Andy Burnham’s spending splurge is said to cost British taxpayers hundreds of billions of pounds.
A day on from his major speech to supporters, MPs and ministers, the cost of the Prime Minister’s list of spending commitments has been tallied up.
The hefty total comes to between £26billion and £36.5billion a year, Guido Fawkes revealed.
The largest cost is Mr Burnham’s latest project, the “National Care Service”, which will cost at least £18.5billion.
The Prime Minister vowed that the service would be funded by axing the triple lock at the next election – but the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that move would save “absolutely nothing”.
And the Makerfield MP’s spending commitments do not stop there – his council housebuilding programme would require another £8billion a year.
Once added up over Mr Burnham’s “10-year plan”, the final total could range from £135billion to a staggering £260billion.
Britain’s failed ‘one in, one out’ migrant returns deal with France SCRAPPED after costing taxpayer £84million
Britain’s failed “one in, one out” migrant returns deal with France has been scrapped after costing the taxpayer a whopping £84million.
Flights taking small boat migrants back to France will carry on for several weeks before the contentious deal comes to an end.
British officials were understood to be scrambling to keep the deal alive amid claims it had deterred illegal migrants from breaking into the UK.
But the Home Office confirmed the deal has now been ditched for good this afternoon.
READ MORE HERE.
Andy Burnham tells GB News he is considering rejoining EU as PM makes major Brexit U-turn
Andy Burnham has confirmed he will consider pushing for Britain to rejoin the European Union after being accused of making a major Brexit U-turn.
The Prime Minister, who promised voters in Brexit-backing Makerfield he would not try to return Britain to the EU in May, has now told GB News rejoining the bloc is one of the options he is considering for London’s long-term relationship with Brussels.
Mr Burnham said he could not “leave Britain out” of discussions about Britain’s future relationship with the EU and insisted he had to consider all options.
Speaking to the People’s Channel, the Prime Minister said: “We look at all options. The speech was about deciding the long-term direction for this country. Where do we want to be in 10 years’ time?”
READ MORE HERE.
Andy Burnham defends axing triple lock with direct message to GB News viewers worried about pensions
Andy Burnham has defended his decision to reform the triple lock on state pensions with a direct message to GB News viewers concerned about their pensions and the cost of social care.
Speaking to the People’s Channel at the Labour Conference in Liverpool, the Prime Minister said: “This is nothing like the winter fuel debate. Nothing like it at all.
“So the triple lock has taken the basic state pension up, and that’s a really good thing. And by the end of this decade, it will be at record levels.
“And it will carry on going up under the plan that I mentioned yesterday. But it won’t go up as sharply as it would have done if the original triple lock had been in place.”
READ MORE HERE.
Andy Burnham reveals ‘strong indication Iran played part’ in RAF Fairford incident
Andy Burnham has revealed there are “strong indications” Iran played a part in a major security incident at RAF Fairford.
The Prime Minister confirmed the incident remains the subject of an ongoing police investigation after five men were arrested on suspicion of preparing to carry out a terrorist attack.
Speaking to GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope at the Labour Conference in Liverpool, Mr Burnham said: “What I can say is that there are strong indications that Iran played a part in what happened over the weekend.
“It is, though, still an ongoing and very serious police investigation.”
WATCH MORE HERE.
Andy Burnham opens door to rejoining EU ‘all the way’ amid calls for immediate general election
Andy Burnham has opened the door to rejoining the EU “all the way” despite promising not to “re-run” Brexit arguments when he was standing to be an MP.
In a bombshell interview this morning, the Prime Minister laid out his three options to reshape the UK’s relationship with Brussels forever.
“We could stay as we are. That’s definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay,” he told the BBC.
“We could look at what George Osborne has said about a customs union, we could look at what the Liberal Democrats said at their conference about the single market, or we could go all the way.”
He vowed not to leave questions over the EU relationship “hanging” – and said he wanted to be clear on “where we want Britain to go in the next decade”.
Rejoining the Brussels bloc would fly directly in the face of his party’s 2024 election manifesto which promised to “make Brexit work”.
That, and his promises yesterday to shelve the triple lock in the next Parliament, could set tongues wagging amid rising calls for an immediate general election.
The Prime Minister has so far ruled out an early poll, insisting that the country will not endure a national contest until 2029.
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson, writing for GB News this morning, warned that if Mr Burnham “wants a war with pensioners” over his triple lock pledge, “he should get on with it and call an election now”.
“Mr Burnham knows older voters tend to punish parties that mess with their pensions,” Mr Anderson added, “so he kicks the decision past the next election and pretends it’s somehow noble.”
The Government’s ‘one in, one out’ migrant deal with France will ‘expire tommorrow’
The Government’s “one in, one out” deal with France, aimed at curbing migrant Channel crossings, will expire on Thursday, according to reports.
Under the pilot scheme, people who arrive in the UK after making the journey can be detained and returned to France in exchange for an equivalent number of asylum seekers who apply through a safe and legal route.
As part of the deal, some 1,117 asylum seekers came to Britain from France between August 2025 and June 2026, while slightly fewer (1,087) were deported, according to Home Office data.
But talks to extend it beyond October 1 have stalled, The Guardian reported, with Paris pushing for a Europe-wide deal instead.
PICTURED: Andy Burnham proudly sings ancient hymn to socialism
The annual Labour Party conference closed with the traditional singing of The Red Flag and Jerusalem.
The Red Flag is an ancient hymn to socialism, written by Jim Connell, an Irish republican, in 1889 after a London dock strike.
Andy Burnham was pictured singing proudly.
Lucy Powell outlines ‘fight of our lives’ in final speech at Labour Party conference
Lucy Powell, the deputy leader and education secretary, has given the final speech at the Labour Party conference.
During her speech, Labour’s deputy leader said: “This week we’ve been given a clear direction, a clear vision, a clear agenda. And now it’s our job to take those arguments to every workplace, every community, on every doorstep to mobilise and enthuse and activate people once again for Labour.
“And if you like what you hear, join us, get your friends to join us, get your colleagues to join us. This is the fight of our lives and we need you to do it with us too.”
Lisa Nandy pledges to ‘bring back youth work’ as she vows to recruit 1,000 youth workers
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has pledged to “bring back youth work” as she committed to recruiting 1,000 youth workers.
She told the Labour Party conference: “Starting today, we are going to fund and recruit 1,000 youth workers – the biggest investment into youth work in a generation.
“We won’t stop there, we will rebuild youth services, we will bring back youth work, we will ensure that every young person in this country has someone who cares.
“No young person forgotten. No young person written off. We will reclaim youth.”
She said: “We’ll step up for a generation that needs us, we’ll dare to dream, and we will never rest until we transform this country into a place where every young person has the chance to live the lives that they deserve.
“No more standing by, no more looking away.”
Lisa Nandy claims the state has not done enough to ‘shape and define’ the online world for Britons
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has claimed the state has not done enough to “shape and define” the online world for Britons.
Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Ms Nandy said: “The World Wide Web that was created by Tim Berners-Lee to share knowledge, not exploitation, has revolutionised the way that we live, an extraordinary democratic force, a source of connection, of creativity and of solace that has unleashed incomprehensible hatred, anger and polarisation.
“Ask yourselves this: while the internet has undeniably shaped and defined us, have we done anything like enough to shape and define it?
“Like the printing press, electricity, television, it has upended society, but what is almost unique for this moment is how absent the state, on behalf of its people, has been for too long.
“We’ve outsourced a revolution to the private sector.”
Andy Burnham is ‘daring to dream’, says Lisa Nandy
Andy Burnham has been praised for “daring to dream” by the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Ms Nandy said: “I wanted to say this to you all: I watched our Prime Minister standing on this stage yesterday.
“I believe in him, I really believe in him. I know he believes in this country, and I believe in him and what he’s about to do in this country.
“And I was reflecting on the fact that for 100 years men and women have stood on this stage at Labour Party conference and they’ve dared to dream.”
Women and babies treated as ‘second-class patients’ by the NHS, claims Yvette Cooper
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper has said women and babies are often treated as “second-class patients” by the NHS, while speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.
Ms Cooper said: “Let me spell it out for those three men.
“Nothing about childbirth is ‘underwhelming’. It is never, never too narrow to focus on the start of a new family life when more women give birth in our NHS each year than all the hip and knee operations for men and women put together.”
The Health Secretary added: “It is never a mistake to focus on women, children and babies because every child deserves the best start in life…
“Later this year, with our maternity task force, we will bring back new national maternity standards including baby loss and post-pregnancy care, and we will appoint a post-maternity and neonatal commissioner.
“Because I am sick and tired of women and babies being treated as second-class patients, and I will not stop until every mother is given the care she deserves.”
Yvette Cooper pledges new pension scheme for care sector workers
Health Secretary Yvette Cooper has pledged to set up a new pension scheme for workers in the care sector.
Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Ms Cooper set out plans to improve social care.
She said: “We will deliver the first-ever legally-binding fair pay agreement for care workers with minimum standards of pay and conditions across every employer, because care workers have been undervalued and underpaid for far too long.
“We will publish a proper workforce plan for social care, proper career pathways, training, development of specialist skills.
“We’ll offer thousands more academy places to help young jobseekers into good jobs in care, and thanks to the campaigning of all the Unison members in this war, we will go further because it is just wrong that the people who work hardest to help others maintain dignity and respect in old age too often get nothing back from retirement themselves.
“So, I can announce today we will introduce the first ever national collective pension scheme for workers in the care sector – fair pay, fair terms and conditions, and now a proper pensions scheme.”
She also said the Government will appoint a new champion for unpaid carers to make sure the “voice of that hidden army is always heard in government”.
Pat McFadden grilled over Labour’s triple lock cut amid welfare spend
Pat McFadden spoke to GB News about Labour’s triple-lock plans and insisted Labour is keeping its existing commitment to pensioners.
He told the People’s Channel: “It’s really important that your viewers know we’re keeping our promise to pensioners.
“We had said that we would keep the triple lock for the duration of this parliament, and that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
The Work and Pensions Secretary said the policy would mean the state pension would reach a record level relative to average earnings by the end of Parliament.
He added: “Now, some people, some commentators, economists and so on out there have said that the triple lock should simply be scrapped. We rejected that.”
However, the minister confirmed Labour intends to introduce what he described as an “adjusted triple lock” in the future.
WATCH THE FULL CLIP HERE
Andy Burnham’s plan to seize privately owned homes slammed by former Tory minister: ‘Sounds like Communism!’
Andy Burnham’s plan to seize privately owned homes has been slammed by former Tory Minister Tom Pursglove as sounding “a little bit like Communism”.
The Prime Minister and Angela Rayner confirmed yesterday that they intend to crack down on landlords renting out the “worst quality homes”, with councils set to be given powers to acquire properties.
Mr Burnham told attendees at Labour’s conference that landlords will be ordered to improve properties, but warned: “We will legislate if necessary” if they refuse.
His Housing Secretary also said she is seeking to reduce the time a property may remain empty before being acquired from two years to six months.
Mr Pursglove did not welcome the plans, telling GB News: “I don’t like the sound of what is being proposed here.
“It sounds a little bit like Communism to me, taking people’s property off them.
“Actually, there’s probably a more sensible middle way where you penalise empty properties that are long-term empty properties through a system, perhaps through the council tax system.
“There’s a little bit of that that happens already. You could perhaps go a little further, but you ought to work with landlords to get properties back into use.”
WATCH THE FULL CLIP HERE
Richard Tice delivers devastating verdict on Andy Burnham’s plans for Britain: ‘A carnage of socialist chaos’
Richard Tice has delivered a scathing verdict on Andy Burnham’s plans for Britain, warning he was taking the country towards “carnage of socialist chaos”.
The Reform UK deputy leader tore into the Prime Minister’s Labour conference address, arguing it contained no solutions to the immediate crises battering the UK.
“This is nothing short of a failure to address the crises facing the country, whether it’s on boats, energy prices, blackouts, or the price of petrol and diesel.
“This is a manyana prime minister who’s just completely out of touch with the dramas that the country faces today and this winter,” he slammed.
To that end, the Reform business spokesman rejected praise that Mr Burnham’s address was “one of the great political speeches of all time”.
“Goodness me, you must be a hard socialist that describes it like that,” he exclaimed.
WATCH THE FULL CLIP HERE
Meet the Labour MP pushing Andy Burnham to stop the boats and listen to GB News viewers
An Oxford-educated former Metropolitan Police inspector who champions free speech and opposes rejoining the EU is not what many GB News viewers would expect from a Labour MP.
Blue Labour’s new leader Jonathan Hinder is making a name for himself after winning his home seat of Pendle & Clitheroe in 2024.
While Labour looks set to reignite its Brexit civil war and ties itself in knots over trans rights, Mr Hinder is pushing Andy Burnham to address the concerns of the Red Wall.
Mr Hinder told GB News: “We’re the part of the party that is reminding Labour what we were originally for and what we’re supposed to represent: a working-class, socialist party.”
“It’s not the fault of any one leader or any one faction, but it is fair to say that we’ve drifted away from that over recent decades.”
GB NEWS MEMBERS CAN READ THE FULL STORY HERE
ANALYSIS: Andy Burnham’s dig at flag-waving patriots, Labour’s Brexit civil war and three other things GB News saw in Liverpool
Andy Burnham undeniably won over the thousands of Labour members gathered in Liverpool.
However, one of the Prime Minister’s comments will likely raise eyebrows among those in this country with a deep-rooted sense of patriotic pride.
In a heartfelt tribute to his late father, Roy, the King of the North took a veiled swipe at Britons hoisting flags on lampposts across the country.
He was crediting his father for showing “quiet patriotism”, thanking Roy for his influence ahead of his speech.
However, the Prime Minister went further by distinguishing it from recent events.
He added: “It’s not the flag-waving kind…but people sticking together from the bottom up.”
GB NEWS MEMBERS CAN READ THE FULL ANALYSIS HERE
UK economy grows by more than expected 0.5% as Britain prepares for ‘challenging’ Budget
The UK economy grew by 0.5 per cent between April and June, revised up from a previous estimate of 0.4 per cent, the Office for National Statistics said.
Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning shows that stronger export volumes and an upwardly revised services sector drove this growth.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Polling guru issues major warning to Labour amid calls for snap general election
Polling guru Sir John Curtice has issued the Prime Minister a major warning against calling a snap election amid calls for exactly that.
Sir John told GB News that recent MRP polls had only put Labour on 250 seats, way down from the 411 won by Sir Keir Starmer in 2024.
“This is not an attractive prospect, and this party needs to make much more progress,” he added.
He also delivered his verdict on the so-called “Burnham bounce”…
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Andy Burnham vows to lay out care plans before voters ‘at the next general election’
Andy Burnham has vowed to “be honest” about any shortfall in his plan to fund a so-called national care service.
He promised to “say where that money is coming from”, leaving the door open to tax rises.
The Prime Minister told Times Radio: “I will put a plan before the country at the next general election where we say this is our national care service, ‘this is how we will fund it’.”
Mr Burnham added that with a care service, “the NHS truly will be able to make savings, cashable savings, from a better social care system”.
He continued: “And then if there’s a shortfall, well, we’d have to be honest about that shortfall and say where that money is coming from.”
Mr Burnham denied he was “getting rid of the whole concept of the triple lock” on the state pension.
He said: “The decision on the triple lock, the adjustment – and it is an adjustment – it’s not getting rid of the whole concept of the triple lock.”
RECAP: Andy Burnham kills off snap election hopes as PM insists country must ‘look forward’
Andy Burnham ruled out calling an early general election just days ago, saying his attention was instead focused on governing the country.
Mr Burnham said he wanted to “draw a line” under the political divisions of recent years, and instead concentrate on restoring “a bit of hope” for the public.
His comments come amid speculation that some of his senior advisers have been advising a snap election as soon as next year, in light of polling suggesting Labour could still emerge as the largest party.
Winning a fresh mandate would give Mr Burnham greater freedom to pursue his own governing priorities, rather than remaining constrained by the party’s 2024 manifesto.
Questioned by BBC West on whether he was considering calling an election, Mr Burnham said: “Not particularly. No, I’m not.
“And I see all the speculation and it just races ahead. And, you know, the media love to do that. No, no election any time soon.”
READ THE FULL STORY ON ANDY BURNHAM’S ELECTION CLAIM HERE
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