One week in and Andy Burnham's government is up and running. So who are the new ministers and what do Burnham's appointments tell us about how he wants to run his govt? Here's our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk top 6 takeaways - with @rebeccamckee.bsky.social and @philipnye.bsky.social 🧵...

Six things we learned from Andy Burnham’s government formation | Institute for Government

What do Andy Burnham’s cabinet choices reveal about the priorities and direction of his new government?

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

It's been a busy week in government, and at the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk We've been keeping up with the key moves and announcements this week, so you don't have to Here's a round up of my top picks of analysis from my excellent colleagues 🧵

He wants to be adored – Burnham’s people-pleasing policy debut | Institute for Government

The Manchester Mill's Joshi Herrman joins the podcast team to explore Andy Burnham's first week as prime minister.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

Yesterday evening, Burnham confirmed the appointments of several Ministers of States. There's a combination of ministerial moves within depts, moves to new depts, some remaining in post and some new faces. With PUSS appointments still to come, our chart gives you the latest govt composition.

PRESS RELEASE | Burnham’s OPMC creation follows IfG’s Commission on the Centre of Government recommendations Andy Burnham’s decision to create a strengthened Office for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet (OPMC) follows a key IfG recommendation www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/press-releas...

Burnham’s cabinet is the first to achieve gender parity. And the Office for Equality and Opportunity will move to the MHCLG with Bridget Phillipson remaining in post as Minister for Women and Equalities. Here’s our IfG breakdown of what yesterday’s announcements mean for women in government … 🧵

Andy Burnham is holding his first cabinet meeting as prime minister and there are a few new faces around the table. Key appointments were confirmed late yesterday, so we've updated our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk chart to show where we currently stand with ministerial appointments 👇

One question that’s come up a couple of times: where do Andy Burnham’s new cabinet represent as MPs? The north west has been the big gainer, with seven cabinet ministers holding seats there – of whom, five are in Greater Manchester

As cabinet appointments start to come in, a reminder that we (@instituteforgovernment.org.uk) hold a database of all ministerial appointments back to 1979 It's easy to look up all the previous holders of a post, all the roles someone has had etc: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/ministers-da...

IfG Ministers Database | Institute for Government

Search our database of all government ministers since 1979.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

Here is an @instituteforgovernment.org.uk Ministers Reflect interview with John Healey from 2016 (!) -- a reminder that he has been around a very long time.. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/defaul...

Hilary Benn is out of the NI Office. He's been in this position before before and spoke to us for our Ministers Reflect archive about - among many other things - what it's like to leave government in a reshuffle.

Megan Bryer@meganbryer.bsky.social · 2w ago

Resignations from cabinet ministers are now coming in thick and fast. Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Justice Secretary David Lammy, Housing Secretary Steve Reed and Deputy PM David Lammy are leaving their posts.

In his resignation speech, outgoing MHCLG secretary of state Steve Reed quoted remarks made by Andy Burnham at the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk conference 2026

As Ed Miliband looks set to leave DESNZ a short 🧵on the department's achievements with him as minister and where there's still work to do:

And, once again, the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk ministerial resignation chart resets to zero. For now.

Its a sad ending for Britain's first woman Chancellor (as Theresa May once said - hopefully not the last) as Rachel Reeves returns to the backbenches. But she bears a lot of the responsibility for the failures of the Starmer government. The biggest mistakes were before the 2024 election

Resignations from cabinet ministers are now coming in thick and fast. Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Justice Secretary David Lammy, Housing Secretary Steve Reed and Deputy PM David Lammy are leaving their posts.

@jillongovt.bsky.social and I had a report ready to go but were pipped to the post by Burnham’s (predictable) decision to bring digital ID to an end. There were too many questions to answer and little that had been decided, making it an easier (and popular) decision than most will be for Burnham!

Jill Rutter@jillongovt.bsky.social · 2w ago

First concrete decision from Burnham govt - binning the digital ID scheme - new comment from @hcdunlop.bsky.social and me @instituteforgovernment.org.uk www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/andy... Not a surprise and good to move quickly ..but will still need a view on other govt ID work

The two ministers who have resigned today were both direct ministerial appointments (appointed to the Lords by Starmer to serve in government) As PM Starmer appointed ten of these - you can read more about these posts and how they're appointed in our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk explainer

Direct ministerial appointments to the House of Lords | Institute for Government

If the prime minister wants to appoint a minister who is not a sitting MP or serving peer, they must ennoble them.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

Hetan Shah@hetanshah.bsky.social · 2w ago

This is a real shame - Patrick Vallance has been a really excellent and committed Science Minister who knew the territory and took a strategic view. Big shoes to fill

We have our new PM. Alongside, we’ll get a whole host of new ministers. We’re expecting new leaders in most of the big public service departments: health, justice, local government, home office, & maybe education too. But what will this mean for services and all their ongoing reforms? 🧵

Good news, and... One of the big positives in the Starmer govt’s approach was its move beyond a narrow focus on rough sleeping. Burnham should make sure this pledge sits within a broader prevention strategy - not simply drive more spending on poor-value temporary accommodation to meet the target

James Ball@jamesrball.com · 2w ago

Ending rough sleeping is a nice pledge to hear – but worth noting it's *much* easier to achieve than ending homelessness. We pretty much managed it during Covid, but things got worse again rapidly. www.bigissue.com/news/housing...

First concrete decision from Burnham govt - binning the digital ID scheme - new comment from @hcdunlop.bsky.social and me @instituteforgovernment.org.uk www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/andy... Not a surprise and good to move quickly ..but will still need a view on other govt ID work

Andy Burnham’s ID card surprise is very unsurprising | Institute for Government

Keir Starmer’s digital ID plan was a lesson in how not to approach policy making.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

The day’s first casualty: James Timpson resigns as prisons minister. This is a big surprise! Timpson had a long history as a prisons reformer before entering government and seen as one of Starmer’s more innovative & exciting appointments. He’s also delivered a big change programme in gov. So: why?

Prisons minister Lord Timpson quits government

The businessman said it was an "honour" to serve in the post, but the BBC understands he feels he has achieved all he can in the role.

bbc.co.uk

Keir Starmer has announced his resignation, becoming the latest PM unable to see out a term in office But he won't stop being prime minister just yet - as the process to replace him gets underway Starmer will continue to man the ship as PM (but for how long depends on the Labour leadership contest)

Details on the contest from @timdurrant.bsky.social & @meganbryer.bsky.social available👇 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/la...

How do Labour Party leadership contests work? | Institute for Government

A Labour leadership election can only be triggered if the leader resigns, or if 20% of MPs nominate a challenger.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

Andy Burnham has won in Makerfield with 55% of the vote share. But this wasn't your average by-election. Voters in Makerfield could well have determined how long Starmer has left in office, and who could succeed him as the next prime minister. Here's our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk breakdown... 🧵

Institute for Government@instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 2mo ago

Following Andy Burnham's victory in the Makerfield by-election, @meganbryer.bsky.social explains its importance and what it means for a potential Labour leadership contest.

Once again (and yes, there is other news now), I have had some thoughts on WhatsApp in government:

Institute for Government@instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 2mo ago

Using WhatsApp in government should come with clear responsibilities The use of WhatsApp is embedded in the way government works, but ministers need to do more to ensure they use it well. Read the latest comment from @timdurrant.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/usin...

The violent attacks in Belfast have been horrendous. With family there, it’s hard to know what to say. But @timdurrant.bsky.social and I have been looking at how ministers can lead during and after a crisis - and why it matters that the underlying issues aren’t all the same as the rest of the UK

The violent disorder in Belfast is a test of leadership and governance | Institute for Government

A misjudged ministerial response in Northern Ireland risks being ineffective or even counter productive.

instituteforgovernment.org.uk

Minister for the Armed Forces Al Carns announced his resignation yesterday evening, writing that the Defence Investment Plan 'is neither transformative enough nor sufficiently funded'. This brings the total of ministerial resignations from Starmer's govt up to 20. @instituteforgovernment.org.uk

John Healey becomes the 19th minister to resign from Keir Starmer's government. Here's a handy recap of all 19 and why they resigned. Read our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk explainer on ministerial resignations for more info! www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/mi...

Defence secretary John Healey has just resigned over the govt's Defence Investment Plan, writing that it "falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time". We're getting our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk resignation chart fired back up..

The government announced yesterday that it's launching a democratic engagement fund £2.5m for civil society orgs Aim - to find out what what interventions support groups with historically low turn out and participation to engage in democracy Interesting idea! Very small ££ but one to watch

Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament

Information from UK Parliament on written questions & answers, written statements and daily reports.

questions-statements.parliament.uk

Antony Carpen@acarpen.bsky.social · 2mo ago

NEW BLOGPOST: "Ministers launch democratic engagement fund" cambridgetownowl.com/2026/06/09/m... Applications now open for civic society orgs and charities.