Labour’s Douglas Alexander said it was an “honour” to remain Scottish Secretary in new Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s ministerial team.
Mr Alexander, who was appointed last year by Sir Keir Starmer, held on to the post despite sweeping changes to the Cabinet.
The Labour leader removed several ministers who had been allies of Sir Keir, as he set about shaping his new-look government.
Appointments included former defence secretary John Healey becoming Chancellor, replacing Rachel Reeves.
Mr Alexander, who has come in for criticism after the Scottish Labour Holyrood campaign he helped lead resulted in the party suffering its worst result since devolution, however kept his post.
He said it was “an honour to have been asked to continue my work as Secretary of State for Scotland”.
In what he said were “challenging times” he vowed to be “Scotland’s voice around the Cabinet table, working constructively to solve problems”.
He added he was “delighted to have the new Prime Minister’s confidence in the role”, which he has held since September 2025.
That appointment came after he returned to Westminster after the 2024 general election, almost a decade after losing his former seat to the SNP in 2015.
Mr Alexander is not well liked by the Scottish Government, with repeated clashes between him and the First Minister in the months before May’s Holyrood election straining the relationship between the two administrations.
But speaking to the Press Association on Tuesday, the First Minister struck a more conciliatory tone after a call with the Prime Minister that morning.
“The Prime Minister signalled to me this morning that he wants to have a constructive and positive relationship with the Scottish Government and I take the Prime Minister at his word,” Mr Swinney said.
“I’ve known him a long time and he said that directly to me, so I look forward to working with the Prime Minister and the UK Government to advance the interests of improving the lives of people in Scotland.”
Read More
Pressed on the decision to re-appoint Mr Alexander to the job despite their historically bad relationship, the First Minister added: “The Prime Minister’s got to make his choices about his own team, but what he said to me is that he wants to have a constructive and positive relationship with the Scottish Government and that’s what I’ll pursue.”
But David Linden – an MSP from the First Minister’s party – went on the attack against the re-appointed minister, saying he “pulled the wool over Starmer’s eyes and it seems he’s repeated the trick with Burnham”.
He added: “Scotland doesn’t need this servant of Westminster having any say over our future – if Andy Burnham is serious about where power lies on these islands, then his first instruction to Douglas Alexander should be to respect the democratic will of the Scottish Parliament and give the Scottish people the right to decide our constitutional future.”