Andy Burnham did not rule out tax rises in the autumn Budget as he signalled more cost of living crisis support for people facing higher bills. He said any new policy would be carefully thought through and funded, with more to come as the government moves into the autumn.
Speaking on Monday, Burnham said, "I won't be unrealistic and people really need to understand that." He added, "We are in a challenging position, whatever I do will be carefully thought through, it will be funded and there will be more to come as we go into the autumn."
Andy Burnham and John Healey
Burnham defended the spending commitments already announced, including capping bus fares at £2 and cutting VAT on household electricity bills. He said those steps were the first he had felt able to make after reprioritising funding from elsewhere, and that digital ID was not the top priority for now.
He also said, "I took the decision early on that digital ID wasn't the top priority for now. And so we've reprioritised funding to other priorities," and added, "I will always take a careful approach to things. I ran Greater Manchester for 10 years and we ran a very tight ship with rock solid finances."
Greater Manchester finances
Burnham said, "Nothing will change as I come into this role as prime minister." He added, "I won't take risks with people's jobs or their livelihoods or their family finances," and said, "I will try to help them in whatever way I can, I have already done some things that will help them."
The pressure on the Budget is already visible in the numbers. Official figures showed the government borrowed more than expected in July despite a record month for income tax receipts, while inflation reached a four-month high of 2.9% in July.
28 October autumn Budget
Burnham and John Healey have vowed to stick to the fiscal rules set by Rachel Reeves, and experts have said there is no room for extra borrowing. That leaves tax rises or spending cuts as the obvious ways to fund any larger package, including measures still under discussion such as social care reforms.
The autumn Budget on 28 October is now the point where those choices have to be made. Burnham has already signalled that more support is coming; the open question is which tax rises, if any, he and Healey will choose to use to pay for it.
