Get the app →
BriefTea logoBriefTea

Every story in sixty words

Get the free app no ads · no paywall

Politics · 20 July 2026

John Healey named chancellor weeks after quitting cabinet

John Healey named chancellor weeks after quitting cabinet

Photo: Unknown author (CC0 (public domain))

Andy Burnham has made John Healey his chancellor, handing the Treasury to a man who walked out of Keir Starmer's government just six weeks ago in a dispute over defence spending. He takes over from Rachel Reeves, who had held the post since Labour won power in 2024, and was the first of the new prime minister's picks to arrive in Downing Street.

Reported by BBC News · How we write briefs

Understand this story

What does the Chancellor do? What is defence spending? What was the defence spending dispute?

More briefs

PoliticsUK could get 'Switzerland plus' EU deal, says senior MEP WorldLe Pen Vows to Cut France's Aid to Ukraine If Elected PoliticsHealey Rejects Mansion Tax Change That Would Double Homes Affected PoliticsUnion Warns 450 Jobs at Risk at UK's Biggest Gas Store BusinessOfgem Plans Charge That Could Make Cheap Energy Deals Harder to Find PoliticsMother of Henry Nowak's Killer to Be Freed Early from Prison More politics stories → Browse all stories →