Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Andy Burnham became Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, pledging to reshape its politics and revive a nation “fed up” with a revolving door of leaders. He said politicians had failed to bring the stability needed to raise living standards.
Hours of taking charge at 10 Downing Street, Burnham, who was invited to form the Government by King Charles on July 20, set about unveiling the team of Ministers He promoted British-Indian Minister for artificial intelligence (AI) Kanishka Narayan to the Cabinet, and purging allies of predecessor Keir Starmer from the Government.
Lisa Nandy is another Indian-origin Minister who holds on to her department, with additional responsibilities as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The 36-year-old Bihar-born Labour MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, with roots in Muzaffarpur who held the AI brief as a Junior Minister in Starmer’s team, pledged to act with “pace and ambition” and “focus relentlessly on securing British influence in shaping AI”. Two female Sikh MPs, Satvir Kaur (41) and Harpreet Uppal (43) have been awarded front bench roles in the Government.
On July 23, Burnham said he would lower business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues by 20 per cent from April, his third announcement in three days of measures to help households and businesses.
There are now two Hindus and two Sikhs on the front bench as Uma Kumaran, a Hindu of Sri Lankan heritage, has been made a junior minister in the foreign office.
Other appointments
While former Defence Secretary John Healey has been elevated to the crucial post of Chancellor of the Exchequer, former Energy Minister Ed Miliband is the new Foreign Secretary. Yvette Cooper moves from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the previous incumbent of that role, Wes Streeting, has been appointed Defence Secretary.
Business rates
On July 23, Burnham said he would lower business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues by 20 per cent from April, his third announcement in three days of measures to help households and businesses.
Since taking power, Burnham has also said he will remove a tax from domestic electricity bills and cap bus fares, eager to show that he can act more decisively than his predecessor. “This Government will back the businesses that people want to see in their communities,” said Burnham, a former mayor of Greater Manchester. Finance Minister John Healey said he wanted to go further on reducing the cost of doing business in Britain to lift pessimism around the economy.
