Burnham Forms New UK Cabinet on Day One, Names Healey as Chancellor

According to Lianhe Zaobao citing BBC and Xinhua, new UK Prime Minister Burnham formed a new cabinet on his first day in office and appointed former defense minister John Healey as chancellor. The UK Prime Minister's Office said Monday, July 20, that Healey took the Treasury post; he had previously resigned to former Prime Minister Starmer over dissatisfaction with the funding plan for defense investment. In his first media interview as chancellor, Healey said he and Burnham would work side by side to uphold fiscal rules. Wes Streeting, who served as health secretary in the previous government, was named defense minister. Shabana Mahmood remained home secretary, former energy secretary Ed Miliband took over the Foreign Office, Yvette Cooper became health secretary, and Jonathan Reynolds was appointed business, innovation and science secretary. Burnham said earlier in a speech outside 10 Downing Street that he would drive the biggest change in 40 years and build a new political and economic model. He said the new government would strengthen cross-party and local cooperation and devolve more power from the central government to local areas. Starmer resigned as UK prime minister on Monday, after which Labour's new leader Burnham received authority from King Charles III at Buckingham Palace to form a new government and officially became prime minister.