As Andy Burnham settles into Downing Street and holds a Cabinet meeting, why his first full day as PM fails to dispel doubts...

Published: 20:35, 21 July 2026 | Updated: 20:35, 21 July 2026 FOR weeks, Andy Burnham maintained a vow of silence about his blueprint for No 10. Yet now that he has finally shared at least some of his plans with the nation, we are almost none the wiser about how he intends to pay for any of it. The funding of an £850million cut in energy bills started to unravel within hours of being announced. Nor is it clear where the money is coming from to end homelessness (something he has already failed to do in Manchester), plug the £4.7billion gap in the Defence Investment Plan or finance other ambitious plans estimated to cost hundreds of billions. It hardly needs to be spelt out in block capitals that the Prime Minister’s lack of clarity sends out very worrying signals about his attitude towards the public finances. For all her calamitous shortcomings as chancellor, the hapless Rachel Reeves at least appeared to be trying to make everything vaguely add up. Although Mr Burnham told his Cabinet of the need to show how projects are being funded, he will need to go further to prove he is not just paying lip service to fiscal discipline. The extent of the crisis confronting Britain is little short of terrifying. Not only did the welfare bill surpass income tax revenue last year, figures also show that our national debt is approaching an unfathomable £3trillion. Anyone with a basic grasp of arithmetic can see that this is no way to run an economy or, for that matter, a country. Although they go against Mr Burnham’s crude and simplistic instincts, there are a couple of points he would do well to remember in the run-up to the autumn budget announcement. Firstly, bitter experience strongly suggests that raising taxes further and borrowing ever bigger sums will only get us into deeper trouble. Secondly, it is time to blow the whistle on the Benefits Street gravy train. Of course, not all of the challenges facing the new PM are of a financial nature. It is already clear that his ruthless purge of Keir Starmer’s allies has created a faction of embittered malcontents who will take every opportunity to snipe from the back benches in the weeks and months ahead. So much for his hopes of a unified Labour Party. Although Andy Burnham told his Cabinet of the need to show how projects are being funded, he will need to go further to prove he is not just paying lip service to fiscal discipline On a broader level, Mr Burnham may well live to regret his outlandish decision to nominate Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary. No one with an interest in international affairs is ever likely to forget the unforgiveable role played by Mr Miliband – then leader of the Opposition – in blocking UK action against the murderous regime of Syrian dictator, Bashar al-Assad, in August 2013. Countless victims died horrific deaths over five more years until air and missile strikes were eventually led by the US. Even without that shameful blot on his CV, it goes without saying that he faces huge global tests as violence and unrest in Iran, Israel and Ukraine continue to evolve. Perhaps an even greater challenge for Mr Miliband – a man who wears his hard-Left credentials like a badge of honour – will be to develop a cordial working relationship with Donald Trump. Little wonder that Boris Johnson has described him as an ‘appalling choice’ for the job. Yes, it is a welcome development that this eco zealot will no longer be pursuing his demented green agenda at the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. It will also be a relief to everyone who cares about this country’s economic wellbeing that he was passed over for the role of chancellor. But the fact remains that Mr Miliband will be capable of causing untold damage in Britain and beyond for as long as he holds down the job that the PM – for whatever reason – has decided to give him.