Burnham Rejects 'Tax and Spend Socialist' Comments

Andy Burnham rejected claims from former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane that investors see his government as a "traditional tax and spend socialist government", saying he is prepared to take difficult decisions on the economy, according to BBC. Haldane said markets were worried Burnham would not cut spending and argued the government faces a straight choice between raising taxes and cutting public expenditure ahead of next month’s Budget on 28 October. Burnham said he had already made difficult choices, including reprioritising some government spending over the summer to fund early cost-of-living measures and scrapping the rollout of digital ID. He also said next month’s Budget would be "challenging" and blamed the situation in the Middle East for rising inflation in recent months. The article said recent rises in the cost of UK borrowing have worsened the government’s options and could reduce the £24bn buffer against its debt and spending targets.