Labour's Douglas Alexander said it was an 'honour' to remain Scottish Secretary in new Prime Minister Andy Burnham's ministerial team. Mr Alexander, who was appointed last year by Sir Keir Starmer, held on to the post despite sweeping changes to the Cabinet.
Cabinet Reshuffle Under Burnham
The Labour leader removed several ministers who had been allies of Sir Keir, as he set about shaping his new-look government. Appointments included former defence secretary John Healey becoming Chancellor, replacing Rachel Reeves. Mr Alexander, who has come in for criticism after the Scottish Labour Holyrood campaign he helped lead resulted in the party suffering its worst result since devolution, however kept his post.
He said it was 'an honour to have been asked to continue my work as Secretary of State for Scotland'. In what he said were 'challenging times' he vowed to be 'Scotland's voice around the Cabinet table, working constructively to solve problems'. He added he was 'delighted to have the new Prime Minister's confidence in the role', which he has held since September 2025.
Political Background
That appointment came after he returned to Westminster after the 2024 general election, almost a decade after losing his former seat to the SNP in 2015. But SNP MSP David Linden said: 'Douglas Alexander masterminded the Labour Party's worst ever defeat in Scotland, sat silent as thousands of oil and gas jobs were lost in Scotland and was shamed over disgraceful message exchanges with Peter Mandelson. He pulled the wool over Starmer's eyes and it seems he's repeated the trick with Burnham.'
Mr Linden said: 'Westminster has failed Scotland and no-one is more part of that London based Westminster establishment than Douglas Alexander. Scotland doesn't need this servant of Westminster having any say over our future – if Andy Burnham is serious about where power lies on these islands then his first instruction to Douglas Alexander should be to respect the democratic will of the Scottish Parliament and give the Scottish people the right to decide our constitutional future.'
