The government has appointed James Murray as health secretary following the resignation of Wes Streeting yesterday.
In 2021, Murray lobbied successfully to open community pharmacy vaccination sites in his local constituency.
Read more: UPDATED: Wes Streeting resigns as health secretary
In March 2025, Murray argued against amendments to increases in NICs that could have seen pharmacies exempt.
“To support these amendments is also to support higher borrowing, lower spending or other tax rises,” Murray told MPs.
Meanwhile Birmingham MP Preet Kaur Gill was appointed as a parliamentary under-secretary of state in the department for health and social care.
Read more: COVID-19: Birmingham MP pays tribute to ‘selfless’ community pharmacy
As shadow pharmacy minister in 2024, Kaur Gill challenged then pharmacy minister Andrea Leadsom over Pharmacy First.
The CCA welcomed both appointments with a warning over the progress of funding negotiations.
“We congratulate James Murray on his appointment as health and social care secretary and Preet Kaur Gill as parliamentary under-secretary. Both appointments come at a critical time for the NHS,” it said.
“We urge the new Health Secretary to prioritise completion of community pharmacy contractual negotiations, ensuring that pharmacies get the uplift in funding they desperately need.”
Who is the new secretary of state?
Full name: James Stewart Murray.
Born: 13 July 1983 in Hammersmith.
He grew up in West Ealing. His mother Lynne was a Labour councillor for Cleveland ward in Ealing from 2014 to 2018, and his grandmother was an active Labour supporter.
He attended St Paul’s School, then studied PPE at Wadham College, Oxford, graduating with a first-class BA degree in 2004.
Early Career
Murray served as a councillor in Islington from 2006 to 2016, representing Barnsbury. Earlier in his career he worked in management consultancy. He also worked for Emily Thornberry. He was executive member for housing and development at Islington Council from 2010 to 2016 and deputy mayor of London for housing from 2016 to 2019 where he ran a £4.8bn affordable homes programme.
Parliamentary
At the 2019 general election, Murray was elected MP for Ealing North with 56.5% of the vote and a majority of 12,269.
He became a member of the Health and Social Care Committee in March 2020 and was appointed to the Opposition Whips’ Office in April 2020. On 16 October 2020, he was appointed Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
Murray was re-elected at the 2024 general election with a decreased vote share of 47.8% but an increased majority of 12,489.
Ministerial
He served as Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury from July 2024 until September 2025, then as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 1 September 2025 to 14 May 2026.
On 14 May 2026, the King approved his appointment as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. In the same reshuffle, Lucy Rigby KC MP was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury in his place.
