Defense · Report Line
Close Andy Burnham has been warned that the UK cannot afford to maintain the pension triple lock amid concerns over the country’s spiralling borrowing costs. Sir Howard Davies, the former chairman of NatWest said the UK “can’t afford it”, adding: “If a Government does not grasp that nettle at some point, then I think its credibility is going to be on the rack.” He also said that concerns about the prime minister’s approach to public spending was causing “some market jitters”, and called on him to “make some signs” about No10’s overall approach. Meanwhile, Mr Burnham is set to be grilled by MPs in his first Prime Minister’s Questions since succeeding Sir Keir .
On Wednesday, he will face Kemi Badenoch at the despatch box and it is expected that the Conservative leader will quiz the former mayor of Greater Manchester on the possibility of tax rises and Britain’s defence spending. A think tank has warned Mr Burnham that he must be prepared to raise taxes for middle earners if he wishes to raise defence spending. Pictured: Burnham leaving No10 for PMQs Andy Burnham has been pictured leaving No10 for the House of Commons where he will face Kemi Badenoch at midday for his first PMQs.
Andy Burnham leaves 10 Downing Street to attend PMQs (AP) Holly Evans 2 September 2026 11:44 Polanski says Starmer by-election will be a 'referendum on ending rip-off Britain' Green Party leader Zack Polanski has said that the Holborn and St Pancras byelection will be “a referendum on ending rip-off Britain”. In a statement to mark the first anniversary of his election as Green leader, Polanski said:“The Holborn and St Pancras by election will be a referendum on ending rip-off Britain. Only the Greens have a real plan for real hope and change.
“We will announce our candidate in due course and they will set out an exciting agenda for the deep change our country needs. “I am proud of what I have achieved in the first year of my leadership of the Green party but it is just the start. “I am very excited for the next chapter for myself, for the Greens and for people across the country.” It has not been confirmed if Mr Polanski intends to run himself in the by-election, having previously said he would “almost certainly” stand in a future London by-election.
Holly Evans 2 September 2026 11:28 Nigel Farage breaks parliamentary rules on first day back Nigel Farage has broken parliamentary rules on his first day back, after he filmed a video of himself on the roof of the Houses of Parliament. Within hours of his return, he posted a video of himself to social media shot on the roof of the building. Permission from parliamentary authorities must be sought before any filming takes place on the estate.
But the roof is even more sensitive as a result of its implications for security and personal safety. It is understood that Mr Farage did not seek permission to record the social media video. Read the full article here: Holly Evans 2 September 2026 11:10 Burnham ally says Budget would have to include spending cuts or tax increases Having warned on Tuesday that Andy Burnham’s “tone” would have unsettled investors, Lord Jim O’Neill told Times Radio the Budget would have to include either spending cuts or “some form of tax increases” in order to restore the Government’s “headroom”.
Lord O’Neill, an ally of Mr Burnham, suggested the bond markets would “respond favourably” to a Government that takes “credible action to deal with the excesses of the triple lock or the excesses of welfare spending”. Cabinet Office minister Sally Jameson told Today the Government was “absolutely clear that we will be sticking to the fiscal rules and making sure that we’re controlling public spending” as well as growing the economy. Holly Evans 2 September 2026 10:53 Andy Burnham has more in common with Liz Truss than he cares to admit Up and down the land, as schools regather, head pupils picked last term before the long break must make their first appearance at assembly and explain to the rest why they were selected.
So, it was in the Commons where the new Chosen One got up to speak and sell himself. Not that Andy Burnham had to do much convincing. In case they needed any reminding as to why they’d ditched the previous one and gone for Andy, Sir Keir Starmer chose this day of all days to complete his last U-turn and announce he was quitting as an MP.
Read the full analysis from Chris Blackhurst here: Holly Evans 2 September 2026 10:29 Jimmy Lai’s son tells Burnham: Help save my father, before it’s too late He has reportedly been kept in solitary confinement since his December 2020 arrest, despite mounting concerns for his deteriorating physical health. In a personal letter to Mr Burnham, Sebastien Lai has demanded an urgent meeting with the PM and has called on him to personally press Chinese President Xi Jinping for his father's release on humanitarian grounds. Read the full article here: Holly Evans 2 September 2026 10:08 Housebuilding target is 'challenging' but 'we're determined to meet it', minister says The government's housebuilding target is "challenging" but "we're absolutely determined to meet it", a housing minister has insisted.
Asked whether the government's target of building 1.5m homes by the end of this parliament is going to happen, Sally Jameson told the BBC: "We've we've built hundreds of thousands of homes already. "Absolutely, it's a challenging target. But I think governments should be setting challenging targets and should be reaching to meet them because people quite rightly have got high expectations of their government and they want to see delivery and they want to see it quick.
"So yes, it's a challenging target, but we're absolutely determined to meet it and take the necessary steps to make sure there are the conditions for houses to be built and houses that are both affordable to people for people to buy, but also to rent privately or social and council houses as well." Millie Cooke 2 September 2026 09:49 Burnham could face first headache on electoral reform after PMQs Andy Burnham invited Labour MPs to Downing Street to woo them over drinks following his turn at the despatch box on Tuesday. But Labour backbenchers pushing for faster reforms to electoral law could provide Mr Burnham with his first Commons headache on Wednesday, after he has faced Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch in his first Prime Minister’s Questions. Alex Sobel, the Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, is leading calls among backbenchers to establish a national commission on reforming the voting system.
He has tabled an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, which will be debated in the Commons on Wednesday, calling for the Government to back the move. Mr Burnham on Tuesday suggested he was open to the idea of electoral reform, but told the Commons that “we will need to get a consensus at the next election” to make such a change. Holly Evans 2 September 2026 09:31 Banking boss warns Burnham UK 'can't afford' pension triple lock Former NatWest chairman Howard Sullivan has warned that the UK “can’t afford” the pension triple lock.
He called for the policy to be changed, adding: “If a Government does not grasp that nettle at some point, then I think its credibility is going to be on the rack.” He said that it would be “helpful” if Andy Burnham gave clear indications of his government’s approach to fiscal spending ahead of the October budget. He said: “Unfortunately, we do have a circus built around out budgets, which actually does not happen in many other countries. Andy Burnham has been ca(PA) (PA) “There is a whole industry of people... to create expectations and then dash those expectations, and I think we are going to face a very dicky period between now and the Budget.” He added: “I think we’re going to see a very uncertain period for the next three or four weeks, and it would be helpful if the Government could make some signs about their overall approach to the fiscal balance, which I think could calm things down a bit.” Holly Evans 2 September 2026 09:12 Former NatWest chairman says Burnham approach causing some market concerns Andy Burnham’s ambitions for overhauling how the UK state operates are likely to be curtailed by the economic headwinds caused by the Iran war.
Government long-term borrowing costs have been sent soaring to their highest levels for 28 years, amid a global bond sell-off partly linked to signs of escalation in the Middle East conflict and the concern that inflation could follow. While former NatWest chairman Sir Howard Davies told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday that this global sell-off was not “a major crisis of confidence in the UK Government” specifically, he agreed concerns about Mr Burnham’s approach to public spending were causing some market jitters. Sir Howard said the country faced “a very dicky period” leading up to the Budget on October 28 and called for the Government to “make some signs about their overall approach to the fiscal balance” in order to “calm things down a bit”.
Holly Evans 2 September 2026 08:59
Source: The Independent
