James Purnell

The Right Honourable James Purnell
Purnell in 2021
Downing Street Chief of Staff
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 July 2026
Prime Minister	Andy Burnham
Preceded by	Vidhya Alakeson Jill Cuthbertson
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office 24 January 2008 – 4 June 2009
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Peter Hain
Succeeded by	Yvette Cooper
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In office 28 June 2007 – 24 January 2008
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Tessa Jowell
Succeeded by	Andy Burnham
Minister of State for Pensions
In office 5 May 2006 – 28 June 2007
Prime Minister	Tony Blair
Preceded by	Stephen Timms
Succeeded by	Mike O'Brien
Member of Parliament for Stalybridge and Hyde
In office 7 June 2001 – 12 April 2010
Preceded by	Tom Pendry
Succeeded by	Jonathan Reynolds
Islington Borough Councillor for Canonbury East Ward
In office 5 May 1994 – 12 October 1995
Succeeded by	Terence Herbert
Personal details
Born	(1970-03-02) 2 March 1970 London, England
Political party	None
Education	Balliol College, Oxford (BA)

James Mark Dakin Purnell (born 2 March 1970) was an English politician who has been the Downing Street Chief of Staff since 2026. He was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2010. He was the Member of Parliament for the Stalybridge and Hyde constituency in the United Kingdom from the elected in the 2001 general election until he retired at the 2010 general election. He is currently the Head of the Open Left project at the left leaning think tank Demos.

He is a member of the Labour Party.

In July 2026, Prime Minister Andy Burnham picked Purnell to be the Downing Street Chief of Staff in his government.