8 Problems Coming Down The Track For Burnham After John Healey's 'Do No Harm' Budget

The biggest financial event of the year turned out to be a bit of damp squib.

Political Correspondent

Andy Burnham looked unexpectedly emotional when John Healey sat down after delivering his maiden Budget.

The prime minister patted his chancellor on the back proudly, appearing to be visibly moved that they had passed this major milestone together.

But not many people shared in his delight over the Burnham government’s first attempt at the biggest financial event of the year.

Critics on both sides of the political spectrum soon rallied to ask: is that it?

The chancellor had vowed to give the public “breathing space” amid heightened cost of living pressures, while Burnham entered No.10 in July with a dramatic promise to bring change after “40 years of neoliberalism”.

But Burnham’s own former adviser, Andy Haldane, gave the announcement a paltry four out of 10, describing it as, a “do no harm Budget”.

Of course, Healey was never expected to try and undo the most significant strain on the UK – and global – economy: Donald Trump’s war in Iran.

But Healey has been criticised for kicking the can down the road even on issues that are most definitely in his control, such as the welfare bill and defence spending.

Those problems are not going to go away with time, either. Here’s a look at just some of the dilemmas set to haunt Burnham in the coming months.

1. Defence Investment

Healey famously quit as defence secretary in June over the government’s lack of investment in the UK’s armed forces.

The move accelerated Keir Starmer’s demise and helped pave the way for Burnham to replace him in No.10.

When Burnham made Healey his chancellor, it was seen as a signal that defence spending would be a priority.

Healey did manage to plug a £4.7 billion gap in the defence investment plan, taking spending on the sector to 2.7% of GDP by 2027, using capital budget cuts – including to the energy department – unallocated reserves.

The Budget did also confirm that the government was aiming to spend 3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 with the goal of reaching the Nato target of 3.5% by 2035.

Healey put off outlining where this extra bit of funding was coming from until the spending review in the summer, however.

He suggested he would be “looking hard at public spending” and using “innovative financing” including a joint procurement initiative with Finland, Poland and the Netherlands to find this extra cash.

Pressure over the money is will only continue to grow along with the threat from Britain’s adversaries, like Russia.

Defence secretary Wes Streeting has also called for Britain to be ready for war “in 1,000 days” – begging the question as to why the government is not ready itself.

Healey has refused to commit to reducing the welfare bill before the next general election – despite initially telling the BBC he would do just that, in a “Labour way”.

The........

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