{"slug": "four-takes-on-the-new-burnham-cabinet", "title": "Four takes on the new Burnham cabinet", "summary": "Andy Burnham has become the new UK Prime Minister, and his early cabinet decisions, including breaking up the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, have drawn mixed reactions. The Tony Blair Institute's Guy Ward Jackson and Elizabeth Seger advocate for a state-funded open-source AI lab, while Re:State's Joe Hill calls for regulatory reform. Burnham's moves, such as appointing a new AI minister and an Energy Secretary viewed as a potential NIMBY, suggest the possibility of an early election.", "body_md": "# Four takes on the new Burnham cabinet\n\n### Plus why things might point to early election 😬\n\n**POD!** On * YIMBY Pod* this week, a double-interview special. We talk to Guy Ward Jackson and Elizabeth Seger from the Tony Blair Institute about why they think Britain needs a state-funded open-source AI lab. And then Joe Hill from Re:State makes the case for rethinking the regulatory state. It’s good nerdy stuff, and the perfect savoury alternative to the Westminster personnel drama this week.\n\n[Go have a listen!](https://yimbypod.com)\n\nHello! It has finally happened – Andy Burnham is our new Prime Minister, and this means that you’ll be drowning in pieces about What It All Means.\n\nI’m afraid I’m going to add another to the pile.\n\nI’ve already written about [my mild scepticism of Burnham,](https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/is-andy-burnham-serious) but I’m hoping I’ll be pleasantly surprised. So this time I thought I’d offer up four shorter takes looking at some of Burnham’s first decisions in office.\n\nSo read on to find out:\n\nWhy breaking up the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology was a strange decision.\n\nMy enthusiasm for the new AI minister (and what tempers it)\n\nIs the new Energy Secretary a NIMBY?\n\nHow the Burnham government offers Angela Rayner an enormous opportunity for redemption (it’s nothing to do with the tax thing).\n\nAnd why the decisions Burnham has made so far point to (oh no) the possibility of an early election.\n\nNow let’s get started!\n\n## The bizarre fate of the Government Digital Service\n\n## Keep reading with a 7-day free trial\n\nSubscribe to Odds and Ends of History to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/four-takes-on-the-new-burnham-cabinet", "canonical_source": "https://takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/four-takes-on-the-new-burnham-cabinet", "published_at": "2026-07-21 17:00:06+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-21 17:31:07.509508+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Andy Burnham", "Tony Blair Institute", "Guy Ward Jackson", "Elizabeth Seger", "Joe Hill", "Re:State", "Department of Science, Innovation and Technology", "Angela Rayner"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/four-takes-on-the-new-burnham-cabinet", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/four-takes-on-the-new-burnham-cabinet.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/four-takes-on-the-new-burnham-cabinet.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/four-takes-on-the-new-burnham-cabinet.jsonld"}}