Key facts
- Lucy Rigby has been appointed City minister again.
- Rigby previously served in the role under Keir Starmer.
- She was moved from her cabinet role by Burnham.
- Rigby will now return to the dual brief of economic secretary to the Treasury and City minister.
- Angela Eagle was promoted to environment secretary.
- Emma Reynolds moved to become chief secretary to the Treasury.
Lucy Rigby has been reappointed as City minister, a role she previously held under Keir Starmer. She was moved from her position as chief secretary to the Treasury by Burnham and will now resume her dual responsibilities as economic secretary to the Treasury and City minister.
Rigby, a former lawyer, served as City minister for approximately nine months before taking on the chief secretary role in May, following Wes Streeting’s resignation. Her appointment is part of a significant reshuffle within the Treasury.
In the same shake-up, Burnham promoted Angela Eagle to environment secretary and moved Emma Reynolds, a former City minister herself, to become the new chief secretary to the Treasury. The status of Torsten Bell as pensions minister and Dan Tomlinson as the minister overseeing tax has not yet been confirmed by Number 10. Rachel Blake, the MP for Cities of London and Westminster, has departed the government.
During her previous tenure as City minister, Rigby was known for implementing a new tax holiday on stamp duty for shares of newly-listed companies and aimed to promote IPOs amidst challenges in the UK's capital markets. She was considered a popular figure among City investors and gained Starmer's trust, accompanying him on a state visit to China earlier in the year.
Burnham largely appointed Treasury ministers with prior experience in the department. John Healey, who succeeded Rachel Reeves as Chancellor, had previously served as a minister in the department during the Tony Blair and Gordon Brown governments. Murray, formerly the tax minister, is now the financial secretary to the Treasury and paymaster general, overseeing regional growth and supporting the British Business Bank and National Wealth Fund. He takes over from Lord Spencer Livermore, an ally of Reeves. Additionally, Lord Jason Stockwood, formerly director of match.com and CEO of Simply Business, will no longer serve as investment minister.