PM compares Burnham's economic proposals to Truss 'disaster'

"I'm not going to get drawn in to commenting on the personal ambitions of the mayor, but I do want to be really clear about our fiscal rules because economic stability is the foundation stone of this government. It was three years ago this week that we had the Liz Truss experiment where she abandoned fiscal rules, in her case for tax cuts, and the result was a disaster for working people."

"Sir Keir Starmer's comments comes after Burnham told the Daily Telegraph he had been been contacted by Labour MPs over the summer urging him to stand. He also proposed a rival economic vision, including a 50p top rate of income tax and a tax cut for lower earners, in an interview with the New Statesman, further fuelling speculation he is lining up a challenge to the under-pressure leader."

The prime minister refused to be drawn on Andy Burnham's leadership ambitions while comparing the Manchester mayor's economic proposals to those of Liz Truss. Burnham said he was contacted by Labour MPs over the summer urging him to stand and proposed a rival economic vision including a 50p top rate of income tax and a tax cut for lower earners. The prime minister stressed that fiscal rules underpin economic stability and warned abandoning them in favour of tax cuts or extra spending would damage working people. Recent turbulence includes Angela Rayner quitting over stamp duty underpayment and Peter Mandelson's sacking, amid continuing cost-of-living concerns and election worries.

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