Newly appointed U.K. Finance Minister John Healey heads to the first cabinet meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham at 10 Downing Street in London on Tuesday. | REUTERS
Jul 22, 2026
London – The surprise decision by new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to make John Healey his finance minister is adding to questions about how much extra borrowing or tax hikes are coming for the stretched bond market and an economy struggling to grow.
Healey — who quit as defense minister in the previous government of former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over what he criticized as underspending on the armed forces — is widely seen as a safe pair of hands for the Treasury job.
But analysts are now trying to tot up the likely extra investment in defense on top of promises made by Burnham — the left-leaning former mayor of Greater Manchester who ousted Starmer — including an expansion of social housing.
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