Burnham on course to be PM, but what would his No 10 operation look like?

Burnham on course to be PM, but what would his No 10 operation look like?Image source, EPA/ShutterstockByHenry Zeffman, Chief political correspondent and Nick Eardley, Political correspondentPublished12 minutes agoThe big question in Westminster today is not who will be prime minister, it's who will Andy Burnham appoint to his government and what will he do with power.Burnham's accession is taken as a given by Labour MPs. As soon as Sir Keir Starmer announced his departure, it became overwhelmingly likely. In the past couple of days, the remaining obstacles have fallen quickly, including on Wednesday morning when senior minister Darren Jones confirmed he would not be launching a challenge of his own.The former Armed Forces Minister Al Carns has not ruled out his own bid, but it seems vanishingly unlikely he would get the backing of 81 Labour MPs needed to trigger a formal contest.Who could be the UK's next chancellor?Published10 hours agoStarmer holds talks with Burnham as he seeks 'orderly' transitionPublished9 hours agoBurnham's people: MPs and advisers in line for a job if he gains powerPublished2 hours agoAttention is therefore increasingly focused on what Burnham in No 10 would look like.On his policy and priorities, there are still a lot of questions in search of answers. We are starting to get some answers on his top team, however.Rachel Reeves will not be his chancellor. That is hardly a surprise for an incoming prime minister vowing to offer change.But it is still a big deal: Reeves has not only been chancellor for two years but spent years in opposition fashioning Labour's economic approach.She is likely to be offered a more junior cabinet position - though it is worth noting how rare it is for a chancellor to move downwards in the cabinet.With the exception of Nadhim Zahawi, who spent a few brief weeks as Boris Johnson's chancellor, you have to go back to 1983 for an example of a chancellor moving into a more junior...