LONDON, July 15 (Reuters) – Former Manchester mayor Andy Burnham is set to name interior minister Shabana Mahmood as his finance minister when he becomes prime minister next week, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing three people briefed on his thinking.
Sterling had rallied earlier on Wednesday to a one-year high against the euro on speculation that Mahmood, rather than the more left-wing energy minister Ed Miliband, would succeed Rachel Reeves when Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves office.
“Shabana is nailed down as chancellor. That’s definitely happening,” the Financial Times quoted one unnamed person briefed on Burnham’s plans as saying.
A spokesperson for Mahmood declined to comment on the report, while there was no immediate response from Burnham’s team.
The FT said a spokesperson for Burnham had declined to comment on possible ministerial appointments before they are formally announced on Monday.
Mahmood has little economic policy experience and has taken a tough line on immigration, but she is further to the right of the governing Labour Party than Miliband, whose promotion of net zero policies has been unpopular with some businesses.
(Reporting by David Milliken and Alistair Smout, editing by Sam Tabahriti)
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