The article reports that a published Cabinet ranking places former transport secretary Louise Haigh below Defence Secretary John Healey but above Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood. It presents the ordering as politically significant because Haigh has been described as Andy Burnham’s “de facto deputy”, suggesting a prominent role in his wider political orbit.

The ranking is concerned with relative Cabinet seniority rather than formal constitutional authority. It indicates that Haigh is regarded as influential, while still not placed among the very highest-ranked figures, with Healey above her and Miliband and Mahmood below.