Cabinet rankings reveal Andy Burnham's 'de facto deputy' Louise Haigh is less senior than Chancellor John Healey - but ahead of Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 12:09, 24 July 2026 | Updated: 12:29, 24 July 2026 Andy Burnham's choice of Louise Haigh as his de facto deputy has seen his Government dubbed as 'Lou Labour' due to her powerful role. But an official ranking of Cabinet ministers suggests the Sheffield Heeley MP will be less senior than Chancellor John Healey. Ms Haigh is only the third most senior figure in Government - behind the Prime Minister and Mr Healey - according to the list of Cabinet ministers on the Government's website. This is despite her being named as First Secretary of State and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by Mr Burnham when he appointed his top team on Monday. Yet, Ms Haigh does rank higher on the list than the two other Cabinet ministers who - along with Mr Healey - make up the 'Great Offices of State'. She appears above both Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. Ms Haigh's position in the higher echelon of Mr Burnham's administration comes less than two years after she was forced to resign from former PM Keir Starmer's Cabinet. This followed the revelation she had been convicted of fraud during her twenties, with Ms Haigh quitting after just four months as transport secretary under Sir Keir. Andy Burnham's choice of Louise Haigh as his de facto deputy has seen his Government dubbed as 'Lou Labour' due to her powerful role But an official ranking of Cabinet ministers suggests Ms Haigh will be less senior than Chancellor John Healey Mr Burnham is pictured on Friday alongside Ms Haigh and Chancellor John Healey at the opening of his new 'No10 North' in central Manchester But Mr Burnham's takeover has now afforded her a route back to the Cabinet table, with Ms Haigh having been a key power broker behind Mr Burnham's ousting of Sir Keir. As well as heading Mr Burnham's Makerfield by-election campaign and steering his subsequent leadership bid, Ms Haigh is also reported to have interviewed candidates for senior positions in Mr Burnham's Cabinet in a highly unusual move. She is the first woman to serve as First Secretary of State - a title that indicates seniority over all other secretaries of state - since Labour's Barbara Castle in the late 1960s. More recent holders of the title were senior Tories Dominic Raab, Damian Green, George Osborne, William Hague, as well as Peter Mandelson and John Prescott in the last Labour government. Ms Haigh is expected to work regularly from Mr Burnham's new 'No10 North' in central Manchester.  Elsewhere in the Cabinet rankings, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting is listed ahead of Justice Secretary Alex Norris, Health Secretary Yvette Cooper and Education Secretary Lucy Powell, who is also Labour's deputy leader. Bridget Phillipson, who was sacked as education secretary in favour of Ms Powell, is listed just below her successor after she was allowed to remain a full Cabinet member in her role as women and equalities minister. Bottom of the list are housing minister Matthew Pennycook, European relations minister Hamish Falconer, and AI minister Kanishka Narayan. The trio - along with Attorney General Ellie Reeves and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds - are not full members of the Cabinet, but still attend Cabinet meetings.