Britain is broke. Does Andy Burnham have the guts to fix it? Writes James Hanson |
Forget everything that’s happened during Andy Burnham’s premiership until now.
Listen to this article
His first 100 days have, in purely political terms, been a success. Labour is leading the polls again, his first conference as PM went smoothly, and Burnham is the most personally popular of all the party leaders. But good vibes only get you so far. Today’s Budget is when things get real. The big question is whether this government has the guts to do what’s necessary. Sadly, I fear they don’t.
You wouldn’t know it from his matey appearance on Googlebox and his slick TikTok videos, but the prime minister is leading a country with huge structural problems. The UK has a three-trillion-pound national debt, meaning we spend more on interest than on defence, schools and prisons combined. Meanwhile, the benefits bill is ballooning, our armed forces remain severely under-funded, and Britain’s collective tax burden is now the highest since the Second World War. To put it bluntly, Britain is broke.
As a result, what is required from the Chancellor today is a bold, brave Budget. First, John Healey needs to lay out a detailed plan for meeting the NATO target of spending 3% of GDP on defence by 2030, and 3.5% by 2035. If he doesn’t,........