Henry Zeffman: Andy Burnham and his chancellor have a battle on their hands
Burnham announced that he was abandoning the scheme in the days before he became prime minister so that he could focus on policies affecting the everyday cost of living. But the spending was then, within the new government's first few days, re-allocated to cut VAT on household electricity bills.So in that sense it was not a reduction in public spending, just a reprioritisation. "It's what everyone is thinking and some of us are vocalising," one government source said.There are also those who fear the adverse political consequences of a Labour government seeking to go out of its way to demonstrate its fiscal credibility.
- ▪Burnham announced that he was abandoning the scheme in the days before he became prime minister so that he could focus on policies affecting the everyday cost of living.
- ▪But the spending was then, within the new government's first few days, re-allocated to cut VAT on household electricity bills.So in that sense it was not a reduction in public spending, just a reprioritisation.
- ▪"It's what everyone is thinking and some of us are vocalising," one government source said.There are also those who fear the adverse political consequences of a Labour government seeking to go out of its way to demonstrate its fiscal credib
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| Publication time | Wed, 16 Sep 2026 14:52:38 GMT |
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Henry Zeffman: Andy Burnham and his chancellor have a battle on their handsImage source, Getty ImagesByHenry ZeffmanPolitical correspondentPublishedJust nowToday's inflation figures underscore that the economy is the biggest challenge facing Andy Burnham.It is only 42 days until John Healey's first Budget, and there is increasingly apparent concern at all levels of the government and Labour Party about how that Budget can – or, as it may prove, cannot – substantiate Burnham's rhetoric about offering the biggest change in British politics in 40 years.Much of the tricky economic environment, yes, is driven by global factors including the persistence, and to some degree worsening, of the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.And the AI boom pushing up borrowing costs is another issue…
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