𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Andy Burnham refused to rule out Budget tax rises in a PMQs grilling by Kemi Badenoch. The Tory leader urged the Prime Minister to “be honest and tell us” if he planned to hike taxes next month during the Commons clash amid soaring government borrowing costs.

She said: “The markets are clearly worried that we now have a spendthrift Prime Minister who wants to say yes to everyone but cannot tell us where the money is coming from. He needs to pay for all his new promises, and he has a choice: higher taxes, more borrowing or spending cuts.

“Yesterday, he said change begins with honesty. So, will he be honest and tell us? Is he preparing to raise taxes again? Yes or no?”

But Mr Burnham insisted he is not going to “write the Budget” at the despatch box.

He said: “I’ve already indicated my first moves were to cut tax, but I’m not going to do what any prime minister has done and write the Budget here. That will be the matter for my Right Honourable friend (Chancellor John Healey).

“But can I also say to her that he and I took a deliberate decision to set an early date for the Budget so that we reduce the period for prolonged speculation of the kind that she is wanting us to indulge in today.”

Mr Burnham had already declined to rule out tax rises in the Budget yesterday when he made his first statement to the Commons as PM.

Mrs Badenoch also challenged Mr Burnham over criticism by his ally Lord O’Neill after he set out his plans for Government.

She said: “Lord O’Neill, a close friend of the Prime Minister, said yesterday’s statement in the Commons was the last thing investors wanted to hear.

“Lord O’Neill is a serious economist. He knows what he’s talking about, and sure enough, yesterday the cost of Government borrowing rose to its highest in 18 years. How does he plan to tackle the Government’s rising debt costs?”

Mr Burnham replied: “I’ve worked with Jim O’Neill for 10 years. Jim O’Neill always gives me candid advice.

“We don’t always agree, but he and I worked together to turn Greater Manchester from a former industrial heartland to the fastest-growing city region in the country.”

Government long-term borrowing costs have been sent soaring to their highest levels for 28 years, amid a global bond sell-off partly linked to signs of escalation in the Middle East conflict and the concern that inflation could follow.