Rachel Reeves is expected to lose her role under Andy Burnham’s premiership (Alamy)
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed her support for Andy Burnham to become the next prime minister as speculation over the future cabinet heats up.
Speaking to the BBC on Thursday morning, Reeves said: “I’m supporting Andy to be prime minister.”
Keir Starmer announced on Monday that he would resign as PM this summer, triggering the process to replace him as leader, which could conclude as early as next month.
It comes after reports that Reeves will lose her job as Chancellor under the former Manchester mayor and instead be handed a more junior role.
Reeves, who has been in the role since Labour won the general election in July 2024, had hoped to stay in No 11, but The Times reported that Burnham’s allies had concluded a personnel change was needed to show a shift in direction.
Sky News reported earlier this week that Reeves’ aides had been calling Britain’s top businesses asking them to lobby Burnham to keep her as Chancellor.
On Thursday, Reeves said she had known Burnham for “more than a decade and a half” but was “not going to pre-empt his decisions” about top jobs.
Reeves also spoke at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) conference later on Thursday, where she urged her successor to “[stick] to what I’m doing because it is beginning to bear fruit”. She said that Burnham had been “really explicit” about continuing to back her fiscal rules.
She told the conference: “Clearly we need to do more to connect to the country to tell a better story of what we’ve done in government but also set out the vision of where we want the country to go.
“That is what Andy will be able to provide as our next prime minister. He is a great communicator, he’s got a great track record of delivering in Greater Manchester, and I have no doubt he will bring that to the position of prime minister.”
Burnham was sworn in as the MP of Makerfield on Monday after winning a landslide by-election victory. It is looking increasingly likely that he will become PM next month. His likeliest contender former health secretary We Streeting on Monday announced his support for Burnham.
The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones has also said he will not be standing in a leadership contest for Labour leader, after sparking suspicion among colleagues that he was quietly sounding out support for a future leadership bid of his own.
