Andy Burnham latest: PM opens door to rejoining EU as he takes aim at Brexit after Labour conference speech

Treasury does not have 'huge room for manoeuvre', Burnham warns

The Treasury does not have “huge room for manoeuvre” as chancellor John Healey draws up his first Budget, the prime minister has warned.

Asked whether people should “expect to be better-off” after next month’s Budget, Andy Burnham told BBC Breakfast: “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.”

Mr Burnham said the measure was “something, it’s not everything”.

He continued: “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.

“It’s important for me to say that we don’t have huge room for manoeuvre.

“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.”

Tom Barnes30 September 2026 07:32

Burnham says he could go ‘all the way’ and rejoin EU

Andy Burnham has said he could go “all the way” in proposing to rejoin the European Union.

The prime minister, who has blamed Brexit for a decade of drift and division, said he would look at the “pros and cons” of all options and is considering the UK’s future relationship with Brussels.

Asked whether he wanted the UK to rejoin the bloc, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme he wanted to “look at the options”.

“We could stay as we are. That’s definitely an option, if people think this is the right place to stay,” he said.