Prime Minister Andy Burnham (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham has been dealt a blow ahead of the Budget after new forecasts predicted the UK’s growth will slow down next year. Economic growth for next year is set to drop to 1.2%, down from a previous forecast of 1.3%, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Tory Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith said: “The IMF have downgraded Britain’s growth next year due to high energy costs and escalating borrowing.
“John Healey must tackle both problems in the Budget by getting Britain drilling and dealing with out-of-control welfare spending. If the Chancellor reaches for more tax rises instead, he is choosing slower growth and working people will pay for it.”
However, the economy is set to grow 1.3% this year, having previously predicted a 1% rise.
Healey in ‘retreat’ over capital gains tax
The Tories said Chancellor John Healey is in “headlong retreat” after reports he has rejected calls to equalise capital gains tax and income tax rates.
Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith said: “John Healey is in headlong retreat. But his Treasury kite flying has damaging consequences for economic confidence impacting ordinary people’s jobs.
“Whilst U-turns on individual measures such as CGT hikes are welcome, with the tax burden at a record high the Chancellor needs to rule out any tax increases and instead get a grip on the out-of-control welfare bill.
“The Conservatives are the only party that have set out a plan to do that.”
MI5 chief warns Andy Burnham’s Brexit betrayal could be ‘national security’ issue
Reopening the Brexit debate will delight Russian propagandists seeking to rip Britain’s social fabric apart, the head of MI5 has warned.
Sir Ken McCallum, speaking after Prime Minister Andy Burnham retreated over claims the Kremlin successfully interfered in the referendum, said trolls did “attempt” to meddle in the historic vote.
But the intelligence chief declared it is “important to focus on the difference between what may have been attempted and what actually resulted.”
And he warned Moscow will be “delighted” the issue is dominating the agenda again.
Badenoch says poll showing Tories in 2nd place is ‘just the beginning’
Kemi Badenoch said she was confident Tory momentum would continue after a survey showed the party leapfrogging Reform UK.
The Tory leader said: “I am confident that the momentum will continue, because people are seeing the Conservative Party has changed under my leadership and there’s much more to come, this is just the beginning.
“We left office two years ago, it was a historic defeat for the Conservative Party. We made a lot of mistakes.
“I have been showing the public that I understand what went wrong; apologised and acknowledged those mistakes. But we are the only party with common sense and a plan to unite the country.
“There’s no other party that has that combination.”
Asked what she thought the poll suggested about Reform UK, she said: “I think the public have been taking a long look at Reform and they don’t like what they see.
“What I need to show them is that if they don’t want a Labour Government there is only one credible alternative.”
(Image: PA)
Piers Morgan predicts Badenoch will be next PM
Broadcaster Piers Morgan said he thinks Kemi Badenoch will be the next PM.
He took to X after new polling put the Tories in second place just one point behind Labour.
More prisoners released early
Inmates cheered and punched the air as they were released early from jail as the second phase of a scheme to free up prison places began.
Hundreds more criminals were due to be released from prisons around the country on Tuesday, less than two weeks after 700 were set free early.
At HMP Durham, one man punched the air in celebration and shouted: “Yes cuzzie.”
People leaving HMP Durham (Image: PA)
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Tories just behind Labour in new poll
The Conservatives are just one point behind Labour in the latest YouGov poll.
The survey puts Kemi Badenoch’s party on 23%, up three points from the week before, while Labour is down three on 24%.
Nigel Farage‘s Reform UK is third with 21%.
UK ‘can’t tax its way to prosperity’
Labour was warned that Britain “cannot tax its way to prosperity” after UK growth forecasts for next year were downgraded.
Dr Valentin Boboc, chief economist at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:“The IMF projections draw attention to both the resilience and the fragility of Britain’s economic prospects.
“Despite stronger than expected growth this year, the longer term outlook remains disappointing due to high taxes, expensive energy and other impediments to investment.
“In advance of the Budget, the Chancellor needs to focus on removing obstacles to growth, restrain spending, restore business confidence and recognise that Britain cannot tax its way to prosperity.”
Burnham ally issues warning over Brexit
Former Bank of England economist Andy Haldane, who has been an informal adviser to Andy Burnham, warned that a return to the Brexit wars “opens up a can of worms”.
Mr Haldane told LBC: “Do we want to rerun that Brexit referendum? Would that not be a thing that escalated uncertainty, and therefore set business back on its heels? I think that is the risk in this. That it opens up a can of worms that generate more uncertainty at a time when stability is needed.”
He also suggested the PM could be on the “downslope” of his premiership, saying: “I think from here we’re into the downslope economically and possibly politically as well.”
Burnham told to ‘start acting like a PM’
Andy Burnham has been warned by a Tory MP to “start acting like a Prime Minister” amid the Brexit row.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith wrote on X: “Andy Burnham keeps dragging us back to the Brexit referendum, claiming Russian interference, yet has produced no evidence to substantiate it. Now, when challenged, he tries to wriggle out of it by claiming he meant a general election instead.
“As Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage have pointed out, these are two very different things. You cannot make serious claims like this and then dodge around when challenged.
“For God’s sake, Andy Burnham, you’re the Prime Minister now, not a student debating in a student common room. Start acting like a Prime Minister.”
Burnham ‘off his rocker’ over Brexit
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg accused Andy Burnham of being “off his rocker” over Brexit.
The former Tory Cabinet minister told GB News: “It’s paranoia. It’s absurd. It’s crazy stuff. We voted to leave the European Union because the great British people like democracy. They want to rule themselves. They don’t want to be told what to do by a large bureaucracy in Brussels.
“It was as simple as that, and we quite liked having the cash back too. It’s not a grand conspiracy. The dear old Prime Minister is off his rocker.”
(Image: GB NEWS)
Burnham facing backlash over Brexit claim
Andy Burnham is at the centre of an ongoing row after suggesting that Russia tried to influence the Brexit vote.
The PN told a podcast that on entering No 10 he was told it was “clear” that Moscow was behind state-sponsored interference.
But speaking in the Commons yesterday, he denied he had sought to question the legitimacy of the 2016 referendum.
He told MPs: “It is a matter of record that Russian actors sought to interfere in the 2019 general election and we think it is inconceivable that this was the first time.”
Tories hit out at Burnham over UK growth forecast
The Tories called on Labour to give the green light to more oil and gas drilling and get a grip on the benefits bill after new forecasts showed UK economic growth is predicted to slow down next year.
Shadow Chancellor Andrew Griffith said: “The IMF have downgraded Britain’s growth next year due to high energy costs and escalating borrowing.
“John Healey must tackle both problems in the Budget by getting Britain drilling and dealing with out of control welfare spending.
”If the Chancellor reaches for more tax rises instead, he is choosing slower growth and working people will pay for it.”
UK economic growth to slow next year
Andy Burnham is expected to see UK economic growth slow down next year, according to fresh forecasts.
UK gross domestic product (GDP) is set to grow 1.2% in 2027, down from a previous forecast of 1.3%, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.
However, the economy is set to grow 1.3% this year, having previously predicted a 1% rise.
Andy Burnham Dealt Devastating Blow Weeks Before Budget
Andy Burnham has suffered a significant political setback just weeks before the Autumn Budget, intensifying questions about his economic priorities and the challenges facing Labour as it attempts to restore public confidence. With households worried about taxation, public services and the cost of living, the approaching Budget is becoming a major test of the government’s ability to demonstrate that its policies can deliver tangible improvements.
For Burnham, the timing could hardly be more sensitive. His political ambitions and proposals for Britain’s economic future are being discussed against a backdrop of difficult choices over public spending, taxation and the country’s long-term growth prospects. Any setback could complicate his efforts to present himself as a credible voice on the direction Labour should take.
However, the precise significance of the reported blow depends on the development behind the headline. Without confirmation of the specific event, it would be misleading to claim that a particular poll, financial decision or political intervention has definitively damaged Burnham’s position. What is clear is that the weeks before a major Budget can expose disagreements over priorities and force politicians to defend the practical consequences of their proposals.