ANDY Burnham, who is widely tipped to become the next prime minister, has reportedly chosen Blairite and former cabinet minister James Purnell as his chief of staff.
If the arrangement is finalised, Purnell will be Burnham's first confirmed selection for his new inner circle, which is being rapidly assembled ahead of the start of a Labour leadership contest on July 17, which he is expected to win comfortably.
Various other Labour figures are battling to secure top jobs, in particular chancellor as Burnham is reportedly planning to demote Rachel Reeves to a more junior role.
The Guardian reports that many of Burnham's allies are lobbying for current Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to be appointed as chancellor, but the right of the party believe Wes Streeting may be a more stable pick.
Streeting had previously resigned as health secretary in a move against Keir Starmer, but has since stood down his challenge and backed Burnham.
Purnell, who served in Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's cabinet, is reportedly open to the move, which would mark his first return to the top of British politics since he resigned from his post as work and pensions secretary in 2009.
He had attempted to oust Brown by triggering a wave of resignations, but the challenge failed after other cabinet ministers were dissuaded from resigning by the now-disgraced Peter Mandelson.
The Times reported that Burnham's team views him as a “serious figure” who is capable of implementing radical plans to reform Downing Street and Whitehall.
After resigning from Brown's Government after poor local election results in 2009, Purnell went on to serve as the BBC's director of strategy before becoming chief executive of Flint Global, a London-based political lobbying and advisory firm.
Flint Global has dedicated teams for the defence and energy sectors, working with defence firms to "build their profile and influence with key decision-makers".
Burnham and Purnell met after being elected in 2001 as MPs for neighbouring constituencies in the north-west of England, sharing an office in their early days as Westminster officials.
Purnell became a junior minister in 2005 holding various roles under Blair before entering his Cabinet as culture secretary in 2007, continuing in the role under Brown before being succeeded by Burnham in 2008.
Purnell would later serve alongside Burnham in Brown's Cabinet as work and pensions secretary.
