John Healey takes over the Treasury weeks after his shock exit from the defence brief, becoming chancellor as Sir Keir Starmer reshapes his top team. The move puts the former defence secretary in charge of the government’s finances and marks a swift return to the center of Labour power.
Healey replaces Rachel Reeves, who had served as chancellor since Labour’s landslide 2024 election victory. His resignation from the defence job had already rattled Downing Street, after he said the government’s delayed defence investment plan fell well short of what the country needed at a dangerous time. In his resignation letter, he also said the Treasury had been unwilling to commit the resources needed to defend the country amid rising threats.
The appointment is being read as a sign of confidence in a politician widely viewed inside Labour as steady, loyal, and low-drama. He has spent much of the past three decades around the party’s top table and, according to sources quoted by the BBC, shares a similar outlook with Andy Burnham on priorities such as reindustrialisation, the cost of living, and growth across the country. His resignation came just days before Burnham’s key by-election in Makerfield, adding to the sense of pressure around Starmer’s leadership.
