James Murray appointed health secretary
- 15 May 2026
- James Murray has been appointed health secretary after Wes Streeting resigned from Sir Keir Starmer’s cabinet
- The Ealing North MP previously served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury and has held several senior economic roles
- Streeting said he had “lost confidence” in Starmer’s leadership amid growing pressure on the prime minister after Labour’s recent election setbacks
James Murray has been appointed as the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, replacing Wes Streeting, who announced his resignation yesterday.
Murray is the MP for Ealing North and previously served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury since September 2025.
He was first elected as an MP in 2019, with his previous roles also including exchequer secretary to the Treasury and shadow financial secretary.
Murray also served as executive member for housing and development at Islington Council from 2010 until 2016, after being elected as a councillor for the authority in 2006 and was deputy mayor of London for housing and residential development from 2016 to 2019.
Following confirmation that Murray will replace him, Streeting, who had been health secretary since July 2024, posted on X: “Congratulations to @jamesmurray_ldn on his promotion to Health & Social Care Secretary.
“He inherits a wonderful team and an important mission. He has my full support.”
Congratulations to @jamesmurray_ldn on his promotion to Health & Social Care Secretary.
He inherits a wonderful team and an important mission. He has my full support.
— Wes Streeting (@wesstreeting) May 14, 2026
Streeting quit as health secretary “having lost confidence” in Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, concluding that “it would be dishonourable and unprincipled” to remain in post.
In his resignation letter to Starmer published on 13 May 2026, he said: “It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour Unions want the debate about what comes next to be a battle of ideas, not of personalities or petty factionalism.
“It needs to be broad, and it needs the best possible field of candidates. I support that approach, and I hope that you will facilitate this.”
In a letter accepting Streeting’s resignation, the prime minister said he hoped the two “can work together to show that Labour in power can address the problems our opponents exploit”.
Lucy Rigby will take over Murray’s former role as Chief secretary to the Treasury and Rachel Blake will succeed her as economic secretary to the Treasury, Downing Street announced in a statement.
It follows a turbulent few days in which calls have mounted for Starmer to step down after Labour’s disappointing local election results last week.
Earlier this week, Dr Zubir Ahmed resigned as health innovation and safety minister in protest over the prime minister’s leadership and the Labour Party’s poor performance in the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.
