Burnham rejects suggestions that he is simply a “traditional tax-and-spend socialist,” saying he will have to make “difficult decisions.”
In his combined television clip Andy Burnham strongly rejected suggestions that he was committed to traditional tax and socialist spending.
When Beth Rigby asked him to answer Andy Haldaneformer chief economist of the Bank of England, who said in an interview last night that Burnham needs to convince financial markets that he is not just a “traditional taxpayer spending a socialist government with the best TikTok videos” (see 10:58 am), Burnham replied:
It doesn’t tell the story. We are not like that.
In this job, I have already made difficult decisions regarding changes in government spending priorities, such as suspending digital ID.
So it’s not that we’re not going to make difficult decisions.
We will make difficult decisions to keep the economy on track.
Key events
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Pepper spray in young offender institutions is disproportionately used against black boys, prison charity says
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Burnham and Trump are expected to meet for the first time next week as the prime minister increases his presence on the world stage.
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Burnham says he will “look at the issues raised” by the Piddington referendum but insists the number of small boat crossings will be “significantly reduced”.
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Burnham refuses to commit to limiting the amount people can donate to political parties
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Burnham rejects suggestions that he is simply a “traditional tax-and-spend socialist,” saying he will have to make “difficult decisions.”
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Burnham says budget will be ‘challenging’
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Burnham says his father ‘would like me to go back there’ as he returns to work after father’s death
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Streeting quotes Denis Healey as saying that if defense spending is too low, “we will have no houses, no hospitals, no schools.”
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NATO leader Mark Rutte praised the UK for taking security “seriously” in a speech
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Burnham needs to show markets he’s not just a ‘traditional taxer and socialist with the best TikTok’, says leading economist
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Nandy says he has “sympathy” for Ed Sheeran after support groups shut down in solidarity with the “free Palestine” rapper.
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Burnham thanks people, including fellow party leaders, for their condolences on his father’s death.
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Nandy says government is ‘listening’ to Piddington residents’ concerns as she defends current asylum policies
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Mayors and other local leaders may be given oversight powers over water utilities.
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Piddington, a small village in Oxfordshire, votes for independence in a symbolic referendum to protest migrant camps
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UK inflation rises to 3.1% as motor fuel prices jump by almost a quarter
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Lisa Nandy calls X Musk a ‘disgrace’ as she vows to fight doxxing on social media
Pepper spray in young offender institutions is disproportionately used against black boys, prison charity says
Last year Home office announced that prison officers will be allowed to use Pava pepper spray to incapacitate children in juvenile facilities.
Today Howard League for Penal Reformwhich opposed the move, released data showing that Pava was disproportionately used against black boys. The press release states:
In April 2025, Shabana Mahmood, the then Secretary of State for Justice, gave the green light for the use of Pava spray in three prisons in England that house boys aged 15 and over: Feltham A, Werrington and Wetherby. The Howard League understands the rollout began in August for Werrington and Wetherby and in September for Feltham A.
Figures provided to the Howard League in response to a Freedom of Information Act request show that in the first few months of the rollout, to the end of March 2026, Pava spray was used on 33 children and young people in total – 19 in Feltham A and 14 in Werrington. Pava spray was used on at least one occasion in Wetherby but was not used.
Of the 33 children and young people on whom Pava spray was used, 18 were black and six were white. Despite making up only about 30% of the population in Feltham A and Werrington, black children and young people were attacked approximately 55% of the time.
Gemma AbbottThe Howard League’s legal director said:
Pava is a chemical irritant spray that can cause severe pain and is classified as a prohibited weapon under the Firearms Act 1968. It is disgraceful that prison staff are given the right to use it against children.
Burnham and Trump are expected to meet for the first time next week as the prime minister increases his presence on the world stage.
Andy Burnham is expected to meet Donald Trump in person for the first time at the UN General Assembly next week in New York. Aleta Adu reports.
Burnham says he will “look at the issues raised” by the Piddington referendum but insists the number of small boat crossings will be “significantly reduced”.
Andy Burnham In his joint television interview, he was also asked about the independence vote at the anti-migrant camp in Piddington. Taking the same tone as Lisa Nandy earlier (see 10am), he said he would “look at the issues raised by the community and the referendum”. But he said the government had a plan to reduce the number of small boats arriving and that it was working.
He said:
I understand the strength of feelings, and this is typical throughout the country. But the only thing to do is to reduce the number of transitions, and they have decreased significantly.
Here Ben Quinnthe story of Piddington’s vote.
Burnham refuses to commit to limiting the amount people can donate to political parties
Andy Burnham has refused to commit to introducing a cap on the amount people can donate to political parties.
He also declined to say whether he believes laws currently being passed by Parliament limiting the amount Britons can give to parties if they have recently moved to the UK after living abroad will result in Reform UK having to return the £72 million it received from Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, two cryptocurrency billionaires.
Asked specifically whether these donations would become ineligible and whether he would now support a cap on individual donations, Burnham responded:
The details of these donations are the subject of Reform and they will have to account for the details of how these donations were made and whether they were permissible under the law. The Government has outlined plans to introduce a People’s Bill to limit foreign donations. And this bill is now passing through parliament.
It is therefore vital that we maintain the highest standards of trust, confidence and integrity in British politics. And this is the responsibility of all politicians and all political parties.
Burnham said he favors capping donations before he becomes prime minister. But many union leaders who support the Labor Party are not in favor of the idea because they fear it could limit their ability to donate to the party, and Burnham has recently abandoned the idea.
Burnham rejects suggestions that he is simply a “traditional tax-and-spend socialist,” saying he will have to make “difficult decisions.”
In his combined television clip Andy Burnham strongly rejected suggestions that he was committed to traditional tax and socialist spending.
When Beth Rigby asked him to answer Andy Haldaneformer chief economist of the Bank of England, who said in an interview last night that Burnham needs to convince financial markets that he is not just a “traditional taxpayer spending a socialist government with the best TikTok videos” (see 10:58 am), Burnham replied:
It doesn’t tell the story. We are not like that.
In this job, I have already made difficult decisions regarding changes in government spending priorities, such as suspending digital ID.
So it’s not that we’re not going to make difficult decisions.
We will make difficult decisions to keep the economy on track.
Burnham says budget will be ‘challenging’
Andy Burnham said the budget would be “challenging.”
In his joint television interview, when asked whether the budget would be “challenging”, Burnham replied:
It will not be easy because the picture around the world is complex, and especially the situation in the Middle East. And we’ll take a close look at all of these things.
We will not risk people’s living standards or the economy as a whole. Therefore, we will take all this into account.
That’s why we wanted to budget earlier. We didn’t want to leave a long period of speculation. I think it was the right decision now.
This will mean taking whatever measures we can to help people, as well as ensuring that we manage the economy with utmost prudence.
Speaking about the state of the economy as a whole, he said that in his opinion it is stable.
If you look at the detailed picture behind today’s inflation figures, it shows the strength of the British economy across the board.
Burnham said inflation pressures were “driven by the situation in the Middle East,” which was a problem for countries around the world.
Burnham says his father ‘would like me to go back there’ as he returns to work after father’s death
Andy Burnham said his father would like him to return to work.
In a joint TV spot with Sky News’ Beth Rigby, the Prime Minister spoke about the messages he has received since his father’s death on Monday.
He told Rigby:
It’s hard, and it will be hard for a while. But it’s better to get back to work.
But I also want to thank the leaders of other parties who sent a message. It shows there is still some decency in British politics and that’s what we need to see.
So this is gratitude from all of us, the whole family. But my father would like me to go back there… bringing with me some of the changes that he always pushed me to make.