Andy Burnham’s increasing list of spending pledges could “cost up to £63billion”, a new analysis has shown.
The pledges, which include spending on defence, council house building and social care, could cost the country between £46 billion and £63 billion by 2030.
This equates to around 1.5 and 2 per cent of GDP, Capital Economics has shown.
John Healey, Mr Burnham’s new Chancellor, could be left in a precarious position, with the bond markets nearing the limit of additional borrowing they can “tolerate”.
It is possible Mr Healey could fall foul of the same predicament Rachel Reeves found herself in – her two budgets raised an additional £65billion in taxes, damaging the job market and businesses.
Yesterday, the new Prime Minister pledged to reform “neglected” social care, which is estimated to cost the Government an additional £18billion.
Mr Burnham did not rule out tax rises to fund social care reform but vowed he would “stick to the manifesto” and make “difficult decisions”.
He also has plans to boost council housebuilding to pre-war levels, which would need a further £12 billion to £23billion.
Mr Healey, who stepped down as defence secretary under Sir Keir Starmer over lack of spending in the Ministry of Defence, could need to find an extra £11billion to meet his goal of three per cent of GDP towards defence by 2030.
However, yesterday Mr Burnham avoided committing to this figure, only pledging to Nato’s 2035 goal, which requires all member states to raise their annual defence spending to five per cent of GDP.
Andy Burnham due to unveil £8.4billion investment for nuclear submarines
Prime Minister Andy Burnham will unveil £8.4 billion for the next phase of the HMS Dreadnought nuclear submarine programme during a visit to Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria today.
The submarines, powered by Rolls-Royce nuclear propulsion and armed with Trident 2 D5 missiles, are set to replace the ageing Vanguard Class from the early 2030s.
However, the funding was originally agreed under Sir Keir Starmer’s Government as part of a £15billion boost to the defence and nuclear budget.
‘He’s got problems!’ Donald Trump tells GB News the one point he ‘can’t get across’ to Andy Burnham
Donald Trump has urged Andy Burnham to open up the North Sea to drilling at once, telling GB News he “cannot get the point across” enough.
The President, responding to a question from The People’s Channel, said the Prime Minister promised him he would “open up North Sea oil”.
“If he does that, you’re going to be a wealthy country if he does it reasonably,” he said.
The Commander-in-Chief has long advocated for Britain to drill off the Scottish coast, repeatedly urging Sir Keir Starmer to drill for crude oil.
Read Peter Stevens’ story here.
Polls for Manchester Mayor open
The polls have opened for Manchester Mayor as the region looks to find their replacement to Andy Burnham.
More than two million voters will head to the polls today.
The candidates are as follows:
- Bev Craig (Labour)
- Phil Eckersley (Conservatives)
- Geraldine Coggins (Green Party)
- Sian Astley (Reform UK)
- Richard Kilpatrick (Liberal Democrats)
- Marlon West (Restore Britain)
- Marcus Farmer (Independent)
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