Andy Burnham is planning to return Jonathan Reynolds to the role of business secretary as the incoming prime minister moves to build a pro-business government.
Reynolds served as business secretary until last September, when he moved to become chief whip, and is now widely expected to reclaim his former post when Burnham unveils his cabinet this week.
Several Labour figures and business leaders believe Reynolds is likely to resume the role, having built strong relationships with employers and trade unions during his first spell in the department.
Burnham used his first speech as Labour leader to set out his vision, pledging to pursue reindustrialisation while maintaining a firmly pro-business stance.
“I will be a pro-business leader of the Labour Party as I was a pro-business mayor of Greater Manchester,” Burnham said on Friday.
Reynolds himself has made little secret privately that he has not enjoyed his time as chief whip, and over the weekend joked on Times Radio that he had “no clue” what his job would be by Monday.
During his previous spell as business secretary, Reynolds led negotiations on trade agreements and oversaw emergency legislation to secure the future of British Steel’s blast furnaces.
Burnham is also considering a significant expansion of the Department for Business and Trade, with responsibility for science potentially transferred in from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
Officials expect parts of DSIT could move into the business department, while other functions would transfer to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, representing a substantial Whitehall reorganisation.
One Labour figure said the enlarged department could eventually be rebranded as a “Ministry of Industry”, directly reflecting Burnham’s commitment to reindustrialising the British economy.
The incoming prime minister has also discussed giving the department greater responsibility for business-facing energy policy, although people close to the talks said that option now appeared less likely.
Not everyone is enthusiastic about the proposed restructuring, with Matt Clifford, the government’s AI adviser, warning that another Whitehall reorganisation risked distracting officials from delivering policy.
Clifford wrote on X that moving science and technology teams would “waste time and energy”, adding a note of caution to Burnham’s early reform ambitions.
Business groups are already pressing Burnham to match his rhetoric with concrete policy action, with the CBI urging the incoming government to focus on lowering energy costs, tackling skills shortages, and simplifying the tax and regulatory system.
Rain Newton-Smith, the business group’s chief executive, said: “We want Andy Burnham and his team to succeed. ‘Manchesterism’ provides a coherent theory of growth… The challenge is execution.”