The Rising Star: Andy Burnham

Andy Burnham has had a meteoric rise after being put in charge of public finances as the Chief Secretary to the Treasury by Gordon Brown. Mr Burnham, 37, impressed him as a Minister of State for Health, while Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary, fell foul of protests by nurses.

Mr Burnham was personally responsible for briefing Mr Brown over his plans for expanding the use of primary care services, on which he launched his leadership campaign.

A former Blairite, he looked stumped when he was asked yesterday if he was a Blairite or a Brownite, saying: "I was a Blairite and now I'm a Brownite."

Like many ministers in the handover, he has had to make the smooth transition himself. As a committed moderniser, he replaces the lacklustre Stephen Timms in the Treasury job. His appointment comes as the Prime Minister prepares his three-year spending plans for the whole of Whitehall, to be unveiled in the comprehensive spending review in autumn.

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