Andy Burnham has appointed equalities minister Bridget Phillipson as Labour Party chairwoman. She takes over from Anna Turley, who had held the role since September 6, 2025.
Appointment and Reactions
Announcing her appointment, the Prime Minister said: “Bridget Phillipson, as party chair, will help drive the culture change our party needs, working alongside Lucy Powell and me to ensure Labour remains focused on delivering for working people. She will play a vital role in ensuring the Labour Party is match fit for the next election. I am delighted Bridget has accepted this role and I look forward to working closely with her on this vital task.”
Ms Phillipson, who served as Education Secretary under Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership, said: “I am honoured to take on the role of Labour Party chair, working alongside our Prime Minister to put our Labour values and the voices of our movement at the heart of government. By uniting together, we will bring hope back to communities and strengthen British society against those working to divide us. With the change Labour in government is delivering and will deliver, we have the chance to write a new chapter for our country, one which brings justice, opportunity and fairness for working people, one which brings back hope that tomorrow can be better than today.”
Deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell said: “I look forward to working with Bridget as we build on the culture change in the party that Andy has made a priority. Working together, we will ensure the party continues to lead the way in campaigning, with the strongest ground operation in British politics as we prepare for the next general election.”
Stamp Duty and Ukraine Visit
On Monday, Burnham said he will not scrap stamp duty, after reports suggested he would. The Prime Minister was at the HM Naval Base in Portsmouth meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Asked by reporters if he will change or scrap stamp duty in the next budget, Mr Burnham replied: “That won’t be happening. I don’t know actually where some of the stories that have appeared over the last 24 hours have come from. It seems that somebody within, I don’t know, 100 yards of me can say something, and then all of a sudden it’s my policy. Or someone can pass me something, and then I support everything within the document. It’s just not the case that we are bringing forward plans on that scale at this moment in time. So I’m quite happy to give you that clarification. Obviously, what we’re trying to do, though, is to make taxation fairer. I removed VAT off electricity bills, said we would do that, and that will come through later later in the year. We are looking at how we take that little bit of pressure off people’s shoulders, reduce the cost-of-living. These are priorities, and we obviously will keep working towards them.”
