Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s ambitions for Britain are “too small,” accusing him of governing as though he is still Mayor of Greater Manchester and failing to explain how his early spending pledges will be funded.
Badenoch argued that Burnham’s first wave of policy announcements amounted to a spending spree without a credible funding plan, warning that the government must be clearer about how it intends to finance its commitments without imposing higher taxes on the public.
Speaking in London on Thursday, she urged the prime minister to rule out tax increases in the autumn Budget and criticised him for announcing policies without setting out a clear long-term economic strategy.
“Andy Burnham’s ambitions for Britain are too small,” Badenoch said.
“When you are mayor of Manchester, you are handed a big pot of someone else’s money, and you decide where to spend it. I’m sure this is great fun. It can make you very popular. But it is not the same as being prime minister,” she said.
“Andy Burnham needs to do better. He is behaving like he’s still the mayor of Manchester. He is now the prime minister of the United Kingdom; he needs to start acting like it.”
Badenoch questioned how Burnham would pay for a series of measures announced during his first week in office, including restoring the £2 cap on bus fares in England, cutting VAT on household electricity bills, reducing business rates for pubs and live music venues, and expanding accommodation for rough sleepers.
She also criticised the prime minister for floating proposals such as free social care, a major expansion of council house building and an increase in the tax-free personal allowance without explaining how they would be funded.
“He doesn’t actually know what he wants to do, he is thinking out loud. All that we know is it’s going to cost a lot of money,” she said.
Badenoch argued that Britain needs a more ambitious economic agenda focused on cheaper energy, lower taxes, secure borders and creating more jobs at home.
“I believe Britain should be a country where hard work is rewarded, businesses can grow and young people can build a better life than their parents. Families are working harder and feeling poorer. Jobs and investment are moving overseas. Too many young people feel their best opportunities lie elsewhere,” the Conservative leader said.
“Britain needs bigger ambition: cheaper energy, lower taxes, secure borders and an economy that creates good jobs here at home. That is how we give people hope for the future and get Britain working again,” she added.
Burnham’s government has defended its early policy announcements, saying the measures are fully funded through savings, the reallocation of existing budgets and future tax increases on what it described as “anti-social businesses.”
The government said the initiatives form part of its “cost of living” agenda aimed at easing financial pressure on households and businesses.