Andy Burnham expands role for parliamentary private secretaries in new UK government

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a full slate of new ministers, parliamentary private secretaries (PPSs) and whips following his entry to Downing Street. The list includes senior appointments such as Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, and a roster of 46 PPSs drawn from the previous Labour government, with Sir Nic Dakin named as the Prime Minister’s senior PPS.

Burnham is also proposing reforms to give PPSs a larger, more visible role. The changes would permit PPSs to make more media appearances and take on additional parliamentary duties on national policy, subject to approval by departmental advisers, No 10 and existing government policy. The initiative is described as part of a broader cultural shift within the administration to strengthen the link between ministers and backbench MPs.