Rachel Reeves declined two cabinet positions offered by Prime Minister Andy Burnham following his formal assumption of office on Monday, according to informed sources. The former chancellor was removed from her previous role when Burnham succeeded Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister.

Reeves was reportedly offered the posts of education secretary and defence secretary but turned down both opportunities. The education secretary position was subsequently filled by Lucy Powell, the former deputy leader of the Labour Party. Meanwhile, the defence secretary role was assigned to Wes Streeting, who had stepped down as health secretary earlier this year in an unsuccessful attempt to prompt a leadership contest.

Bridget Phillipson, who had served as education secretary prior to the reshuffle, lost her cabinet position but will remain in government as the minister for women and equalities, attending cabinet meetings in that capacity.

It had been widely assumed that Reeves intended to remain in the government, possibly continuing as Burnham’s chancellor. However, shortly before Burnham’s premiership began, Reeves appeared to be preparing for a move to the backbenches. In an interview with the BBC program Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, she reflected on past decisions, stating that looking back “there are choices that I made that would be different.”

Reeves has previously expressed that her experience in a state-educated environment under the Conservative governments of the 1980s and 1990s influenced her decision to join the Labour Party. She remarked in 2024 that she felt the administrations of Margaret Thatcher and John Major showed little concern for schools and communities like those she came from.