Burnham told the Cabinet to tackle the cost of living in its first meeting.

Burnham opened the first meeting of the new cabinet after appointing his senior team on Monday evening, having already been given a standing ovation by his senior ministers. More junior selections are expected to follow on Tuesday.

Monday’s sweeping reshuffle saw Starmer loyalists such as Rachel Reeves and David Lammy out of government, with Ed Miliband as foreign secretary and Burnham’s partner Louise Haig given the big job of leading the Cabinet Office.

John Healy, who stepped down as Starmer’s defense secretary over military spending, was given the key role of chancellor in a move that surprised Westminster.

Speaking at the start of the meeting, which was attended by broadcasters, Burnham said the cost of living would be a priority and more measures would be announced in the coming days.

“There are big and small things that can be done,” he said.

He said his government had always demonstrated “how we pay” policies, adding that “discipline” was needed to show it was committed to sticking to its tax and spending rules.

But he admitted funding new ads ahead of the first budget, when big tax decisions will be made, would require ministers to “be prepared to prioritise” how they allocate their budgets.

This was reflected in Burnham’s first announcement on Monday, with an additional £340m over five years to tackle rough sleeping, which is expected to be supported by “undelivered” spending in the housing department.