𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

The Labour Party circus rolls on, but with different clowns in charge. We now have a convicted fraudster, Louise Haigh, running the “Office of the Prime Minister”. The new Energy Secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, is even more zealous about net zero than Red Ed Miliband. And the lady who once described talk of grooming gangs as “dog whistle politics” is now in charge of education.

Half of Burnham’s cabinet, including the Prime Minister, served under Gordon Brown. While Andy Burnham is promising to do politics differently, it feels awfully familiar. Yesterday he even pinched Reform’s policy to scrap VAT on energy bills. It’s a good start, but it’s nowhere near enough. It equates to saving households the price of a second class stamp a week.

Reform UK would go much further, taking £200 off your energy bill, by also scrapping the green taxes that have been loaded on by stealth – paid for by ditching wasteful net zero subsidies. But Burnham won’t do that. Why? Because he put net zero zealotry ahead of tackling the cost of living – just like his predecessor.

Burnham claims to be cutting VAT on energy bills, but the small print shows it’s only for electricity bills. So what about the 86% of homes that use gas or oil to heat their homes? Older and poorer people are already being left behind by this new Prime Minister.

Why not cut VAT on their bills too as Reform have been calling for? Burnham’s gone an inch, when he could have gone much further.

Worse, his numbers don’t add up. He says he’ll pay for the VAT cut by scrapping Digital ID. Only one problem: that policy was never funded in the first place, so there are no savings to be made. Burnhamomics looks awfully like the same fantasy economics we saw from Rachel Reeves.

So where is the rest of the money coming from?

Inevitably, tax rises. Hikes that no one voted for.

In fact, Burnham has called for £38 billion in tax rises in recent times or £3,450 for every family. He’s still refused to rule them out.

With the same people and policies, this Government will go the same way as the last.