Badenoch says Burnham's theory of growth 'completely wrong'
Kemi Badenoch is responding to Burnham now.
She starts by saying that, although she has heard him over the summer talking about how to make tea, and his views on pork scratchings, she has not been able to ask him any questions yet.
On defence , she asks if he will commit to raising defence spending to 3% of GDP by the end of this decade.
On small boats , she says the fall in the crossing numbers has nothing to do with Labour. It is a consequence of decisions taken in Europe, she says.
She asks if it is true that Burnham may revive a version of the Rwanda plan.
On the prisoner early release scheme , she says Burnham has” had five different positions on early release in six weeks”. She asks when foreign prisoners will be sent home.
On the economy , she challenges Burnham to rule out future tax rises.
She says Burnham’s theory of growth is “completely wrong”.
[Burnham] thinks that if government spends more money, we will all get richer. That is not how this works. Companies are not leaving our shores because there isn’t enough government.
She also says she has heard rumours Burnham is planning to miss PMQs next week.
Burnham says he will ensure areas in England without mayors can also benefit from devolution deals
Burnham says he has heard concerns about his devolution plans, and fears that areas without a metro or regional mayor won’t have the same advantages as those that do have one. He says he understands the concerns about the potential emergence of a two-tier England”.
I will not ignore [the concerns]. So I have asked No 10 North to begin work with Cornwall council and its six MPs on a devolution deal, with or without an elected mayor.
And I today extend the same offer to all parts of England without devolved power. The first secretary of state will today write to every member of this house setting out how they can engage No 10 North in the service of the places they represent.
I extended the same offer to the first ministers of Scotland and Wales, and the first and deputy first ministers of Northern Ireland when I met them over the summer, as they rightly pointed out, their situations are different, but there is interest in what a local model of devolution could look like in each of the home nations.
Burnham says he wants to give communities more control over services.
The government I lead will be relentless in giving people and places what they were promised 10 years ago, ownership and control, and from that control over their destiny comes change and growth.
And he says he can say this from his experience as mayor of Greater Manchester.
I say this with confidence. I do. Let me explain why. Because it is backed by a decade of personal experience.
Turning around one of the UK’s former industrial heartlands and turning it into the fastest growing city region in the country, bucking the low-growth trend.
Burnham claims he has 'clear diagnosis of what has gone wrong' with UK
Burnham says, coming back to the Commons after 10 years, he has “a clear diagnosis of what has gone wrong”.
From the 1980s, this country took a series of wrong turns. Political power was centralised, economic power privatised, the country de-industrialised austerity followed, hollowing out councils and depriving them of the agency to act to reverse any of this.
And then Brexit compounded the damage, ushering in a decade of low growth and stalled regeneration.
Change begins with honesty. I’m not hearing much of it this afternoon. Unless we are blunt about what went wrong, we won’t turn things around.
Far from taking back control, the combination of these policies took control out of the hands of communities up and down Britain.
For 40 years, too many places have been drifting. Too many British high streets tell the story of this decline. People yearn to see them restored to what they once were.
Burnham says country needs 'substantial change', and he will deliver it
Burnham says his approach to the prisoner early release scheme is an example of doing politics differently.
This is politics done differently, problem-solving, over point-scoring. It is what the country needs. It is what the public want more of, and it will characterise my time in office.
He says another example has been starting cross-party talks on social care. Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, and Stuart Andrew, who was shadow health secretary until yesterday, participated, he says.
When it comes to the biggest issues facing the country, the economy and the cost of living crisis, people are looking for much more substantial change, as promised in our manifesto, and that is what I will bring.
Britain is not where any of us would wish it to be. Things are not working as they should.
Burnham says problems with indefinite IPP sentences have been 'ignored for too long'
Burnham confirms that the prisoner early release scheme rules are being changed to stop the killers of PC Andrew Harper being released.
And he says part of this plan will involve tackling the number of prisoners still in jail on indefinite IPP (imprisonment for public protection) sentences. This is an issue the Commons has “has ignored for too long”.
Burnham says he visited Dover in August where the government’s efforts to stop small boat crossings are delivering real results. He says numbers arriving over the summer have halved since last year. (See 9.29am .)
Burnham pays tribute to the two police officers killed “in the line of duty on the A66”.
He expresses condolences to those affected by the flooding on the Nepal/China border.
And he confirms he will attend the next Cop conference on the climate crisis in Turkey.
Britain's defence 'starts in Ukraine', says Burnham
Burnham says the government will continue to “ stand firm in providing what help we can to enable Ukraine to defend itself from this illegal invasion”.
Britain’s defence starts in Ukraine and the defence of our nation will always be my first priority on public safety.
Burnham starts statement to MPs with tribute to Starmer, saying he gave Labour a platform 'and we will use it well'
Andy Burnham is making his statement to MPs on “government direction”.
He starts by saying he comes to the Commons having visited every region of the UK, and Ukraine, over the summer.
He says the UK is standing by Ukraine, in line with the policy set out by Keir Starmer.
And he pays tribute to Starmer, saying he took Labour “from one of its worst defeats to one of its best victories”.
Starmer gave Labour a platform, he says. “And we will use it well.”
John Swinney announces plans to slash number of NHS boards in Scotland
Scotland’s NHS boards will be slashed from 14 to two, John Swinney has announced. As the Press Association reports, the Scottish first minister announced the major shake-up of Scotland’s health service during his Programme for Government at Holyrood. “This will be the most significant structural reform of our NHS in the devolution era,” he said.
This is from Kemi Badenoch , the Conservative leader, on Keir Starmer’s decision to resign from parliament.
Wishing Keir Starmer all the best for the future.
I was surprised to hear he was standing down from Parliament. But I can understand why he would not want to spend time with the Labour MPs who treated him so badly after he won them their seats.
What election experts are saying about Holborn and St Pancras byelection
And here are some elections experts on the Holborn and St Pancras byelection.
Holborn and St Pancras’s local election results in May (ish): Labour 38% Green 29% Conservative 10% Reform 9% Lib Dem 7%
The post-Burnham MRPs show Labour winning Holborn and St Pancras with ~41% of the vote versus the Greens on ~22%. By-election dynamics could of course scramble that
Starmer’s parting gift to his successor: a tricky first by-election defence in a Labour seat where the Greens will fancy their chances...
Labour’s vote dropped 17 points to 48% in this seat in 2024, with a combined 29% going to the Greens (10%) and the left independent Andrew Feinstein (19%). A high profile Green candidate (Polanski?) consolidating that vote would only need a 10 point swing from Lab to win
The 2026 Camden local elections also underline Green strength on the ground in this seat - they were first or close second in all but 3 of the 11 wards wholly or partly in the seat (and in two of the others they stood aside in favour of “Camden People’s Alliance”)
The seat has exceptionally high shares of non-white voters (66%), graduates (51%) and young ppl (47% aged 16-39) - all groups that have swung Lab to Green in recent years. This could be a humdinger of a by-election
Just as Burnham standing in Makerfield transformed that race, Polanski standing here would transform this one, and for similar reasons: the opportunity to elect a national leader changes the nature of the contest
Holborn & St Pancras is well within the London crescent of seats where Greens are likely to come 2nd to Labour, under normal non-by-election circumstances
Bethnal Green & Stepney is highlighted as the one seat Greens are likely to flip based on current polling. Not too far from Holborn & St Pancras
Ed Miliband says government accepts need for 'step change' in action to stop expansion of illegal West Bank settlements
Ed Miliband is now taking questions in the Commons in his new role as foreign secretary. The first two questions were answered by junior ministers, but Miliband took the third question himself. It was from Labour’s James Naish , who asked what the government would do to stop the expansion of illegal settlements on the West Bank.
Miliband condemned the settlements and said that the government would “not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution”. He said the government was consulting with allies, and that an announcement about the measures it would take was coming soon.
He said Andy Burnham himself spoke recently about the need to do more to ban trade with the illegal settlements.
Asked by Labour’s Martin Rhodes if a trade ban affecting the illegal settlements would apply to the trade in services, Miliband said Rhodes had made an important point. He went on:
We need to look and we are looking indeed at our wider economic relationship with the occupied territories and the different tools we have to tackle it.
I want to be very clear; we do not want British companies financing, constructing or advertising new settlements. The work we are now undertaking is how we can stop that.
When Kit Malthouse (Con) criticised previous government ministers for mouthing “platitudes” on this issue “like goldfish”, and said they had completely failed to stop the expansion of illegal settlements, Miliband said that he agreed with Malthouse “pretty much entirely”.
And when the SNP’s Brendan O’Hara attacked Labour’s record on this, Miliband said the recognition of Palestinian statehood was significant. He went on:
I think we on this side of the house, as the prime minister has said, recognise the need for a step change in our approach, given the urgency and, as I say, he won’t have to wait too long [for an announcement].
Here are some comments from journalists on Keir Starmer’s decision to stand down as an MP.
If Polanski stands in Holborn, it’s kinda wild that three current party leaders will have all stood in by-elections in the past three months. By-elections rarely been so in vogue! (Burnham, Farage, Polanski)
Makerfield was proof of concept for Burnham to beat Reform. Now, conveniently, we have another opportunity for him to prove another concept...
It’s not a guarantee for Polanski. I imagine he’s quite fairly holding out for a Hackney but I don’t doubt he’ll feel pressure to stand...
I mean if Labour stands an arms dealer or member of Pinochet’s cabinet then yeah sure it’s an easier ask
There’s an emotionally generous way you could read this (he genuinely thinks it’s detrimental to the Labour Party and government to have to fight for his seat at the next election). But, to be honest, my sense is that Keir Starmer is a man who likes Being Important more than he’s interested in serving the public.
Big moment for Whacko Zacko just as Burnham’s entire strategy of stemming the Green bleed gets up and running with virtue signalling on Israel etc
All that crap about Keir Starmer being about public service
He wanted power for its own sake. That’s it.
He was only interested in climbing the ladder of power.
The ladder collapsed under the weight of his own cynicism, so now he’s off to try and find another ladder.
Having repeatedly taunted Rishi Sunak with suggestions he’d move to California after losing the General Election, Starmer himself is the one who cuts and runs. V apposite that his departure involves one final bit of shameless hypocrisy
Farage takes seat in Commons after winning Clacton byelection
In the Commons Nigel Farage , the Reform UK leader, has been sworn in as MP for Clacton. He was MP for Clacton before the summer anyway, but he triggered a byelection as a protest about the inquiry into claims he broke Commons rules by not declaring a £5m donation from the cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne.
After he won the byelection in August, Farage gave an interview in which he said “maybe” he should have declared the donation after all – implying he does now accept the inquiry is justified. (But he is also angry about the inquiry being extended to include financial support he received from his friend George Cottrell that also wasn’t declared.)
From the start of this academic year student nurses, and other people doing healthcare courses in England, will get upfront payments to cover placement costs. That means they will get the money they need for travel and accommodation costs for clinical placements in advance, instead of having to claim the money back. The Department of Health and Social Care has a news release about this here .
How Zack Polanski told an interviewer in April he would 'almost certainly' stand in any London byelection
In an interview in April, Zack Polanski , the Green party leader, said he would “almost certainly” run in a future byelection in London. He told La Repubblica’s Antonello Guerrera:
So when Gorton and Denton came up and people asked me, obsessively, are you going to run? And I didn’t run because, although I’m from Manchester, I’ve lived in London nearly 20, or over 20, years now. And so there would have been a narrative to say, oh, it’s my hometown, I’m going back. But I think that would have been dishonest.
Secondly, I knew we had amazing candidates like Hannah Spencer, where I wanted a candidate from a local community. I think I was proven to be right.
If there was another byelection outside of London, I still wouldn’t be running in it. We have amazing candidates right across the rest of the country.
If there’s a byelection in London, I’ll almost certainly be running, well, depending on where it is. I live in Hackney, so if it’s somewhere around Hackney, so you could be looking to Hackney North, Hackney South, Walthamstow, Holborn and St Pancras, if Keir Starmer is going anywhere, and even, you know, Tower Hamlets. I think, generally, around the east of London, in the northeast, I’ve lived there for a long time. I have a connection to the place. I think there are other places in London where I’m already a London Assembly member, but I have less legitimate connection.
Keir Starmer has posed a statement on social media about his decision to stand down as an MP. It is much the same as what he told the Camden New Journal. (See 1.06pm .)
Is it unusual for a former PM to quit the Commons before a general election?
Keir Starmer is not the first ex-PM to change his mind about remaining in the House of Commons until the next election as a backbencher. David Cameron also resigned as PM in July, only to quit the Commons for good two months later. He initially thought he could stay as MP without causing trouble for his successor, Theresa May, but quickly realised on some issues he would not be able to support her. (He announced he was going very soon after she hinted she would lift his block on new grammar schools.)
Tony Blair did not even leave it that long; he resigned as an MP the same day he left Downing Street, realising that if he were to stay in the Commons with Gordon Brown as PM, that would probably be intolerable for both of them.
Boris Johnson also resigned early as an MP after leaving Downing Street – but that was because the privileges committee was about to say he should be suspended for lying about Partygate.
Other ex-PMs, like Theresa May and Liz Truss, have remained in the Commons after being forced out of No 10 midway through a parliament. May even stood for re-election at the subsequent general election (2019) following her return to the backbenches, as did Harold Wilson (in 1979).
Most PMs who lose office at a general election when their party loses only subsequently serve one more term in the Commons as a backbencher. But James Callaghan served for two more parliaments after he lost the 1979 general election, ending up as father of the house, and Edward Heath spent another 27 years in the Commons after losing both 1974 general elections.
Before the 2024 election critics claimed that, if Rishi Sunak lost, he would swiftly give up his seat and move to California. But he remains MP for Richmond and North Allerton and seems determined to stay until the next election.
Andy Burnham will start his Commons statement at 3.30pm. The Commons authorities have confirmed that there will be no urgent questions (which would have come first).
The statement is being described as being about “government direction”.
Afterwards, from about 5.30pm, Alex Norris, the justice secretary, will give one on the prisoner early release scheme. And then Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, will give a statement on policing in Cleveland.
Starmer leaves 'shameful legacy', says Your Party
Your Party , the leftwing party founded by Jeremy Corbyn and others, has said Keir Starmer leaves a “shameful legacy”. A Your Party spokesperson said:
Keir Starmer leaves behind a party hollowed out, millions of voters disillusioned and a shameful record of British complicity in the genocide in Gaza. He entered politics as a human rights lawyer and leaves having abandoned those principles when they mattered most. Now he is abandoning his constituents too. That’s certainly a legacy!
Starmer may run, but he can’t hide from the shameful legacy he leaves behind.
Corbyn was suspended and then ultimately expelled from Labour after Starmer replaced him as the party’s leader.
Burnham says government has had 'strong sense of momentum' since he became PM
Andy Burnham told colleagues at cabinet that he thought the government had established “a strong sense of momentum” since he became PM.
At the No 10 lobby briefing, giving a readout from what was said at cabinet, the PM’s spokesperson said:
The prime minister opened cabinet by thanking colleagues for establishing a strong sense of momentum in his first weeks in office. He said the country had noticed a change of pace, with the government setting the agenda and starting the process of giving local areas the levers they need to create good growth. He said that during his summer tour it was clear that life was hard for many people, but that they wanted to have hope and hear a positive outlook for the country.
According to the spokesperson, Burnham also used his opening remarks to thank Alex Norris, the justice secretary, for his work on changing the prisoner early release scheme and Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, for her “relentless work on small boat crossings”. (See 9.29am .)
Starmer says it is 'right to step down' given his decision to focus now on international affairs
Here are some more quotes from the interview Keir Starme r gave to the Camden New Journal announcing his decision to stand down.
Starmer said he wanted to focus on issues like international affairs, defence, security, trade and technology. He said:
I will now focus on other things and that will be international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world.
I will also continue, as I have done for a long time now with others, work on combating violence against women and girls; that is an issue that matters to me hugely. It’s work I started before I became an MP and it’s work I’m keen to continue after I’m an MP. So international affairs on the one hand, and continuing my work on violence against women and girls on the other.
He said that, given his new priorities, he thought it was right to leave parliament. He said:
I think once you’ve been prime minister, it’s important to answer the question: what are you going to do next? Having decided I’m going to concentrate on international affairs, I think it’s right to step down [as MP].
He said he would not be backing any candidate seeking the Labour nomination to succeed him. He said:
The constituency Labour party has got many, many fantastic people and there will be no shortage of first class candidates.
He highlighted changes the Labour government had made to his constituency. He said:
In terms of some of the things that have changed: we are opening ten breakfast clubs across the constituency – five of them opened in April, five more will be opened when the schools go back this week. I think breakfast clubs make a huge difference for children and parents because everybody knows that a child that hasn’t eaten before they try to start learning is not going to learn as well as other children.”
Free school meals are coming again this week, that’s 4,600 children in the constituency that will now benefit, the minimum wage increase will make a difference to thousands of workers across Camden who are on or near the minimum wage and there’s an increase in the number of GPs. The two child benefit cap being lifted will affect 2,500 children in the constituency who will now begin to be lifted out of poverty. Then there’s the Renters’ Rights Act – 16,500 renters in Holborn and St Pancras – and of course everybody who is at work will benefit under the Employment Rights Act.
And he said no Labour leader had ever achieved what he did in rescuing the party from defeat. He said:
My years on the frontline were basically six and a half years because it was from picking up the Labour party in 2019 from the worst election result since 1935 and turning it around to a general election landslide victory in 2024, while most people said it wouldn’t be possible to win the election in 2024 – let alone win it with a landslide. No leader has ever pulled such a swing across from such a low base to a landslide in the way that we did.
Greens don't rule out Zack Polanski standing in Holborn and St Pancras byelection
The Greens have not ruled out Zack Polanski, the party’s leader, standing as their candidate to replace Keir Starmer as MP for Holborn and St Pancras, my colleague Jessica Elgot reports .
NEW - A Green party spokesman said: “Zack has always made it clear he would like to be a London MP. London has been his home for over 20 years.”
Sounds like Polanski might fancy a tilt at Holborn and St Pancras.
Tories describe Starmer's decision to trigger 'costly' byelection as 'yet another U-turn' given pledge to stay as backbencher
This is from Kevin Hollinrake , the Conservative party chair, on Keir Starmer resigning as an MP.
Whilst we have disagreed with almost all of Sir Keir Starmer’s decisions, I wish him and his family well for the future.
It is fitting that his final act as a member of parliament is yet another U-turn having pledged to stay on.
The decision to stand down will mean a costly byelection for taxpayers at a time when Andy Burnham are John Healey are plotting tax rises on hardworking families across the country.
The Conservatives look forward to giving the people of Holborn and St Pancras a chance to vote for a stronger economy and a stronger country in the weeks ahead.
In June, Starmer’s spokesperson said that Starmer would remain as an MP until the next election shortly before Starmer stood down as PM.
Starmer to quit parliament, triggering byelection in Holborn and St Pancras in north London
Keir Starmer is going to resign as an MP, his local paper, the Camden New Journal, is reporting.
When he resigned as PM, Starmer said he planned to stay as a backbench MP until the next election. But he has changed his mind, the paper reports. It says:
After weeks of speculation about his future plans, [Starmer] chose his local newspaper to explain why he felt it was the “right time” to leave the House of Commons and concentrate on new work on international affairs.
He told the New Journal that, after leaving Downing Street at the end of July, he had reflected on what lay ahead and that he was ready to “pass the baton to a successor”, adding: “It has been a huge honour and privilege to represent the best constituency in the country and to have taken over from Frank Dobson, who was such a great constituency MP and a member of the last Labour government. I will now focus on other things and that will be international affairs including defence, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world.
“I will also continue, as I have done for a long time now with others, work on combating violence against women and girls; that is an issue that matters to me hugely. It’s work I started before I became an MP and it’s work I’m keen to continue after I’m an MP. So international affairs on the one hand, and continuing my work on violence against women and girls on the other.”
This means there will be a byelection in Holborn and St Pancras in north London, where Starmer had a majority of 11,572 at the last election. At one point there were fears this could lead to Labour losing the seat to the Green party, but in recent weeks Labour’s national poll ratings have been rising and support for the Greens is on the wane.
My colleague Richard Partington , the Guardian’s senior economics correspondent, grew up, like Andy Burnham, in the Warrington suburb of Culcheth. He has been home to find out what people there are saying about the new PM.
Badenoch names Alex Burghart as deputy Tory leader
Yesterday, Kemi Badenoch announced a reshuffle, replacing Mel Stride with Andrew Griffith as shadow chancellor and Priti Patel with Tom Tugendhat as shadow foreign secretary.
Related: Andrew Griffith and Tom Tugendhat join Badenoch’s top team in Tory reshuffle
Last night, the Tories released a full list of shadow cabinet members. Alex Burghart was described as shadow chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster and shadow Northern Ireland secretary, the job he was doing already and a title that underplayed his seniority. But he was in second place in the list, below Badenoch and above Griffith, and this morning the Conservatives are confirming that he has been made deputy leader. Until now, Badenoch has not had a deputy.
This means Burghart will deputise for Badenoch at PMQs. Without a deputy, Badenoch chose different shadow ministers to stand in for her on different occcasions.
Last week, Max Hastings, the former Daily Telegraph and Evening Standard editor, infuriated the Tories with a column in which he said he attended a party with senior journalists where it turned out that almost none of them could name any member of the shadow cabinet apart from Badenoch herself. In the light of that, you might have thought the Tories would publish the full list on their website. But it does not seem to be there, or easily available anywhere online, so for the record, here it is.
Leader of the Conservative party: Kemi Badenoch
Shadow chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster and shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland: Alex Burghart
Shadow chancellor of the Exchequer: Andrew Griffith
Shadow secretary of state for business, innovation, science and trade: Claire Coutinho
Cover while on maternity leave: Julia Lopez
Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury: Richard Fuller
Shadow secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs: Tom Tugendhat
Shadow secretary of state for the home department: Chris Philp
Shadow secretary of state for defence: James Cartlidge
Shadow minister for policy renewal: Neil O’Brien
Chairman of the Conservative party: Kevin Hollinrake
Shadow secretary of state for work and pensions: Helen Whately
Shadow secretary of state for energy security: Andrew Bowie
Shadow secretary of state for education: Laura Trott
Shadow secretary of state for justice: Nick Timothy
Shadow secretary of state for health and social care: Damian Hinds
Shadow secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs: Victoria Atkins
Shadow secretary of state for transport: Richard Holden
Shadow secretary of state for housing, communities and local government: Katie Lam
Shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport: Rebecca Paul
Shadow secretary of state for Scotland: Harriet Cross
Shadow secretary of state for Wales: Mims Davies
Shadow secretary of state for women and equalities: Joy Morrissey
Shadow leader of the House of Commons: Jesse Norman
Shadow leader of the House of Lords: Lord True
Andy Burnham has vowed to “stamp out antisemitism for good” in a tribute to the victims of the Manchester synagogue terror attack.
We send our love and support to the Jewish community in Manchester and beyond who last night gathered to remember Melvin Cravitz and Adrian Daulby, who were killed defending their synagogue last year. My thoughts are with their families and all those who have been affected by the attack.
I know for many Jewish people, the sorrow and fear from that day has not lifted and I know we must do more to protect communities across the country.
I want Jewish people to know that their safety is a priority of mine and I’m determined to stamp out antisemitism for good.
Higher public spending alone won't make UK richer, Darren Jones tells Burnham
Andy Burnham has refused to rule out tax rises to fund higher public spending in the budget – although he has also played down the prospect of big changes.
In an article for the Times , Darren Jones , who was chief secretary to the PM under Keir Starmer but who left government when Burnham took power, has warned that higher public spending on its own won’t make Britain richer. He says:
Britain is poorer than we often think. We won’t get richer based on higher public spending alone, and we can’t tax billionaires who don’t live here.
We shouldn’t rely on public spending as a route to some romantic version of making Britain great again as we look in the rearview mirror for a great history that is no longer available to us. We must face the future, and I know my colleagues are up to the challenge.
Jones says that the chancellor should avoid big tax rises in the budget and that the key decisions will come in the spending review. He calls for a focus on growth.
Crucially, we must create the right conditions for a dynamic, thriving market. This includes getting ahead of what artificial intelligence will mean for our services-dominated economy.
Politically, we shouldn’t see conflict between growth and fairness, or business and workers, or the market and the state. These are false choices.
Economic growth is the foundation of a better life for the people we represent.
In his article Jones, who is seen as a Starmer loyalist, says Burnham has “done an impressive job this summer in cementing his positive ratings with the public and improving my party’s position in the polls”. But the article implies Jones is worried Burnham might cave in to pressure to embark on a leftwing spending spree.
Long-term UK borrowing costs reach 28-year high
The long-term cost of borrowing for the government has reached a 28-year high, Julia Kollewe reports on the business live blog.
Related: Long-term UK borrowing costs at 28-year high as rising oil prices trigger global bond rout – business live
Andy Burnham has been chairing cabinet. Here are pictures of some of the ministers arriving in Downing Street before the meeting started.
Healey says next year's spending review will set out 'clear path' to raise defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035
Last week it emerged that John Healey , the chancellor, will not set out how the UK will raise defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 in the budget in October. Instead, he will set out plans to raise defence spending in the spending review next year.
Related: Healey’s budget to duck setting a date for 3% defence spending target
The revelation led to Healey being accused of hypocrisy because he resigned as defence secretary in Keir Starmer’s government after Starmer refused to commit to raising defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030 in the defence investment plan published this summer. Healey’s resignation contributed to Starmer deciding to step down, and Healey returning to government in a more senior role as Andy Burnham’s chancellor.
In an interview with the Times , Healey has said he is “100%” committed to raising defence spending. He told the paper:
For the first time at the spending review, we will set out a clear path about how we will meet that Nato commitment in 2035, of 3.5% of GDP. And as part of setting out that clear path, we will set that target date for 3%.
The paper has headlined its story: “John Healey: I’ll prove I’m no hypocrite on defence.” But Healey did not use those words himself (it is the Times summarising his stance), and in the interview Healey did not confirm the 3% target would be met by 2030.
Justice secretary Alex Norris says prisons will still function under plan to turn laundries into cells
Alex Norris , the justice secretary, has insisted prisons will “still function properly” amid concerns over government plans to turn laundries into cells in a bid to tackle overcrowding.
As Ben Quinn reports, the Ministry of Justice announced overnight that it will spend £110m creating new cells in prisons using existing spaces like unused offices, laundry rooms and other areas.
Related: Burnham warned running prison capacity near limit is ‘big risk’
Norris was giving interviews this morning and he said “hundreds of places” would be created by converting existing spaces inside prisons into accommodation.
He declined to confirm Tory claims that there are 700 fewer prison places than a year ago, noting that the estate “fluctuates” because of issues such as fire damage.
Asked where clothes would be washed if laundry rooms were converted into cells, Norris told BBC Breakfast:
Of course we’re going to make sure that the prisons can still function properly.
This is a creative look, as I say, around our estate and being able to use some space that we can re-prioritise.
He said wider plans – including building entire new prisons – would see 14,000 new places on top of the 3,200 prison places delivered in the last two years, “but that takes time”, while the conversion plans would add “in the hundreds of spaces”.
Pressed on the Conservatives’ claim that there are 700 fewer prison places than in 2025, Norris said the estate “fluctuates” because of planned and unplanned events affecting the Victorian-era buildings.
Those wouldn’t necessarily be the numbers I’d use, but it is possible that places come out of the estate. For example, you know, there can be damage, fire damage. We’ve got a very old estate.
Small boat crossings during summer months have fallen to seven-year low, Home Office says
In line with Andy Burnham’s emphasis on “positivity” (see 9.04am ), the Home Office has put out a press release overnight saying that summer small boat crossings have been at a seven-year low this year. The figures aren’t particularly new, and anyone following the story closely will know that small boat arrival numbers have fallen sharply. But these statistics have not been publicised prominently in the rightwing media, which is one reason why almost half of Britons wrongly think small boat arrival numbers are going up.
Usually some of the busiest months in the year, with criminal gangs exploiting good weather, latest data shows that June, July and August (up to the 30th August) recorded the lowest combined total of small boat crossings since 2019, and the lowest number of small boat migrant arrivals since 2020.
• August crossings (up to 30 August) fell to their lowest level since records began in 2018, down 46% on last year, with the lowest number of migrant arrivals since 2020, down 35% on last year.
• July saw the fewest crossings of any July since 2019, down 64% on 2025, with the lowest number of migrant arrivals since 2020, down 58% on last year.
• June recorded its lowest level of crossings since 2019, down 50% on 2025, with the lowest number of migrant arrivals since 2021, down 47% on last year.
It is important to recognise the distinction between small boat crossing numbers and arrival numbers. The number of people arriving on small boats has fallen significantly, but the number of small boat crossings (ie boats, not people) has fallen even more because people smugglers are using bigger boats (in part because smaller boats are being seized).
Burnham to say he wants to unlock ‘positivity’ in first statement to MPs since becoming PM
Good morning. Andy Burnham became prime minister six weeks ago, but today will be the first time he addresses MPs in the Commons. It will also be the first time he has spoken as a minister from the dispatch box in more than 16 years. As MPs return to Westminster, they will be telling each other about how they spent the summer holiday and, for Burnham, it has undoubtedly gone well. He has unveiled a blitz of announcements which, broadly, have had a good reception and he has delivered the kiss of life to Labour’s poll ratings.
Today Burnham will chair cabinet in the morning and then make a ministerial statement in the Commons after 3.30pm. Normally a prime ministerial statement has a specific focus; it will be about a major policy decision, or a foreign affairs crisis. From the briefing that we have had so far, it sounds as if Burnham’s will be more of a wide-ranging rehash of all the things that he has been talking about this summer. In her preview, Jessica Elgot says he will talk about his intention to bring more essential services back into public control.
Related: More public control is the way to grow UK economy, Burnham to tell MPs
According to the BBC’s preview , Burnham will say he wants to “unlock a feeling of positivity and possibility” in every part of the country.
For the past six weeks, Burnham’s tone has been relentlessly positive. He repeatedly says he wants to focus on “problem-solving, not point-scoring”, and he clearly means it. Labour MPs chose Burnham as leader because they thought Keir Starmer would not be able to stop Nigel Farage becoming PM, but over the summer Burnham has said very little in public critical about Farage, or Reform UK, or the Tories. He views partisan mud-slinging as part of the old politics that he would like to reject.
But can he do that when he has to perform politics in the House of Commons? It sounds as if Burnham will not have much new to announce in his statement and so journalists will probably focus instead on what Labour and opposition MPs say to him, and how he responds. Burnham may not approve of “point-scoring”, but in the Commons, tradition, culture and even the architecture (front benches supposedly two swords’ length apart) prioritise conflict and it will interesting to see if he can get through the afternoon without resorting to the usual aggressive ding-dong. This will be an even bigger challenge for him at PMQs tomorrow.
And even if Burnham can remain upbeat for two hours in the Commons chamber, he will soon find that there are some places in the country particularly resistant to “positivity” – like the newsrooms at the Mail and GB News.
Still, it is probably worth a try. Here is the agenda for the day.
Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
2.30pm: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, takes his seat as an MP after winning the Clacton byelection during the summer recess.
2.30pm: Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
After 3.30pm: Burnham gives a statement to MPs.
Late afternoon: Alex Norris, the justice secretary, gives a statement to MPs about changes to the prisoner early release scheme.
I’m afraid we are no longer able to have comments open below the line every day on this blog . If you want to contact me, please email politics.live@theguardian.com. You can use this email to flag up corrections, comments for publication, questions or complaints.
Kemi Badenoch is responding to Burnham now.
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Andrew Sparrow. Published 1 Sept 2026, 03:12 pm.
