Burnham rejects ‘tax and spend socialist’ comments

Burnham rejects 'tax and spend socialist' comments. Speaking on Tuesday, Andy Haldane, who has advised Burnham on the economy, claimed financial markets had grown wary of his economic plans and now considered his premiership a "traditional tax and spend socialist government".

What happened

Image source, PA MediaByPaul SeddonPolitical reporterPublished1 hour agoAndy Burnham has insisted he is prepared to take "difficult decisions" on the economy, after a former Bank of England chief economist said investors were worried about his willingness to cut spending. The market now suspects that this is a traditional tax and spend socialist government with better TikTok videos. Related topicsAndy BurnhamUK government spending Haldane said the prime minister's was facing a "straight choice" between raising taxes and cutting spending at the yearly spending statement due on 28 October.

"The fiscal Achilles Heel of this government thus far has been its unwillingness and/or inability to cut public spending," he told the radio station. "Petrol and diesel price rises push UK inflation higher Published1 hour agoFaisal Islam: Chancellor's attempts to boost vibes may limit tax risesPublished7 SeptemberSpeaking during a visit earlier on Wednesday, Burnham conceded that next month's Budget would be "challenging", blaming the "situation in the Middle East" for rising inflation in recent months.

"He added he had already taken difficult decisions on public spending, including "reprioritising" some government spending over the summer to pay for his early cost of living announcements, and scrapping the rollout of digital ID.

The wider picture

"Budget headachesBurnham has recommitted to manifesto promises made by Labour at the last general election not to raise the main rates of income tax, VAT or National Insurance, significantly curbing his options to raise revenue. At the same time, he has also pledged to stick to the previous government's debt and spending targets, a task that will be made harder by recent increases to the cost of servicing the UK's existing pile of debt. Since coming to office, Burnham has committed around £1.

The prime minister has also promised extra defence funding promised by Starmer before his exit over the summer, although a decision on when to hit a target to spend 3% of GDP on the military has been left to next year. Clark's comments followed warnings about the risks the technology poses to humanity that have been raised in recent days by several executives and staff at leading AI firms. Get in touchDo you have any comments or questions about this story?

The prime minister insists he is prepared to take "difficult decisions" at next month's Budget. But the PM rejected this, adding that he would not take risks with the economy and had already made difficult choices since taking office.

What has been reported

It comes as recent rises to the cost of UK borrowing worsened the political options facing the government ahead of next month's Budget. In an interview with LBC, he urged him not to raise taxes further, but said investors were questioning whether he was prepared to risk anger from Labour backbenchers by making reductions in public expenditure. "Within financial markets, we've gone from the cautious optimism of the summer months to the studied scepticism of September.

But he rejected Haldane's characterisation of how markets viewed the government, telling broadcasters: "That doesn't tell the story. He added: "So it's not the case that we aren't going to take difficult decisions. We will take difficult decisions to make sure the economy remains on track. There have been predictions that the rise, combined with a worsening economic backdrop from the Iran war, are likely to significantly thin the £24bn buffer against those targets he inherited from the Starmer government.

8bn towards cost of living interventions, some of which is due to be funded by reallocating money within the existing budgets of government departments.

What happens next

But a proposal to fund a VAT cut on household electricity bills using money earmarked for the digital ID programme drew criticism from a Starmer ally, who pointed out that funding for that scheme had itself not been confirmed. Figure caption, Watch: "Great" or "alarming" – Should AI be reined in? ByPeter HoskinsBusiness reporterPublished15 September 2026US President Donald Trump has said fears about the safety of artificial intelligence (AI) are a "hoax", as he criticised calls to have more guardrails in place for the fast-moving technology.

It comes after Jack Clark, co-founder of AI giant Anthropic, told the BBC that a "kill switch" that can be checked by a third party may need to be mandatory for the industry. Those concerns triggered a selloff in tech firms' shares as investors weighed the impact of a potential slowdown in the multi-billion dollar development of AI. In a series of social media posts, the US president compared warnings about AI to the "Global Warming Scam" which, he said, was "being perpetrated by the Radical Left Dumocrats".

Trump also called himself "the Hoax Buster", likening concerns about the safety of the technology to what he called "the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX".

The report has been compiled by The Daily Waves using information reported across bbc.co.uk. Details are presented according to the information available at the time of publication and may change as authorities, organisers or other relevant parties provide updates.