Louise Haigh, appointed as Andy Burnham's First Secretary of State and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is ranked as the third most senior figure in the new government, behind the Prime Minister and Chancellor John Healey. This official ranking, detailed on the government's website, places her below Healey despite her high-profile title.
Haigh's position in the administration comes less than two years after she resigned from former Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Cabinet following a fraud conviction from her twenties. She had served as transport secretary for only four months under Starmer before her departure. Burnham's ascent to leadership has now provided her a path back to a senior Cabinet role, with reports indicating she was a significant influence in Starmer's ousting and played a key role in Burnham's subsequent leadership bid. She is also reported to have interviewed candidates for senior positions within Burnham's Cabinet.
Haigh is the first woman to hold the title of First Secretary of State since Barbara Castle in the late 1960s. Previous holders of the title include prominent Conservative figures Dominic Raab, George Osborne, and William Hague, as well as Labour's Peter Mandelson and John Prescott.
Despite being ranked below the Chancellor, Haigh's position places her ahead of other key figures considered part of the 'Great Offices of State,' including Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. The government's website lists Haigh above both.
Ms Haigh is expected to work frequently from Burnham's newly established 'No10 North' office in central Manchester.
Elsewhere in the Cabinet, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting is ranked higher than Justice Secretary Alex Norris, Health Secretary Yvette Cooper, and Education Secretary Lucy Powell, who also serves as Labour's deputy leader. Bridget Phillipson, formerly the education secretary, is listed immediately below her successor, Lucy Powell, after retaining a Cabinet position as minister for women and equalities. At the lower end of the rankings are housing minister Matthew Pennycook, European relations minister Hamish Falconer, and AI minister Kanishka Narayan. These three, along with Attorney General Ellie Reeves and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds, attend Cabinet meetings but are not full Cabinet members.
