Andy Burnham is new Culture Secretary

Following the resignation of Peter Hain last week, and his replacement as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by James Purnell, Andy Burnham has been appointed as Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Burnham was appointed as Chief Secretary to the Treasury in June 2007 after serving as Minister of State for Delivery and Reform at the Department of Health. He  was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Immigration, Citizenship and Nationality at the Home Office 2005 to 2006.

Educated in Merseyside, Burnham gained an MA in English at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. He entered Parliament in June 2001 as MP for Leigh and has served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to David Blunkett at the Home Office, and to Ruth Kelly at the Department for Education and Skills. He was also a member of the Health Select Committee from 2001 to 2003. Earlier in his career, he worked as a researcher for Tessa Jowell MP and for the NHS Confederation.

Other past roles include Administrator for the Football Task Force and Special Adviser to Chris Smith at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 1998.

Article published: 28.01.08