Labour MPs Support Pat McFadden As New Chancellor

Labour MPs want Pat McFadden to be the next chancellor to stop Ed Miliband getting the job, HuffPost UK has learned.

They believe the energy secretary, who has widely-tipped to replace Rachel Reeves once Andy Burnham becomes prime minister, would be “a disaster” in the role.

Miliband is a close ally of the former mayor of Greater Manchester, who is expected to become PM on July 20.

Who he chooses to be chancellor is seen as the key decision Burnham will have to make as he appoints his first cabinet.

Miliband is seen as the frontrunner, but support McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, is growing among Labour MPs.

One said: “Pat is the ultimate safe pair of hands and would be an excellent choice as chancellor.

“Andy becoming prime minister is bound to give us a bit of a bounce in the polls, but making Ed the chancellor would just destroy that because he is such a divisive figure.”

Glasgow-born McFadden was a minister in both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s governments, and has been a key figure in Keir Starmer’s cabinet since Labour’s general election victory in 2024.

One former Labour minister said: “Pat as chancellor would be like a Scottish bank manager in the mould of [former Labour leader] John Smith and Alistair Darling. He’s just what the country needs.”

Another MP said Miliband’s well-known opposition to opening up new oil fields in the North Sea would kill off any hopes of a Scottish Labour revival.

The backbencher told HuffPost UK said: “There’s growing support amongst MPs for Pat McFadden, no doubt about it.”

“Making Ed chancellor would be a disaster,” one MP said. “He’s a Marmite politician who completely divides opinion, which is the last thing the government needs.

“How would it look to the public if the guy they rejected as prime minister in 2015 was given the second most important job in government?”

Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, has also spoken out against Miliband.

She said: “Ed only seems to be interested in one side of the equation, rushing Britain to net zero with almost no thought for jobs, skills and national security.”

The GMB union, which has thousands of members in the North Sea oil industry, are also opposed to Miliband becoming chancellor.

But he has won the support of other union leaders.

Andrea Egan, general secretary of Union, said: “We need a chancellor who will rewire the economy and properly invest to improve the lives of the majority.

“Of those reported to be in the running, only Ed Miliband could enact the kinds of policies trade unions and our members urgently need.”

Other names in the frame to replace Rachel Reeves include Shabana Mahmood, Wes Streeting and Yvette Cooper.

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