Angela Rayner is reportedly being tipped for a return to the Cabinet as Health Secretary, under incoming Labour leader Andy Burnham, following the tax scandal that previously forced her from frontline politics. The prospective move comes as Burnham formally takes over the Labour leadership, with the party signalling a shift back towards more traditional, interventionist policies reminiscent of the pre-Thatcher era.

Rayner had stepped back from a senior government role after controversy over her tax affairs, but is now being discussed as a possible appointee to one of the great offices of state as Burnham reshapes his top team. The wider political context includes criticism of Burnham's path to power, with commentators questioning the democratic legitimacy of his ascension, while his allies frame the changes as a decisive break from the economic policies of recent decades.