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New construction minister replaces McDonald in reshuffle
Phil Clark Managing editor
Image: Piero Cruciatti | Dreamstime.com
Construction has a new minister after Scottish MP Blair McDougall replaced Chris McDonald in the reshuffle implemented by Andy Burnham.
McDougall, who has been MP for East Renfrewshire since July 2024, will hold a joint ministerial role across the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the business department.
MP for East Renfrewshire Blair McDougall. Image: Houses of Parliament
He was previously junior minister for small business and economic transformation in 2025. In that role, he held responsibility for legislation intended to strengthen protections against late payment for small companies and self-employed workers.
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Prior to entering politics, McDougall was a strategist, campaigner and speechwriter – he worked for the Scottish Labour Party between 2014 and 2016 and led the Better Together campaign during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.
McDonald, who was in post for just 10 months, has been named minister of state for science. So far this century, only one construction minister – former conservative MP Mark Prisk – has served in the post for more than two years.
Burnham’s cabinet reshuffle included the return of Angela Rayner to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), replacing Steve Reed.
As yet, the government has not confirmed who will replace Samantha Dixon as the building safety minister. This is likely to be either Florence Eschalomi or Sally Jameson, who are both ministers in MHCLG, but their briefs have yet to be confirmed.
