Andy Burnham

This article is about the politician. For the bishop, see Andrew Burnham (clergyman).

The Right Honourable Andrew Burnham MP
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, 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	17,272 (47.3%)
Personal details
Born	Aintree, Liverpool, United Kingdom (1970-01-07) 7 January 1970
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Marie-France Van Heel
Alma mater	Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge

Andrew Murray Burnham (born 7 January 1970) is a British Labour politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Leigh since 2001. He was Secretary of State for Health until 11 May 2010 when Gordon Brown resigned as Prime Minister; prior to that appointment, he was the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

Early life

Burnham was born in Aintree, Liverpool, the son of a telephone engineer father and a receptionist mother, and raised in Culcheth, Warrington, close to the village of Lowton (which is at the southern end of the Leigh Parliamentary Constituency), where his family moved to when his father was promoted to a job in Manchester. He was educated at St.Lewis's primary school then went on to St Aelred's Roman Catholic High School (now St Aelred's Catholic Technology College) in Newton-le-Willows and Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge from where he was awarded an MA in English.

Joining the Labour Party

He joined the Labour Party aged 14 in 1984 , during the miners' strike, and was a researcher to Tessa Jowell from 1994 until the 1997 election. He joined the Transport and General Workers Union in 1995. After the 1997 election, he was briefly 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 then-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Chris Smith, a position he remained in until his election to Parliament in 2001.

Member of Parliament

Burnham contested the safe Labour seat of Leigh at the 2001 election, following the retirement of Lawrence Cunliffe. He was elected with a majority of 16,362, and gave his maiden speech on 4 July 2001.

In Government

Following his election to Parliament, he became a member of the Health Select Committee from 2001 until 2003, when he was appointed the Parliamentary Private Secretary to then-Home Secretary David Blunkett. Following Blunkett's first resignation in 2004, he went on to became the PPS to then-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 identity cards legislation.

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

In Cabinet

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

Burnham was alleged to have caused embarrassment to the Government in August 2007 by attacking the Conservative Party's Economic Competitiveness report, before admitting in an interview that he had not read the report.

The Daily Telegraph published an interview with Burnham on 13 October 2007 in which he stated that: "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", which created some controversy because following through this argument would replicate the current policies of the Conservative Party.

In a re-shuffle in January 2008, he was promoted to become the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, replacing James Purnell.

In June 2008, he was forced to apologise to the director of pressure group Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti, after she threatened to sue him for libel for smearing her reputation.

In late 2008, he announced Government plans to crack down on the Internet, tightening up controls in order to "even up" what he claimed was an imbalance with TV regulations.

On 15 April 2009, while reading out condolences at the 20th Hillsborough Memorial Service at Anfield, he was forced to pause while supporters sang "Justice for the 96", a reference to no one being held accountable for the tragedy. On 5 June 2009, following another re-shuffle, Burnham replaced Alan Johnson as Secretary of State for Health.

Personal life

Burnham is married to Marie-France van Heel, whom he wed in 2000 after 11 years together. The couple had been dating since University. Van Heel was formerly head of marketing at MTV, BSkyB and Littlewoods Gaming and until recently the Planning Director at Creative Communication Agency WRG in Manchester. She is now a director at MvH Marketing Ltd. 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 period of time. Burnham was also a talented junior cricketer and keen footballer, and competed at both sports for his College. He has played for Labour's "Demon Eyes" football team and is a life-long fan of Premier League football club Everton FC.

Expenses controversies

The Daily Telegraph's revelation of expenses claims by Members of Parliament showed that Burnham was embroiled in a prolonged battle with the House of Commons Fees Office over the £16,644 cost of renovations and work on a London flat he was buying. The claims, which included a new kitchen, had been repeatedly rejected. Burnham had written three notes asking for the money to be paid, including one at Christmas 2005 which claimed "Otherwise I might be in line for divorce!"

His persistence paid off, with the Fees Office backing down and agreeing to reimburse the claims. The Fees Office refused to pay a June 2006 claim for mortgage interest which covered both the Lambeth flat and Burnham's constituency home, and also a mortgage claim which included capital repayment. The rules allowed reimbursement of mortgage interest only and on one home at a time. Burnham also attempted to claim £19.99 for a bathrobe from Ikea, which was rejected by officials; Burnham said it was a "genuine oversight".

Other controversies

250,000 women, some of them cancer patients, were sent a leaflet featuring a message from a breast cancer survivor who praised Labour's health policy. The cards asked: "Are the Tories a change you can afford?". Both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats called this tasteless, and the Tories have stressed the fact that they actually are calling for more funding for the NHS. Both the Tories and the Liberal Democrats have accused the Labour Party of misuse of NHS data to "blink out" cancer patients. Andy Burnham, the health secretary, said: "It is categorically incorrect to imply that we targeted cancer sufferers, and we regret if any offence or anxiety was given to people who have suffered cancer. "But we make no apology for highlighting the difference between Labour and the Conservatives on cancer care."

In addition, some General Practitioners (GPs) felt that their professional work had been politicised - they were wondering how the Labour Party had come to find their office addresses, as ordinarily these are not publicly available.

Leadership contest

Following the resignation of Gordon Brown as Leader of the Labour Party after the 2010 general Election, Andy Burnham declared his intention to stand in the Labour leadership contest along with David and Ed Miliband, John McDonnell, Ed Balls and Diane Abbott to elect a new leader.

External links

• Andy Burnham MP official constituency website
• Contributions in Parliament at Hansard 1803–2005
• Voting record at Public Whip
• Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
• Andy Burnham excellent choice for health secretary NHS Confederation, 5 June 2009

Audio clips

• Interview with GMR after 2005 election

Video clips

• Delivering 18 week NHS target