Rachel Reeves has warned Andy Burnham that he will face “shocks and challenges” as he takes the reins as Prime Minister and will need a “worked through plan” to govern.
The Chancellor said that the incoming Prime Minister “needs to stay laser-focused on those things that have always motivated him” as he enters Downing Street next week.
Rachel Reeves delivered a warning to Sir Keir Starmer’s successor in what could be her last major interview as the UK’s first female chancellor.
She told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “It is important that when Andy walks through that door he has a worked-through plan, because governing is hard in Britain, and lots of challenges and shocks will come his way.”
This comes after Morgan McSweeney, Starmer’s former top aide, admitted that Labour was not prepared for government following its landslide general election win in the summer of 2024.
“We didn’t prepare enough for what kind of world we were going to. […] I think we didn’t have enough conversations at the top of the party about what that meant, how to prepare for it, what that meant for the state,” he told the BBC earlier this month.
‘Perfectly reasonable’ that Burnham plotted for power
Reeves had been lobbying Burnham’s team to keep her in post but it is expected that she will be replaced in No11 when the former Manchester mayor unveils his cabinet.
Burnham’s main policy pledges in the leadup to his appointment as Prime Minister have included widespread devolution, reindustrialisation and putting more public services into public control.
He has also pledged to put British businesses first while investing in UK defence spending, which he said would be his “first priority” in Downing Street.
Burnham’s appointment as Prime Minister was confirmed earlier this week when he received 322 nominations from Labour MPs.
Reeves revealed that she had nominated Burnham and said that Starmer’s premiership came to an end because people are “impatient for change”.
“I’m impatient for change, and I totally get that people want to see their lives changed,” she added.
Earlier this week, former transport secretary and Burnham campaign manager Louise Haigh told a BBC podcast that the Makerfield MP had been planning a bid to become prime minister for “at least a year”.
Reeves said this was “perfectly reasonable,” adding: “Andy has never shied away from the fact that he wanted to at some point lead the Labour party. And I want him to be ready for that.”
Reeves prepares for Mansion House speech
In what is expected to be Reeves’ last major act as Chancellor, she will deliver a Mansion House address on Tuesday aimed at unlocking finance for small businesses.
The Chancellor will announce an expansion of the Growth Guarantee Scheme to around 12,000 more small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
This scheme provides a 70 per cent government guarantee on commercial loans to SMEs of up to £2 million, which the Treasury says helps firms to expand and invest in jobs.
The scheme will support an additional £2bn in lending by the end of the 2028 financial year.
“We know that small businesses are the backbone of this economy and growth in all our regions, and for too long they have heard ‘no’ when trying to raise the funds they need to grow and create jobs across the UK,” Reeves said.
“When they succeed, we all succeed, and today’s major reforms are the most significant step in years to unleash their potential,” she added.
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