Burnham brings members of Socialist Campaign Group into government | Andy Burnham– www.theguardian.com

Andy Burnham has appointed three new ministerial aides from Labour’s most leftwing faction, the first time members of the Socialist Campaign Group have been part of the government.

The new chief whip, Anneliese Midgley, has also promised MPs that the government will beef up the role of ministerial aides – known as parliamentary private secretaries (PPSs) – who traditionally go under the radar, allowing them to do more media appearances, take on parliamentary roles and contribute more directly to policy direction.

Burnham has said he wanted to end the Labour factionalism that divided the party under both Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer – and would seek to make appointments from the party’s left and centrist wings.

Though Burnham has returned several soft left ministers to key positions in the cabinet – such as Louise Haigh, Lucy Powell and Angela Rayner – there were no ministerial appointments from the party’s most leftwing caucus, the Socialist Campaign Group, which was the group affiliated with Corbyn.