Former Chief Secretary Criticizes New Prime Minister's Policy Funding

Whenever there is a reshuffle at the top of government, it is worth keeping an eye and an ear on the dislodged, demoted and rejected former ministers. What do they choose to do and say next?

Andy Burnham has started his first full day in the job with a promise to cut VAT from household electricity bills from 1 October.

But already – within hours - he is taking flak from a man who just yesterday was in a senior job in Downing Street working alongside Sir Keir Starmer.

On Monday night, the former Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Darren Jones, posted a picture on X of him having a beer, external, captioned "thank you and good night. See you September".

If that was meant to suggest a vow of silence it only lasted a little over 12 hours, because at breakfast time this morning came another post, this one unaccompanied by any picture but loaded with political bite.

"Good news that VAT will be cut on electricity bills," wrote Jones.

"It's a simple way for families to save a few quid, and to mechanically help to keep inflation that little bit lower. But the DigitalID program was unfunded. The government will have to set out how it will pay for its new policies at the budget."

Ouch - that will sting in Downing Street.

And yes, there are four references in the Office for Budget Responsibility's Economic and Fiscal Outlook from November, external of last year that refer to Digital ID and how and where the money will come from to pay for it is not clear.

For example, on page 10, it says "the cost of digital ID cards, for which no specific funding has been identified".

On Page 172 it talks about "the risks around the implementation of digital ID cards for which no explicit provision has been made for its £0.6bn annual cost".

Clearly, this was something of a critique of the funding of the policy Jones was previously an advocate of, so the charge was as relevant to him and Sir Keir Starmer's government about their idea as it is to Andy Burnham and his new idea.

But it is Burnham who is now prime minister and has to set out, as he put it in his first speech in Downing Street, "how we pay for" the policies they are advocating.

And all this just days after Sir Keir Starmer's successor emphasised the need to end "factionalism" within the Labour Party.

At lunchtime, Burnham will gather his cabinet for the first time, after its appointment yesterday became something of a nocturnal affair.

At gone 10pm on Monday night, there was still a minibus full of ministerial wannabes inside Downing Street waiting for their new positions to be confirmed.

One of the later posts to be filled was that of defence secretary, a role taken by Wes Streeting, whose resignation as health secretary two months ago contributed to the draining of Sir Keir's authority as prime minister.

One of the key stories of the reshuffle was a pretty significant cull of the ministers closest too and most loyal to the now former prime minister, Darren Jones among them, but also David Lammy, Peter Kyle, Lord Hermer, Steve Reed and Rachel Reeves – albeit Reeves, I am told, was offered a cabinet post but turned it down.

The question, in the coming days, weeks and months is how much do we hear in public from those banished Starmerites, as Andy Burnham's government sets out its stall.

I hadn't anticipated it starting so soon.