Andy Burnham vowed a nationalisation drive, blaming Thatcher and Brexit for the country’s woes, as he finally faced a grilling from MPs today.
The premier is making a statement in the Commons as it returns from recess, laying out the ‘direction’ of his Government.
Flanked by Chancellor John Healey and his effective deputy Louise Haigh, Mr Burnham insisted the country had taken ‘wrong turns’ over the past 40 years, with privatisation compounded by leaving the EU.
He said he had listened to voters and would act by returning ‘ownership’, deploying a slew of jargon about his ‘triple helix theory of economic development’.
The PM also paid tribute to predecessor Keir Starmer, who has announced he is standing down as an MP. He said Sir Keir had created a ‘platform to change this country for the better’.
But in their first direct clashes, Kemi Badenoch ridiculed Mr Burnham for blaming Thatcher four decades after she was in power. She jibed that the PM was ‘living in the past’ and wanted to take Britain ‘back to the 1970s’.
‘He is going to have to start taking this job seriously,’ she said.
The premier dodged demands to confirm there will be no tax rises at the Budget next month, refusing to commit to cutting benefits instead.
Mr Burnham is facing mounting anger over the prisoner early release scheme and the prospect of tax hikes to fund more spending.
Ministers have warned of ‘difficult’ decisions looming in the Budget, as Government borrowing costs spiked again this morning.
Interest rates on 30-year gilts – one of the main ways the Treasury finances debt – hit 5.89 per cent, the highest level since 1998.
Global markets have been spooked by inflation pressures from the Middle East crisis and fears about an AI crash.
In other developments today:
- Keir Starmer has announced he is quitting as an MP, despite insisting he would stay on until the next election;
- Mr Burnham swiped at his predecessor this morning by telling Cabinet voters had noticed a ‘change of pace’ since he took over;
- The PM has declared that he will be going to the COP31 climate summit in Turkey in November;
- Ex-Treasury minister Darren Jones has warned that Britain cannot become wealthier through raising taxes for more Government spending;
- Donald Trump has said he is ‘reviewing’ the US position on the Falklands Islands, amid tensions over the Government’s stance towards Israel;
- Mrs Badenoch has finished reshuffling her shadow cabinet, axeing big beasts as she puts the Tories on a war footing for an election.
Flanked by Chancellor John Healey and his effective deputy Louise Haigh, Andy Burnham insisted he had listened to the public and would act
In their first direct clashes, Kemi Badenoch ridiculed Mr Burnham for blaming Thatcher four decades after she was in power
Andy Burnham has made his debut in the Commons as it returns from the summer recess
Mr Burnham has vowed to take ‘stronger public control’ over ‘essentials’ such as water.
‘From the 1980s, this country took a series of wrong turns – political power was centralised, economic power privatised, the country deindustrialised,’ he told the Commons.
‘Britain’s water industry stands as a leaking monument to that approach – a country run in the private rather than public interest – and that is now abundantly clear to voters of all parties, including the party opposite.
‘The Government I lead will be relentless in giving people and places what they were promised 10 years ago, ownership and control, and from that control over their destiny comes change and growth.’
He said: ‘Later in the year, our 10-year plan for Britain will set out plans for stronger public control over these essentials, making them work for people and places again.’
Mr Burnham took over from Keir Starmer just as Parliament went into its break, meaning he has benefited from a ‘soft launch’ with the public’s focus largely on the sunshine instead of politics.
The new leader has gifted Labour a bounce in the polls. However that looks to be fading and the former Greater Manchester mayor has already been forced into a bewildering variety of policy shifts.
Earlier, Mr Burnham worked up a sweat on his jog around Westminster before gathering Cabinet in No10, congratulating them on the Government’s ‘sense of momentum’.
According to a Downing Street readout, Mr Burnham ‘said the country has noticed a change of pace with the Government setting the agenda and starting the process of giving local areas the levers they need to create good growth’.
‘He said that during his summer tour, it was clear that life was hard for many people, that they wanted to have hope and hear a positive outlook for the country.’
The PM’s statement was his first appearance at the despatch box since he was a minister 16 years ago.
Mr Burnham’s push to nationalise water has already run into trouble because it could cost billions of pounds.
In an interview today Chancellor John Healey admitted there are already ‘difficult’ decisions looming in the Budget.
A No10 source said: ‘Andy is optimistic about our country’s future. He has a clear plan for how we turn things round. He is determined we make this the moment we bring back hope.’
The session will see Mr Burnham clash directly with Kemi Badenoch for the first time, who used the Bank Holiday to reshuffle her shadow cabinet ready for an early election – axeing Tory big beasts including Sir Mel Stride and Dame Priti Patel.
MPs are poised to probe the PM on the slew of policies he announced over the summer – which critics say were unfunded.
That includes the cut to VAT on energy bills which comes into force next month, and slashing business rates for pubs and clubs.
Mr Burnham must explain how he will fill a £4.7billion funding gap in the defence investment plan, left to him by predecessor Sir Keir.
This morning the yield on ten-year gilts – a benchmark for what the Treasury pays to borrow money – climbed to an 18-year high of 5.21 per cent after an international market sell-off. The rise was the steepest since May and increases the pressure on Mr Healey ahead of his first Budget.
Mr Healey conceded last week the Budget will not set a timetable for spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence, instead that schedule will be laid out at the spending review next year – even though Mr Healey quit Sir Keir’s government in protest at the lack of a firm commitment.
Mr Healey told The Times he was still determined to scale up spending on defence.
‘For the first time at the spending review, we will set out a clear path about how we meet that Nato commitment in 2035, of 2.5 per cent of GDP,’ he said. ‘And as part of setting out that clear path, we will set that target date for 3 per cent.’
Mr Burnham could also be quizzed on his commitment to bring Thames Water under public ownership, and whether drilling will be allowed at the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields in the North Sea.
Crunch decisions on a flagship Bill to tighten immigration law, and calls for MPs to change electoral law are also on the horizon.
Ed Miliband and Angela Rayner were at the Cabinet meeting in Downing Street this morning
Mr Burnham geared up for the Commons clashes with a run this morning
Underlining the issues confronting ministers, Government borrowing costs spiked again this morning. The chart shows the interest rates on 30-year gilts, which reached the highest level since 1998
In an interview today Chancellor John Healey (pictured with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the G20 summit yesterday) admitted there are already ‘difficult’ decisions looming in the Budget
The session this afternoon will see Mr Burnham clash directly with Kemi Badenoch (pictured) for the first time
Join the discussion
Is bringing key services like water back into public ownership the change Britain needs, or a step backward?
After Mr Burnham’s statement, Justice Secretary Alex Norris will give the Commons details of the plans for the early release scheme review to relieve prison overcrowding.
Over the weekend the PM said the killers of Thames Valley Police officer Andrew Harper will not be eligible for the scheme following a widespread backlash.
Mr Burnham initially resisted calls to limit the scheme further after it emerged that Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, who were convicted of PC Harper’s manslaughter in 2020, would be eligible from next year.
Ministers also plan to create capacity in prisons by building hundreds of new places with a £110million investment, by deporting foreign prisoners and releasing inmates who are serving indefinite sentences under imprisonment for public protection sentences (IPPs).
John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘Andy Burnham talks big about his theory of growth, but his plans are just the same old tax-and-spend policies that have punished taxpayers for generations.
‘The prime minister’s obsession with state ownership and five-year plans will ensure that ‘growth’ remains only a theory.
‘If this new government wishes to deliver growth and provide real economic change, they urgently need to get spending and borrowing under control.’
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