New ministerial appointments and reshuffle at DfT as Burnham becomes PM

Tue 28 July 2026 View all news

Following the appointment of Prime Minister Andy Burnham and the subsequent Cabinet reshuffle, Simon Lightwood MP has become the minister responsible for road transport decarbonisation policy. In a wider reshuffle Ed Miliband has moved from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to become Foreign Secretary and is replaced as DESNZ Secretary of State by Miatta Fahnbulleh.

Simon Lightwood (Minister for Local Transport and Sustainability) takes over responsibility for UK road transport decarbonisation from Keir Mather who becomes Minister for Aviation, Maritime and Security including responsibility for SAF. 

Justin Madders MP - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Roads) has responsibilities including automated vehicles and micromobility. 

Simon Lightwood was previously appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Transport in July 2024. He was Minister for Roads and Buses between September 2025 and July 2026. He was previously a Shadow Transport Minister with a closely related portfolio.

Simon Lightwood was first elected as MP for Wakefield in a by-election in June 2022. Before his election, he was an NHS worker, a Labour councillor and cabinet member for public health. He studied theatre acting at Bretton Hall College in Wakefield after moving to the city in the late 90s.

The reshuffle also brought changes at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Ed Miliband has been appointed Foreign Secretary and is succeeded as Secretary of State by Miatta Fahnbulleh, MP for Peckham. She was previously Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government between 6 September (2025-6) and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at DESNZ between July 2024 and September 2025. 

Related Links

• Department for Transport ministerial team (scroll down)
• DESNZ minsterial team (scroll down)

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