LONDON: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham finalised his top team within hours of taking charge at 10 Downing Street and promoted British Indian minister for artificial intelligence (AI) Kanishka Narayan to the Cabinet, and purging allies of predecessor Keir Starmer from the government.
Burnham, who was invited to form the government by King Charles on Monday, set about unveiling the team of ministers who will join him around the Cabinet table soon after.
Lisa Nandy is another Indian-origin minister who holds on to her department, with additional responsibilities as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
Narayan said his elevation, as Minister for AI, falling jointly within the Cabinet Office and the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, is a sign of the new PM's "deep commitment to AI's importance".
“AI is likely the most significant technology in human history. Its impact will dwarf other things. The best case for it is compelling beyond our dreams: a reindustrialised Britain, stronger national security, public services transformed for the better," said Narayan, who was elected as the first Indian-origin member of Parliament from Wales in the July 2024 general election.
“The risks, too, are real: it is right that the British public shares those worries, for jobs, for the pace of change. The central fact is that it is happening. Nations have a narrow window to decide whether they shape AI or get shaped by it. Britain is in that window right now,” he said.
The 36-year-old Bihar-born Labour MP for the Vale of Glamorgan, who held the AI brief as a junior minister in former prime minister Keir Starmer’s team, pledged to act with "pace and ambition" and “focus relentlessly on securing British influence in shaping AI”.
“I will also bring to this job the place I represent – a constituency in Wales, a nation with industry and ambition at its heart, a proud history of punching above its weight on the global stage. A nation which welcomed a 12-year old and his family, gave us the best chance at opportunity, put me in Parliament as Wales' first ethnic minority MP, and now affords me the chance to make a mark in Cabinet,” he said.
With roots in Muzaffarpur, Narayan's family moved to the Welsh capital of Cardiff when he was a little boy. He studied at Oxford and Stanford universities before entering politics after a stint in the private sector and has been vocal about the importance of the India-UK relationship.
“The question being asked is one of policy continuity in a slightly transitioning political moment; on this question, I feel absolutely convinced that the stability of the depth of our relationship (with India) is a stability we'll continue to see in the months and years ahead,” said Narayan, addressing the India All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) last month.
Meanwhile, Lisa Nandy is reappointed to the ministerial role she has been in charge of since July 2024 with the additional responsibility for digital services too.
The 44-year-old Manchester-born daughter of Calcutta-born academic Dipak Nandy and English mother Luise Byers is a close ally of Burnham as his Makerfield constituency neighbour in Wigan, within the Greater Manchester region.
In the lead-up to the elevation of the region’s former mayor to prime minister, she vouched for her new boss being “faster and bolder” in the Labour Party's reform agenda.
Among the other key Cabinet appointments, South Asian heritage Shabana Mahmood holds on to her role as Home Secretary, which she described as "the best job in the business”.
“We have begun the work of major reform to make our streets safer and our immigration system fair for all. Now let’s finish the job," she said, after her meeting with Burnham.
Jonathan Reynolds, who oversaw the completion of the India-UK free trade agreement last year with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, resumes the trade brief in a bulked-up Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
“I look forward to partnering with you once again to build on this momentum and strengthen investment flows, mobility provisions, and the shared vision of our leaders for a modern, resilient trade corridor between our two nations,” said Goyal, with reference to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) entering into force last week.
While former defence secretary John Healey has been elevated to the crucial post of Chancellor of the Exchequer, former energy minister Ed Miliband is the new Foreign Secretary.
Yvette Cooper moves from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the previous incumbent of that role, Wes Streeting, has been appointed Defence Secretary.
Burnham removed several of Starmer's senior ministers from the government including ex-deputy prime minister David Lammy, former business secretary Peter Kyle and Starmer's chief secretary Darren Jones.