Douglas Alexander will remain as Secretary of State for Scotland after Andy Burnham unveiled his cabinet on Monday. He left Downing Street shortly after 23:00 after being told he would keep his job, and said he was “very happy” to stay on.
Alexander said it was “an honour to be asked to continue my work as Secretary of State for Scotland” and that he was determined to be Scotland’s voice around the Cabinet table. He also said he was “delighted to have the new prime minister’s confidence in the role and work we have been doing for the past year.”
Monday at 10 Downing Street
Burnham replaced Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister on Monday after becoming Labour leader last week. Alexander went into 10 Downing Street shortly after 22:00, then came out after 23:00 with the Scotland brief still in place.
The cabinet announcement also showed change elsewhere in the Starmer government. Peter Kyle, Rachel Reeves and David Lammy were among the ministers who said they were leaving their jobs, while Alexander stayed in one of the government’s senior posts.
Douglas Alexander and Labour
The decision keeps a familiar figure in the role. Alexander first served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 2006 to 2007, was first elected to represent Paisley and Renfrewshire South in 1997, and returned to the post in September last year after Ian Murray was sacked in a government reshuffle.
He also returned to politics at the 2024 general election after losing his seat to the SNP’s Mhairi Black in 2015. Before taking over the Scotland brief again, he had served as Keir Starmer’s Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security.
For now, the cabinet line-up leaves the Scotland portfolio unchanged while the wider ministerial team turns over around him. Burnham’s choices for the rest of his government were not fully listed.
