Andy Burnham has opened the door to making it harder to claim benefits, telling claimants they can, in fact, go to work.
The Prime Minister said he might “increase the conditions on people required to receive benefits”, telling the BBC he believed “there are people out there who, with the right support, can go into work”.
He will make a speech on Wednesday outlining his plans for adult social care, a system he has wanted to reform since his time as Health Secretary under Gordon Brown.
The Prime Minister will stop short of unveiling plans for the new system in his speech.
He is instead expected to speed up the Casey Commission, an independent review which has been considering possible solutions for how to solve Britain’s social care.
The Telegraph revealed last night he was plotting a crackdown on youth sickness benefits in order to fund any changes to social care and defence – for which he was left a multi-billion-pound black hole by Sir Keir Starmer, which he will need to fill at his first Budget.
Young people could be stripped of their benefits unless they take up training or voluntary work, according to the newspaper.
Mr Burnham is likely to risk the wrath of his backbenchers if he takes aim at Britain’s benefits bill – just like Sir Keir did.
And he insisted would not go “straight to blaming ” benefits claimants, saying how “there are people in the benefits system, young people in their 20s who have been quite seriously let down because the support wasn’t there for them when it should have been there”.
The Prime Minister is also set to make interventions on youth unemployment and devolution in the coming days.
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Treasury hits back at council tax reports as Lord Blunkett warns it’ll be ‘politically problematic’
Government sources pushed back on The i Paper’s story Burnham was “actively considering” council tax and stamp duty.
The sources said decisions on tax were a matter for the Chancellor to set out at fiscal events – namely, the Budget where John Healey will also have to work out how to fund the defence black hole.
Lord Blunkett, one of Burnham’s closest allies, warned a land value tax would be “politically problematic” – creating winners and losers across the housing market.
He said the reform will not happen in the “immediate future”, warning that there must be a “grounding of reality in politics, as well as radical thinking in economics”.
Andy Burnham could SCRAP council tax in favour of flat rate across the nation
Andy Burnham is said to be considering plans to scrap council tax and stamp duty.
Treasury officials are looking at options to overhaul the way property is taxed, with more than 100 Labour MPs advocating for the change, according to The i Paper.
Jonathan Brash, the Hartlepool MP who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Council Tax Reform, said: “Council tax is one of the most unfair taxes in Britain, and nowhere is that injustice clearer than in towns like Hartlepool.”
In leafy Wandsworth, west London, a Band D home commands council tax worth some £1,020 – but in Mr Brash’s seat, that figure sits as far north as £2,556.
He added: “We don’t need another sticking plaster. We need wholesale reform.”
Two models are being considered to replace the council tax. A proportional property tax would replace both council tax and stamp duty with a flat 0.48 per cent annual charge on a home’s current value.
The second option, a land value tax, would charge owners based only on the value of the land it sits on.
During the 2010 Labour leadership contest, Mr Burnham said land value tax should replace stamp duty – which he described as a “tax on the aspirations of young people”.
Revealed: Teenagers on Pip earn £100 MORE every week than part-time workers
Teenagers claiming personal independence payment (Pip) received £100 a week more than part-time workers on minimum wage, new analysis has revealed.
The payment is intended to help with everyday tasks for those with a long-term physical disability or mental health condition.
But The Times has revealed that more than 87,000 16- and 17-year-olds are claiming Pip – more than two thirds for mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions such as anxiety, depression, autism and ADHD.
A 16-year-old on the under-18 minimum wage, working the legal maximum during time, would take home around £94.
The same teenager, receiving Pip with anxiety benefits, can receive more than double the hourly equivalent – without doing any work.
Kemi Badenoch demands Andy Burnham rules out tax rises to fund his social care overhaul
Kemi Badenoch has challenged the Prime Minister to rule out tax rises or increased borrowing to pay for social care reform in a newly-published letter.
The Conservative leader last night said her party would be willing to work with Labour if two “core principles” were met.
She said: “First, any solution to the issues around social care must also be fair to those who have made provisions and saved up over the course of their lives.
“Second, the money must be found by reducing current spending. You must rule out any tax rises, or increased borrowing that will ultimately fall on the next generation to pay for.”
The Tory leader said there was speculation Mr Burnham would increase taxes in the autumn budget, adding that it was the “last thing” Britain needed.
Mrs Badenoch said she hoped the two party leaders could find “common ground” on a “hugely important issue for so many people and one that matters a lot to me”.
RECAP: Labour MP claims Reform UK and GB News are to blame for ‘hate’ behind Berlin Pride attack
Reform UK and GB News have been blamed for homophobic “hate” which led to the Berlin Pride car ramming attack.
Kate Osborne, on the party’s left, claimed last night that the party and the channel were “spouting nonsense and broadcasting content and language that attacks and vilifies the LGBTQ+ community”.
She said that both contributed to “patterns emerging across Europe” and that “an escalation of hate and verbal attacks online” acted as a “catalyst for real-world physical violence”.
“This is why Pride still matters and why we all need to vocally stand up for minorities and condemn the hate,” the Jarrow and Gateshead East MP said.
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Andy Burnham to hand Volodymyr Zelensky keys to British signal-jamming technology to evade Russian drones today
Andy Burnham will welcome Volodymyr Zelensky to Britain today, his first international visitor since taking over the reins at No10.
He will host the Ukrainian President a week after entering Downing Street – and will hail Labour’s continued backing for Kyiv under his premiership, No10 said last night.
The duo will visit a naval base where Mr Burnham will announce that Britain will hand over the intellectual property behind its new “Stone Cloak” electronic warfare system, enabling Ukraine to produce the technology at scale.
The tablet-sized device is designed to block Russian detection of any drones it is fitted to.
The Ministry of Defence has already given thousands of the jammers to Ukrainian forces to bolster their drone operations.
Mr Burnham said in a statement: “Britain stands with Ukraine, shoulder to shoulder, and our support remains unwavering.
“Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve and we will not back down until we achieve long-lasting and just peace for Ukraine.
“Stone Cloak is the best of homegrown British innovation and proven on the frontline, and it will be vital to protecting our security in both our countries.”
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