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The PM says all ‘the options’ being considered and calls for an open debate about the UK’s future relationship with Europe
Burnham says UK ‘can’t afford another decade of post-Brexit drift’ as he leaves door open to rejoining the EU – UK politics live The PM says all ‘the options’ being considered and calls for an open debate about the UK’s future relationship with EuropeBurnham says he has spent 'a lot of time' working out how to fill £4.7bn funding gap in defence investment planBurnham suggests it would not be legitimate for any party to form majority government with less than 30% of voteBurnham says he's looking at 'every possible measure' to help people with energy costs, but stresses funding not easyalso said that he thought Britain needed to resolve what its relationship with the EU should be because it could not afford another decade of drift.
I am saying, let’s be clear about where we want Britain to go in the next decade. And I’ve asked people to join with me on that. The country cannot have a decade, another one like the one we’ve just had, where we’ve had too much drift, too much division. I am very clear, and I will say this bluntly, Brexit has caused more harm than good and I think around 60% of the British public agree with that statement.
And I’m not doing the usual politician thing. I’m being honest about facing up to that, and give people options that they can look at and judge.
Burnham says he has spent 'a lot of time' working out how to fill £4.7bn funding gap in defence investment planBurnham suggests it would not be legitimate for any party to form majority government with less than 30% of voteBurnham says he's looking at 'every possible measure' to help people with energy costs, but stresses funding not easythat the Brexit vote should be respectedYou cannot trust a word Andy Burnham says. Just a few weeks ago he said he wanted to move on from the Brexit arguments and now he is dragging Britain back into them by floating the prospect of rejoining the EU.
Labour cannot blame a democratic vote from over a decade ago for the consequences of their own economic decisions. While they look backwards, the Conservatives will look forwards.has said that he has spent “a lot of time” working out how to fill the £4.7bn gap in the plans to fund the defence investment plan.
When Keir Starmer unveiled the defence investment plan in June, after he had announced he was standing down to make way for Burnham, he said the increased investment would cost £15bn. While explaining where most of the money would come from, he said the remaining funds –I said as soon as I came in that we would fully fund the defence investment plan.
I’ve spent a lot of time on that and it will be fully funded.has suggested that it would not be legitimate for a party to form a majority government with less than 30% of the vote. In his Today interview, asked why he wanted electoral reform and a move towards proportional representation, Burnham replied: I found it better being elected under a different system as mayor of Greater Manchester, where people had one or two, they could put that on the ballot paper.
Because you had a reason to stop on every doorstep and chat to people who might not always support your party and try and get their second preference. And I also feel that in an era of five party politics, can we really watch a party with less than 30% just walk into Downing Street? Is that something we should feel comfortable about? As mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham was elected under the supplementary vote system.
This means, if no candidate gets more than 50% when the votes are counted, the top two go into a run-off and then second preferences are taken into account. When it was put to Burnham that he was just saying that because he wanted to stop Nigel Farage becoming prime minister, Burnham replied:In the 20th century, when two-party politics was the norm, parties that went on to form a government normally had at least 40% of the national vote – and sometimes a lot more.
But, with the revival of the Liberals, and then the Lib Dems, the success of nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales, and now the emergence of the Greens and Reform UK as significant parties, it would now be quite possible for a party to win a Westminster majority with under 30% of the vote.has said that it is “completely wrong” to claim that he is picking on pensioners with the plans he announced yesterday. I think you’ve got it completely wrong really, if you don’t mind me saying, to put it like that, because I have put out … a vision for a national care service.
There are pensioners out there who watch your programme who are paying for care costs from their basic state pension. Now, is that right or fair? We have to fix this system. But what I’m saying about the triple lock enables a better support, better care for people in their homes.
No care charges. So, please let me just make that point that people need to see these things in the round. It’s a better deal for older people going forward.
Household energy bills in Great Britain are predicted to soar by £276 a year for the typical household from January as the impact of the Middle East war continues through the coldest months of winter,also said that he thought Britain needed to resolve what its relationship with the EU should be because it could not afford another decade of drift. I am saying, let’s be clear about where we want Britain to go in the next decade.
And I’ve asked people to join with me on that. The country cannot have a decade, another one like the one we’ve just had, where we’ve had too much drift, too much division. I am very clear, and I will say this bluntly, Brexit has caused more harm than good and I think around 60% of the British public agree with that statement. And I’m not doing the usual politician thing.
I’m being honest about facing up to that, and give people options that they can look at and judge.said that was a long pause, and it sounded as if he meant yes, but did not want to say so. I have said it, there’s no point me denying it, I’ve said in the book I would like to see Britain rejoin in my lifetime. So there was no point saying otherwise. But it’s not necessarily the case that is now.
Because we need to understand what would be the nature of how we would look at the different options. Burnham then set out four options; the status quo, joining a customs union, joining a customs union and the single market, or rejoining. (See Burnham seemed to be referring to his book, Head North, which he co-wrote with Steve Rotheram.
In that, they set outhas said that it is not accurate to say that he is getting rid of the pensions triple lock. In interviews this morning, he challenged this description because the plan he announced yesterday means that the value of the state pension will continue to rise in line with prices, earnings or 2.5%.
But under the current system, pensions rise every year either by 2.5%, or by inflation, or by the annual rise in earnings – which is highest. After 2030, normally they will rise by 2.5% or by inflation. But if that is not enough to ensure that pensions have risen in line with the average increase in earnings since the policy was introduced, they will rise by that amount.
The change will save money because, under the current system, if the rise in earnings is particularly big one year, as sometimes happens, there is a rachet effect, and the increase gets baked in for future years. The decision on the triple lock, the adjustment – and it is an adjustment – it’s not getting rid of the whole concept of the triple lock.has said that the government does not have “huge room for manoeuvre” as it looks at how it can help people with the cost of living.
We’re thinking all of the time, ‘how do we take a bit of pressure off people, give them some breathing space? ’ It’s why one of the first decisions I took as prime minister was to remove VAT off electricity bills, and that will happen on Thursday … We’ll do something to help people with bus fares next year, the £2 cap for the whole of the year, and then in the budget we will consider further measures.
I think people can see that when they look at the financial picture, but within that we will do our best, and we’ll also try to support people who are struggling with the cost of doing business ’cause it’s hard to run a business right now as well.told the programme in an interview that Britain was “walking into a second significant energy crisis after the one we experienced just four years ago”. The situation was “very challenging” for people buying petrol, or heating their homes, he said.
I’m doing what I can, removing say VAT off bills. But it is very difficult indeed, and it’s why the Middle East situation needs to command a lot of our attention. I’m considering everything that might help people in very difficult times and I will be honest and say every possible measure is being looked at. The question I’ve got is, how many can I afford, what can we do given the state of the public finances?
And people wouldn’t thank me for making unfunded payments that then cause pressure on mortgages – and we’ve seen that in the past and we’re not going back there. Burnham said, when he talked about considering every possible measure to help with energy costs, that included looking at whether to scrap a fuel duty increase planned for next year.
, but there is general consensus that it is a consequential one – not one that we will have forgotten within a fortnight or so, but one that will make the next list ofThe conference wraps up today, with four cabinet ministers speaking. But much of the attention will be on digesting the significance of what the PM said yesterday. Burnham has given a series of interviews which are playing out this morning.
Speaking to the Today programme, Burnham confirmed that, when he told delegates yesterday he would beWe could stay as we are. That’s definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay. There are clearly options that need to be considered, and we have to look at what is doable and what would be the pros and cons of each.no longer able to have comments open below the line every day on this blog .
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