Burnham allies urge him to make Louise Haigh chancellor Dominic PennaFri, May 29, 2026 at 6:15 PM UTC 0 Louise Haigh and Andy Burnham. Ms Haigh has been described by allies as ‘incredibly clever’ Allies of Andy Burnham have urged him to appoint Louise Haigh as chancellor if he becomes the next prime minister. Labour MPs who want the Mayor of Greater Manchester to replace Sir Keir Starmer said that the “fantastic” former transport secretary had a “better plan” for the economy than Rachel Reeves.
Burnham allies urge him to make Louise Haigh chancellor
Dominic PennaFri, May 29, 2026 at 6:15 PM UTC
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Louise Haigh and Andy Burnham. Ms Haigh has been described by allies as ‘incredibly clever’
Allies of Andy Burnham have urged him to appoint Louise Haigh as chancellor if he becomes the next prime minister.
Labour MPs who want the Mayor of Greater Manchester to replace Sir Keir Starmer said that the “fantastic” former transport secretary had a “better plan” for the economy than Rachel Reeves.
However, other back-bench supporters of Labour’s Makerfield by-election candidate voiced concerns over Ms Haigh, who resigned in November 2024 over a historical fraud conviction.
Mr Burnham is facing a close fight against Reform in Makerfield on June 18 and is widely expected to challenge Sir Keir for the leadership if he succeeds in returning to Westminster.
Allies of Mr Burnham have said he would rip up multi-billion-pound asylum contracts that led to migrants being housed in hotels if he became prime minister, The Times reported.
One MP who is backing Mr Burnham told The Telegraph: “All I want for Christmas is a win in Makerfield. I think Lou is fantastic, though.
“But I think the more important thing will be policy direction, and obviously that comes with personnel too, but it will be both.”
Since returning to the back benches, Ms Haigh has called on Sir Keir to change direction on the economy and rip up Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance.
She is one of almost 100 Labour MPs to have demanded the Prime Minister set out a course for his departure, saying that he had made “too many unforced errors” and failed to deliver “significant and urgent” change.
Another Labour MP argued that Ms Haigh was “certainly asserting herself as somebody who has got a better plan in terms of the economy”.
“Haigh is a woman with a brain the size of 27 planets,” they said. “She’s incredibly, incredibly clever. She just gets it, she’s super fast. She’s in a different league to anybody really.”
Louise Haigh says the Prime Minister has failed to deliver urgent change - Wiktor Szymanowicz
The MP claimed that the circumstances of her departure from the Cabinet 18 months ago were “unfair” and a result of double standards in Sir Keir’s administration.
Ms Haigh appeared at Camberwell Green magistrates’ court in 2014, six months before her election, after making a false report to officers that her mobile phone had been stolen.
She said she was “mugged while on a night out” in 2013 and gave police a list of items she believed had been taken, including a work mobile phone.
Ms Haigh told Sky News she later learnt that the phone had not been lost, and was called in for questioning by the police.
One source on the soft-Left said Ms Haigh wanted to become chancellor, while a second source claimed that she was “jockeying” for position.
Ms Haigh declined to comment when approached by The Telegraph about her rumoured ambitions.
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Haigh ‘isn’t a serious person’
Some supporters of Mr Burnham voiced scepticism over her potential return to the Cabinet. One said: “I just think this isn’t a serious person.
“Writing a few articles in the New Statesman and convincing people you can be chancellor – I definitely think it’s for the birds.”
Another Labour MP added: “Lou needs to remember she’s damaged goods in the public’s eyes and has no economic background.”
One critic of Sir Keir said Labour was “bereft of talent” but that Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, would be the “least worst” option if Mr Burnham wanted to replace Ms Reeves.
Mr Miliband has remained in the Cabinet but reportedly spoke to the Prime Minister before the elections to urge him to set out a timetable for his departure from Downing Street.
Another name brought up by MPs minded to support Mr Burnham was Miatta Fahnbulleh, who resigned as a ministerial aide in the wake of Labour’s local elections drubbing.
Other backers of the Mayor of Greater Manchester insisted he should keep Ms Reeves in the face of apparent market concerns over past comments he has made about the economy.
In an interview last September, Mr Burnham said Britain must not be “in hock” to the bond markets as speculation emerged around his leadership ambitions.
He has since pledged to respect Labour’s 2024 manifesto but has signalled his support for campaigning for a land tax at the next general election.
Mr Burnham also wants to replace inheritance tax with a social care levy, which would lift the financial burden from local authorities.
One former minister said they did not have a preference on who became Mr Burnham’s chancellor, but added: “It wouldn’t hurt if we had a chancellor who had run a department.
“It seems so many of the problems of government come from the disconnect between departments and the Treasury.”
Elsewhere, Mr Burnham is thought to be planning on devolving the responsibility for sourcing migrant accommodation to local authorities, according to The Times.
Instead of hotels, migrants would be housed in bedsits, multi-occupancy homes and other community-based housing.
A spokesman for Mr Burnham said he believed “hugely profitable outsourced contracts” was “not the basis for a fair asylum system”.
They added: “Andy stands by his view that the way dispersal has been handled has ridden roughshod over local communities and hit places like the North West hard, forcing them to pick up the pieces, while outsourced companies profits surge. He’s been clear that is not fair on communities here and needs to change.”
A spokesman for Mr Burnham was contacted for comment.
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Published: May 30, 2026 at 03:54AM on Source: PRIME TIME
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Burnham allies urge him to make Louise Haigh chancellor Dominic PennaFri, May 29, 2026 at 6:15 PM UTC 0 Louise Haigh and Andy B...
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