Andy Burnham has ruled out short-term cuts to the benefits budget as he hinted taxes would have to rise to pay for his lavish spending plans.
In his first broadcast interview since winning the Makerfield by-election, the prime minister-in-waiting ruled out ‘crude cuts’ to welfare.
Asked if he would stand by Labour‘s manifesto and its fiscal rules, he said yes but there is ‘some room within that manifesto for movement on tax’.
He told LBC’s Andrew Marr that he would tax warehouses more to enable him to cut rates for pubs, ‘bring life back to the High Street’ and help small businesses.
Defending himself against claims that he will raise taxes, he said he ‘not indisciplined’ when it came to the public finances and revealed that he had not yet chosen his future chancellor.
Asked about the hole in defence spending, Mr Burnham admitted he hadn’t had ‘all of the details’ about the costs following reports of up to a £15billion shortfall.
But he said the country had to ‘face up to it very seriously’ and that he would ‘take those responsibilities extremely seriously, no compromise on the security of the nation’.
The former mayor of Greater Manchester also said his generation of politicians had ‘failed’ as he said the country needed a ‘circuit breaker’.
In his first broadcast interview since winning the Makerfield by-election, Andy Burnham ruled out ‘crude cuts’ to welfare
He told LBC’s Andrew Marr that he would tax warehouses more to enable him to cut rates for pubs, ‘bring life back to the High Street’ and help small businesses
Asked about the hole in defence spending, Mr Burnham, pictured after his interview, admitted he hadn’t had ‘all of the details’ about the costs following reports of up to a £15billion shortfall
Asked how he would tackle welfare spending, he said: ‘I’m not going to go with the crude cuts to benefit levels that then just put people who are struggling in even worse poverty, and that often creates the backlash, and understandably so.’
Instead, he said he would focus on reforming the education system, offering work placements to young people and building council homes to reduce the number of ‘neets’ – young people not in education, employment or training.
He admitted that his generation of politicians had ‘failed’ as he vowed to end the culture of political point scoring.
‘You can’t go around pointing fingers when you haven’t been good enough yourselves, and I would say that all politicians haven’t been good enough,’ he said.
‘My generation of politicians, I think, has failed in many ways in that the country isn’t where it should be right now. The country needs lifting up.’
Elsewhere, he said he would end the use of the whip to force MPs to fall into line and have different factions of the Labour party in his Cabinet.
He also vowed to work with other parties, repeated previous claims about nationalising utilities like water and energy and end ‘trickle down’ economics.
He vowed to base his ‘No 10 North’ at a new digital campus in Manchester Piccadilly and work from there.
Despite being regarded as the prime minister in waiting, Mr Burnham has kept a low profile since winning the Makerfield by-election.
He is widely expected to get the top job without having to go through a leadership contest and become prime minister as soon as July 20.
The former mayor gave a major speech earlier this week in which he refused to take questions from the media.
Burnham held a ‘Defence Management Plan’ in his hands
He is yet to expand on any of his plans for government beyond saying he would set up a ‘No 10 North’ and further devolve power away from Whitehall.
Reporters were told beforehand that he wouldn’t be taking questions – a highly unusual move for a major political speech which prompted accusations that he was dodging scrutiny.
He also held a victory rally following his by-election win but was accused of running away from reporters who tried to ask him questions.
His last interview was with ITV and Channel 4 on June 9 nearly a month ago, though it was focused solely on his local campaign rather than the national picture.
As a result, it is not clear what the prospective prime minister’s plans for government look like.
This week, he tweeted in response to Kemi Badenoch who said Labour had ditched Sir Keir for a ‘pair of eyelashes and a black t-shirt’.
He also intervened on the case of the leader of the notorious Rochdale grooming gang Shabir Ahmed, 73, who was released from prison today.
He said that ‘nothing is off the table’ as he said he would ask senior ministers to ‘review all possible options’ after it emerged that the rapist could not be deported to Pakistan.
Speculation has raged about who he will appoint to his future cabinet, with suggestions that former health secretary Wes Streeting could become his chancellor.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has also been touted for the role, as has Shabana Mahmood – though more recent reports suggest she will stay in the Home Office.
Roles for other figures including former foreign secretary David Miliband, former transport secretary Lou Haigh and former housing minister Miatta Fahnbulleh are also possible.
However, there was a warning from MPs to Mr Burnham that he should not have more Milibands than women in top jobs.
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