Following Andy Burnham’s first PMQs as Prime Minister, much of the political argument will inevitably focus on who is to blame for Britain’s economic position.

Listen to this article

For households and businesses, the more useful question is what happens next.

Government borrowing costs have climbed sharply, with 10-year borrowing costs reaching levels last seen in 2008 and 30-year borrowing hitting levels not seen since 1998. That matters because the more the government spends servicing its debt, the less room it has elsewhere. Tax is inevitably part of that conversation. During PMQs, Burnham was pressed directly on whether taxes could rise and declined to rule out future increases, saying he would not write the Budget at the despatch box. For taxpayers, however, the mistake would be to hear “tax rises” and assume that means the headline rate of income tax has to change.

Governments........

© LBC