Viral Post
A think tank has warned Andy Burnham that he must be prepared to raise taxes for middle earners if he wishes to raise defence spending. After quitting Sir Keir Starmer ’s government in June over this issue, his chancellor John Healey has made clear he will wait until next year’s spending review to present a plan to meet Labour ’s pledge of devoting 3.5 per cent of GDP by 2035 to defence. The Resolution Foundation thinktank has warned that he will not be able to raise the necessary £28bn a year without asking average earners to pay more.
Meanwhile, Mr Burnham will be grilled by MPs in his first Prime Minister’s Questions since succeeding Sir Keir . With parliament back from summer recess, the Makerfield MP on Tuesday addressed the House of Commons for the first time since becoming prime minister . He said that Britain needs to be “blunt” about what has gone wrong in recent decades, and must spread power to people and places across the country to kickstart economic growth.
On Wednesday, he will face Kemi Badenoch at the despatch box and it is expected that the Conservative leader will quiz the former mayor of Greater Manchester on the possibility of tax rises and Britain’s defence spending. Burnham could face first headache on electoral reform after PMQs Andy Burnham invited Labour MPs to Downing Street to woo them over drinks following his turn at the despatch box on Tuesday. But Labour backbenchers pushing for faster reforms to electoral law could provide Mr Burnham with his first Commons headache on Wednesday, after he has faced Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch in his first Prime Minister’s Questions.
Alex Sobel, the Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, is leading calls among backbenchers to establish a national commission on reforming the voting system. He has tabled an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, which will be debated in the Commons on Wednesday, calling for the Government to back the move. Mr Burnham on Tuesday suggested he was open to the idea of electoral reform, but told the Commons that “we will need to get a consensus at the next election” to make such a change.
Holly Evans 2 September 2026 09:31 PM called to 'make some signs' about spending plans ahead of Budget Former NatWest chairman Howard Sullivan said that it would be “helpful” if Andy Burnham gave clear indications of his government’s approach to fiscal spending ahead of the October budget. He said: “Unfortunately, we do have a circus built around out budgets, which actually does not happen in many other countries. “There is a whole industry of people... to create expectations and then dash those expectations, and I think we are going to face a very dicky period between now and the Budget.” Andy Burnham has been ca(PA) (PA) He added: “I think we’re going to see a very uncertain period for the next three or four weeks, and it would be helpful if the Government could make some signs about their overall approach to the fiscal balance, which I think could calm things down a bit.” Sir Howard also called for the pension triple lock to be changed, saying the country “can’t afford it”, adding: “If a Government does not grasp that nettle at some point, then I think its credibility is going to be on the rack.” Holly Evans 2 September 2026 09:12 Former NatWest chairman says Burnham approach causing some market concerns Andy Burnham’s ambitions for overhauling how the UK state operates are likely to be curtailed by the economic headwinds caused by the Iran war.
Government long-term borrowing costs have been sent soaring to their highest levels for 28 years, amid a global bond sell-off partly linked to signs of escalation in the Middle East conflict and the concern that inflation could follow. While former NatWest chairman Sir Howard Davies told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday that this global sell-off was not “a major crisis of confidence in the UK Government” specifically, he agreed concerns about Mr Burnham’s approach to public spending were causing some market jitters. Sir Howard said the country faced “a very dicky period” leading up to the Budget on October 28 and called for the Government to “make some signs about their overall approach to the fiscal balance” in order to “calm things down a bit”.
Holly Evans 2 September 2026 08:59 Infected blood victims call on PM to resolve compensation ‘injustices’ Victims of the infected blood scandal have called on the prime minister to “resolve injustices” in the compensation scheme. Between the 1970s and early 1990s, more than 30,000 people in the UK contracted HIV and hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood and blood products. Campaigners have previously praised Andy Burnham for being a long-standing supporter of contaminated blood victims.
MPs have said it is still taking too long for compensation payments to go to victims of the infected blood scandal (PA) (PA Wire) They are now calling on him to take action to speed up payments and resolve issues raised by victims and campaigners – including requests for “unreasonably high standards of evidence” from the compensation body. Campaigners will hand a dossier of handwritten letters and documents to Downing Street on Wednesday ahead of his first Prime Minister’s Questions. The Infected Blood Inquiry closed this year after examining what has been dubbed the worst treatment disaster in the history of the NHS.
Holly Evans 2 September 2026 08:52 Minister and ex-prison officer says she is 'absolutely confident' government is taking right steps on prison crisis Housing minister Sally Jameson - a former prison officer - has insisted she is "absolutely confident" the government is taking the right steps to ease the overcrowding crisis in the prison estate. "I'm absolutely confident that the steps that the justice secretary is taking to make sure that our prisons are stable again are the right ones", she told the BBC. "But look, this is this is not an easy journey.
It wasn't an easy inheritance. We're absolutely determined to make sure it's fixed." Holly Evans 2 September 2026 08:35 Emmanuel Macron to visit No10 in Burnham's first meeting with world leader Andy Burnham is set to welcome French president Emmanuel Macron to Downing Street next week. Mr Macron will be the first European leader to visit the UK since Mr Burnham took office.
The visit is another sign the former mayor of Greater Manchester looks set to continue his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer’s policy of a “reset” of relations between the UK and the EU. On Tuesday, the prime minister’s spokesperson said: "The Home Office has announced today that summer small boat crossings were at their lowest level since 2020 this year, which is evidence of our approach, including that close work with France, and that approach is working. But we're not complacent.
“That's why the Prime Minister is set to discuss this further with with President Macron later in the week, and you'll get a trail tomorrow on that." Emmanuel Macron is set to visit No10 on Wednesday (AFP/Getty) Holly Evans 2 September 2026 08:28 Burnham to face first PMQs and test of authority Andy Burnham is to face his first Prime Minister’s Questions, and an early test of his authority over Labour backbenchers, after setting out his plans for Government. The prime minister made his debut at the Commons despatch box on Tuesday, when he set out plans to devolve more power away from Westminster and into the regions, and to take back public control over utilities and services. Mr Burnham blamed the legacy of Margaret Thatcher, the austerity era and Brexit for decades of slow growth, and insisted his plans to change the “failed economic model” would kickstart Britain’s economy.
Throughout his three hour and 23 minute Commons grilling, the PM declined to say whether there will be tax rises at the 28 October Budget. But he suggested that his chancellor John Healey will find money to hike defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 by the time of the next spending review. The Guardian reported that the prime minister told Cabinet on Tuesday that his Government will have three priorities: cutting the costs of essentials such as childcare and mortgages, regenerating communities, and greater public control over utilities such as water, energy and housing.
Andy Burnham is set to face Kemi Badenoch at PMQs on Wednesday (House of Commons) Holly Evans 2 September 2026 08:20 Minister hits back at Jim O'Neill criticism over government spending A government minister has hit back at some remarks from Lord Jim O’Neill, an ally of the Prime Minister, who suggested that international investors would not have approved of Mr Burnham’s “tone” about “implying a lot more government spending” in the Commons on Tuesday. Asked about comments, Cabinet Office minister Sally Jameson said she disagreed. She told Sky News: “I think it’s important we don’t over-read into individual comments people make, because I think Andy Burnham has been really clear that we are going to stick to those fiscal rules rigidly, and that fiscal responsibility is absolutely imperative.” She added: “We’ve got to have controls on spending, and I don’t think Andy or anyone else has said any different to that.
“But I think the key thing is having growth and bringing optimism back into this country.” Millie Cooke 2 September 2026 08:06 Minister suggests government is not looking at full nationalisation of water companies A government minister has suggested Andy Burnham is not looking at full renationalisation of water companies, instead saying he wants to see more public control. Asked what the government is looking at doing when it comes to the nationalisation of water companies, housing minister Sally Jameson told Sky News: "I don't think it's about renationalisation as such, its about public control and what's in the interests of people." Asked what that means, she said: "The buses is the the good example of that, whereby what we've done is a franchising model in certain areas, whereby the local authority or the mayor, they are able to set the price and set the routes, and then commission out that service to private companies who will bid for it. "So it put the public back in the driving seat again.
And what the task force will do will look at other life essentials that the public rely on, and see what more can we do to make sure they're working in the interests of people and not just working in the interests of shareholders and delivering a poor service." Millie Cooke 2 September 2026 08:03 What Burnham said in his first Commons address as prime minister Andy Burnham took aim at the legacy of Brexit, saying it “ushered in a decade of low growth” which the UK is still paying for, as he made his first statement as prime minister to the Commons on Tuesday. The Makerfield MP listed the “series of wrong turns” the UK has made since the 1980s and warned Brexit had embedded the problems caused by over-centralisation of government, deindustrialisation and privatisation of industry. He also announced to MPs he will attend the Cop 31 climate summit in Turkey in November, as he pledged to “meet the climate challenge”.
Andy Burnham hit out at a ‘failed economic model’ in the UK (Reuters) Mr Burnham paid tribute to his predecessor as prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, who announced he would stand down as an MP on Tuesday. During a three hour and 23 minute statement, including questions from backbenchers, he hit out at the “failed economic model” which had led to high streets across the country being left desolate. As he took a total of 125 questions from MPs, Mr Burnham: – Confirmed that a path to spending 3 per cent of the UK’s economic output on defence, a Nato commitment, will be set out at the next spending review. – Said he is “prepared to look at” electoral reform, including changes to the voting system, but not before the next general election. – Committed to bringing forward a Bill which will make sweeping reforms to the leasehold system of ownership, allowing people to move more easily to commonhold “so that finally we can reform this unfair system”.
Holly Evans 2 September 2026 07:57
Source: The Independent
