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The Right HonourableAndy BurnhamMP
Shadow Secretary of State for Health
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 October 2011
Leader	Ed Miliband Harriet Harman (Acting)
Preceded by	John Healey
In office 11 May 2010 – 8 October 2010
Leader	Harriet Harman (Acting) Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Andrew Lansley
Succeeded by	John Healey
Shadow Secretary of State for Education
In office 8 October 2010 – 7 October 2011
Leader	Ed Miliband
Preceded by	Ed Balls
Succeeded by	Stephen Twigg
Secretary of State for Health
In office 5 June 2009 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Alan Johnson
Succeeded by	Andrew Lansley
Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport
In office 24 January 2008 – 5 June 2009
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	James Purnell
Succeeded by	Ben Bradshaw
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office 28 June 2007 – 24 January 2008
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Stephen Timms
Succeeded by	Yvette Cooper
Member of Parliament for Leigh
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 June 2001
Preceded by	Lawrence Cunliffe
Majority	15,011 (31.1%)
Personal details
Born	Andrew Murray Burnham (1970-01-07) 7 January 1970 (age 55) Aintree, Merseyside, England
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Marie-France van Heel
Children	3
Alma mater	Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge

Andrew Murray "Andy" Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Leigh since 2001. He is Shadow Secretary of State for Health.

Burnham continuously held various cabinet posts under the premiership of Gordon Brown between 2007 and the 2010 general election, first as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Secretary of State for Health. He was a candidate in the 2010 Labour leadership election, coming fourth out of five candidates with 8.68% of the vote.

Early life

Burnham was born in Old Roan in Aintree, Liverpool in 1970, the son of a telephone engineer father and receptionist mother. He was brought up in Culcheth and educated at St Lewis' Primary School and St Aelred's Roman Catholic High School in Newton-le-Willows and the University of Cambridge, where he read for an English degree at Fitzwilliam College.

Politics

Burnham joined the Labour Party in 1984 when he was 14. From 1994 until the 1997 general election he was a researcher for Tessa Jowell. He joined the Transport and General Workers' Union in 1995. After the 1997 election, he was a parliamentary officer for the NHS Confederation from August to December 1997, before taking up the post as an administrator with the Football Task Force for a year.

In 1998, he became a special adviser to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Chris Smith, a position he remained in until he was elected to parliament in 2001.

Member of Parliament

After the retirement of Lawrence Cunliffe, Burnham applied to be the parliamentary candidate for the safe Labour seat of Leigh. Burnham secured selection to contest the seat at the next general election. At the 2001 election he was elected with a majority of 16,362, and gave his maiden speech on 4 July 2001.

Following his election to parliament, he was a member of the Health Select Committee from 2001 until 2003, when he was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Home Secretary David Blunkett. After Blunkett's first resignation in 2004, he became PPS to Education Secretary Ruth Kelly. He was promoted to serve in the Government after the 2005 election as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, with responsibility for implementing the Identity Cards Act 2006.

In the government reshuffle of 5 May 2006, Burnham was moved from the Home Office and promoted to Minister of State at the Department of Health.

In Cabinet

In Gordon Brown's first cabinet, announced on 28 June 2007, Burnham was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury, a position he held until 2008.

In an interview in the Daily Telegraph on 13 October 2007, Burnham said: "I think it’s better when children are in a home where their parents are married" and "it’s not wrong that the tax system should recognise commitment and marriage", creating controversy because his views replicated the current policies of the Conservative Party.

In a re-shuffle in January 2008, Burnham was promoted to the position of Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, replacing James Purnell. In June 2008, he apologised to the director of pressure group Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti, after she threatened to sue him for libel for smearing her reputation.

In late 2008, Burnham announced government plans tighten controls on internet content in order to "even up" what he claimed was an imbalance with TV regulations. The announcement was followed by a speech to the music industry's lobbying group, UK Music, in which he announced "a time that calls for partnership between Government and the music business as a whole: one with rewards for both of us; one with rewards for society as a whole. (...) My job – Government’s job – is to preserve the value in the system."

Burnham was again promoted becoming Secretary of State for Health in June 2009. He held the post until the Labour government resigned after the 2010 general election.

In Opposition

Burnham became Shadow Secretary of State for Health after May 2010 following the resignation of Gordon Brown's government. Following Brown's resignation as Leader of the Labour Party, Burnham declared his intention to stand in the subsequent leadership contest. He launched his leadership campaign in his Leigh constituency on 26 May. Burnham led on his philosophy of "aspirational socialism", aligning himself with Intern Aware's campaign to end unpaid internships. He made key policy commitments to the creation of a National Care Service and called for inheritance tax to be replaced with a land value tax. The leadership contest was won by Ed Miliband. Burnham finished fourth with less than 9% of the vote.

At the end of September 2010, Burnham criticised Prime Minister David Cameron for the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government's public spending cuts and health reforms to the NHS.

In October 2010, Burnham was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Education and election co-ordinator for the Labour Party. One day short of a year later, he was appointed again to his former role of Shadow Secretary of State for Health, and has held the role since 2011.

Burnham was criticised during the 2010 election campaign after leaflets were sent to 250,000 women - some of whom turned out to be cancer patients - featuring a message from a breast cancer survivor who praised Labour's health policy. Burnham, the government Health Secretary denied that specific cancer patients had been targeted.

In July 2013 The Daily Telegraph reported that Burnham's staff had edited his Misplaced Pages page to remove critical material. Burnham's office claimed they had removed false statements that had been drawn to their attention.

As Health Secretary, Burnham ignored repeated requests for a public enquiry into unusually high mortality rates at Mid Staffordshire Hospital, including three independent reports into what became known as the Stafford Hospital scandal. Burnham and his predecessor as Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, rejected 81 requests to examine the high rate of deaths at the hospital. 2,800 of which arose after alarms were first sounded.

Personal life

Burnham is married to Marie-France van Heel, who is Dutch, since 2000, having been in a relationship since university. The couple have a son and two daughters. Burnham is a Roman Catholic.

Burnham was the Honorary Chairman of Leigh Rugby League Club for a short time. Burnham was a talented junior cricketer (playing for Lancashire CCC Juniors) and keen footballer, and competed at both sports for his college. He has played for Labour's "Demon Eyes" football team and is a lifelong fan of Premier League football club Everton. In July 2003, Burnham played for Conference club Leigh RMI in a pre-season friendly against Everton. He came on as an 88th minute substitute for Neil Robinson in the 1-1 draw at Hilton Park.

References

1. "Andy's biography from his Andy4Leader web-site". Archived from the original on 5 July 2010. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 30 June 2009 suggested (help)
2. "Biography of Andy Burnham : Department of Health". Webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
3. "New Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport". The Free Library. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 30 June 2009 suggested (help)
4. Woodward, Will (26 January 2008). "New culture secretary keeps an open mind on licence fee". The Guardian. London: Guardian News & Media. Archived from the original on 5 October 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
5. "House of Commons Hansard; vol 371, part 14, col 333". Hansard. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 4 July 2001. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2008. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 30 June 2009 suggested (help)
6. ^ Sylvester, Rachel; Thomson, Alice (15 October 2007). "Marriage is important, children do notice". Telegraph.co.uk. London: Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 27 April 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2008. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 30 June 2009 suggested (help)
7. "Sometimes a problem really is an opportunity... for others". Times Online. 25 January 2008. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 30 June 2009 suggested (help)
8. Percival, Jenny (23 June 2008). "Chakrabarti-Davis row: Liberty head accepts letter of apology from Burnham". theguardian.com. London: Guardian News & Media. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 30 June 2009 suggested (help)
9. Sweney, Mark (26 September 2008). "Government to tighten up web controls". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 28 May 2010 suggested (help)
10. "The medium and the message". BBC News. 1 October 2008. Archived from the original on 2 October 2008. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 28 May 2010 suggested (help)
11. Holmwood, Leigh (11 June 2008). "Andy Burnham hints at tighter control of online content". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 28 May 2010 suggested (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |newspaper= (help)
12. Andy Burnham and Charlie McCreevy speak at UK Music's first creators' conference
13. "Andy Burnham and Diane Abbott join Labour leadership race". The Daily Telegraph. London. 19 May 2010. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |newspaper= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)}
14. Burnham seeks to stand out from leadership crowd BBC News, 26 May 2010
15. Randeep, Ramesh (1 October 2010). "Health secretary rebuts Labour criticisms over NHS plans". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2013. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 30 June 2009 suggested (help)
16. Hastings, Chris; Chittenden, Maurice; Mann, Nyta (11 April 2010). "Labour attacked over mailshot to cancer patients". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 31 May 2010. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 30 June 2009 suggested (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |newspaper= (help)
17. Hall, Melanie (21 July 2013). "Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham's staff deleted 'negative' Misplaced Pages references". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 30 June 2009 suggested (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |newspaper= (help)
18. Mason, Rowena (17 February 2013). "Mid Staffs: Labour Government ignored MP requests for public inquiry into deaths". The Daily Telegraph. London. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |newspaper= (help)
19. "The reality of a dream job". Guardian. 28 January 2008. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
20. Merrick, Jane (24 March 2013). "Keep the faith, Andy Burnham tells NHS and Church". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 22 July 2013. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 30 June 2009 suggested (help)
21. Labour MP (22 October 2002). "Andy Burnham". BBC News. Archived from the original on 26 November 2002. Retrieved 11 October 2008. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 30 June 2009 suggested (help)
22. Brown, Colin (20 June 2008). "Andy Burnham: The Mr Nice Guy who talked his way into a nasty situation". The Independent. London: Independent News & Media. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2008. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 30 June 2009 suggested (help)
23. ^ "Leigh RMI 1-1 Everton". EvertonFC.com. Everton Football Club. 26 July 2003. Archived from the original on 17 November 2006. Retrieved 7 October 2013. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 30 June 2009 suggested (help)

External links

• Andy Burnham MP Official constituency website
• Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou

Audio clips

• Interview with GMR after 2005 election BBC Manchester

Video clips

• Delivering 18 week NHS target YouTube

v t e Brown Cabinet
Cabinet members	Gordon Brown Lord Adonis Bob Ainsworth Douglas Alexander Baroness Ashton of Upholland Ed Balls Hilary Benn Hazel Blears Ben Bradshaw Des Browne Liam Byrne Andy Burnham Yvette Cooper Alistair Darling John Denham Peter Hain Harriet Harman Geoff Hoon John Hutton Alan Johnson Tessa Jowell Ruth Kelly Lord Mandelson David Miliband Ed Miliband Jim Murphy Paul Murphy James Purnell Baroness Royall of Blaisdon Jacqui Smith Jack Straw Shaun Woodward
Also attended meetings	Margaret Beckett Nick Brown Lord Drayson Caroline Flint Lord Grocott John Healey Jim Knight Lord Malloch-Brown Pat McFadden Tony McNulty Baroness Scotland of Asthal
Attended while on agenda	Beverley Hughes Sadiq Khan Dawn Primarolo Rosie Winterton

v t e Health secretaries of the United Kingdom
Ministers of Health	Christopher Addison Alfred Mond Arthur Griffith-Boscawen Neville Chamberlain William Joynson-Hicks John Wheatley Neville Chamberlain Arthur Greenwood Neville Chamberlain Hilton Young Kingsley Wood Walter Elliot Malcolm MacDonald Ernest Brown Henry Willink Aneurin Bevan Hilary Marquand Harry Crookshank Iain Macleod Robin Turton Dennis Vosper Derek Walker-Smith Enoch Powell Anthony Barber Kenneth Robinson
Secretaries of State for Social Services	Richard Crossman Sir Keith Joseph Barbara Castle David Ennals Patrick Jenkin Norman Fowler John Moore
Secretaries of State for Health	Kenneth Clarke William Waldegrave Virginia Bottomley Stephen Dorrell Frank Dobson Alan Milburn John Reid Patricia Hewitt Alan Johnson Andy Burnham Andrew Lansley Jeremy Hunt
Secretaries of State for Health and Social Care	Jeremy Hunt Matt Hancock Sajid Javid Steve Barclay Thérèse Coffey Steve Barclay Victoria Atkins Wes Streeting

v t e Chief secretaries to the treasury
Brooke Boyd-Carpenter Diamond Macmillan Jenkin Boardman Barnett Biffen Brittan Rees MacGregor Major Lamont Mellor Portillo Aitken Waldegrave Darling Byers Milburn Smith Boateng Browne Timms Burnham Cooper Byrne Laws Alexander Hands Gauke Truss Sunak Barclay Clarke Philp Argar Glen Trott Jones

Template:UK Shadow Cabinet

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• Secretaries of State for Health (UK)
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