NATO chief Mark Rutte that appointing Healey to the Treasury signaled a focus on defence and security.
The defence ministry reported that a Russian warship conducted a live-fire exercise in the English Channel on the day Burnham took office. The navy said it was tracking the vessel and was prepared to protect UK security. Streeting described the Russian action as "performative and irresponsible" and warned that Russia should have no doubt about the government's resolve.
Burnham inherits a party seeking to recover from a decline in popularity and an economy with modest growth, while facing external challenges such as the war in Ukraine and heightened tensions with Russia.