Shabana Mahmood expected to become UK Chancellor

Shabana Mahmood, the current Home Secretary and Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood, is expected to be appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer by incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham when he forms his government on Monday, July -20, 2026. The anticipated selection, widely reported by multiple outlets, positions Mahmood to take on the nation's economic portfolio as Burnham succeeds Keir Starmer.

Burnham, the former Mayor of Greater Manchester, became Labour leader unopposed on Friday, July 17, and will formally take office after being invited by the King to form a government on Monday. His choice of chancellor is seen as a crucial early signal of his administration's economic direction. While Burnham had remained publicly undecided, reports indicate that his inner circle objected to the original frontrunner, Ed Miliband, over concerns that his association with stringent net-zero policies and his past leadership of the party would unsettle financial markets and business communities.

Mahmood, first elected in 2010, is viewed by analysts as a fiscally disciplined and pragmatic centrist within the Labour Party. Her expected appointment has been welcomed by financial markets,...