Andy Burnham has told the first meeting of his new cabinet that they needed to examine “all possible ways” to help families struggling with high costs.
After arriving to applause, he said:
What can we do just to take that little bit of pressure off people’s shoulders, just to give them that little extra sense that help is coming so that they can have that bit of hope that things are getting better. And that’s the mission that we’ve got to set ourselves together.
He asked his colleagues to look into what their department could do to ease cost-of-living pressures, both “big and small”. “We need to be a cost-of-living government, getting that cost of living down, looking at all possible ways of doing that.”
This all sounds very vague at the moment but we are expecting some more concrete policy announcements over the next few days.
The prime minister told his new cabinet in its first meeting that the government will be a “cost-of-living government” and needs to examine “all possible ways” to help families struggling with high costs.
Keir Starmer’s allies have questioned Andy Burnham’s pledge to end factional infighting after he removed or demoted more than half of the outgoing prime minister’s cabinet in his first reshuffle.
“This was a deeply factional cabinet reshuffle,” one said. “The idea it was anything else is ridiculous.”
Another former official said: “Becoming leader of a party involves having to promise things to a lot of different people, and you can see that in some appointments. What was surprising was the decision to get rid of so many impressive people.”
Others are more phlegmatic, saying it was obvious that a new PM would want to bring in his own people and that the change was handled sensitively, with outgoing ministers being called directly by Burnham.
Their special advisers – who usually go when their boss does – have also been given a chance to discuss their future with Alison Phillips, Burnham’s deputy chief of staff.
The overall mood for the outgoing team has tended to be more reflective than bitter, after they had a month to digest Starmer’s decision to stand down, paving the way for a Burnham succession.
A bid by the Conservatives to debate Andy Burnham’s policy agenda in the House of Lords before peers rise for summer recess has been blocked.
The Tories had called for greater scrutiny of the new Prime Minister’s plans and accused him of “bending over backwards to avoid telling Parliament what his plans are”.
However, peers voted 173 to 234, majority 61, to reject a motion which would have seen one of Mr Burnham’s new ministers summoned to the red benches on Wednesday.
Leader of the House of Lords Baroness Smith of Basildon said the government will “welcome scrutiny”, but added: “In politics, as in life, patience is a virtue.
“This is day two of a new Prime Minister. The Government is still being formed.”
The new justice secretary Alex Norris has been urged to abandon controversial jury trial reforms, with Downing Street declining to say if Andy Burnham supported the plans.
Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy urged him not to press ahead with the “reckless plans” put forward by his predecessor David Lammy to tackle the backlog of court cases.
Downing Street did not say if the new prime minister would remove the plans from the Courts and Tribunals Bill.
The PM’s official spokesman told reporters: “I’m not going to get into speculation over possible policy positions of every subject today.
“The Prime Minister has said before that he understands the pressure on the courts and the impact of thousands of victims waiting years for justice, and that this is not acceptable. But we will update in due course on that.”
Jordan Bardella, the president of France’s far right National Rally, is to be a keynote speaker at this year’s Reform UK annual conference.
In a sign of deepening links between the two parties, Bardella’s speech is expected to lay out how the two parties would work together in office.
Reform UK’s leader, Nigel Farage, said: “I am pleased to welcome Jordan to our Party Conference. He represents a new generation of political leaders who are standing up for their countries, their borders and their people.
“I look forward to discussing how France and Britain can co-operate to finally stop the boats once and for all.”
Farage and Bardella met last year, discussing small boat crossings and energy policy.
Bardella had been tipped to be the National Rally’s candidate in the upcoming French presidential elections but its long-time leader, Marine Le Pen, has recently had the path cleared for her to stand after a French appeal court shorted a ban on her holding public office.
Downing Street has insisted Andy Burnham’s plan to cut VAT from electricity bills is fully funded.
The PM’s official spokesman said: “It’s fully funded and will come into effect from October the first, and it applies and is funded for this financial year.”
The Government previously said the £1.8 billion cost of the digital ID scheme over three years had been “scored” by the Office for Budget Responsibility, meaning the money would have had to be found.
The spokesman was asked about the scoring of the digital ID programme and which funding is to be shifted from it for the VAT cut, as the Office for Budget Responsibility previously said that money for digital ID still needed to be found.
Put to him that the cut was being funded through unidentified savings, he said: “What we’re doing is we’re funding this through the cancellation of the digital ID programme.
“Departments were going to have to fund the Digital ID programme through their existing budget reprioritisation.
“Departments will now direct these savings towards this.”
Chris O’Shea, group chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica, said it is “encouraging to see the new Prime Minister move quickly” to cut household energy bills after announcing an £850 million cut to VAT on electricity bills.
Andy Burnham’s conversation with Donald Trump was “extremely warm” and lasted around 20 minutes, Downing Street has said.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman told reporters: “It was an extremely warm call and I think that’s reflected in both sides’ read-outs.”
Andy Burnham insists No 10 North is “not a gimmick” and the “time for resisting devolution was over” in his first Cabinet meeting.
The PM’s spokesman said: “Turning to Number 10 North, the Prime Minister said it was not a gimmick.
“He said the time for resisting devolution was over, and it was very clear that this was the direction the Government was heading in to speed up growth and delivery.”
He said this was “the urgent principle” of this government.
Andy Burnham urged his Cabinet to think every day about how to ease the pressure on household budgets for the public.
In a readout of the first Cabinet meeting, the PM’s official spokesman said: “Today’s cabinet reflected a sense of a united team, a new sense of energy, and a second chance at a first impression.”
He said Burnham opened by congratulating his Cabinet and telling them they were a “good team from all backgrounds that reflected the country they served”, adding it was vital the cabinet now “pulled together” in the same direction.
“The Prime Minister said people across Britain were finding life hard, and ministers should think every day about what they could do to take a little bit of pressure off. The Prime Minister added that this Government needed to be a cost-of-living one. He said today’s announcement showed the Government was prepared to reprioritise to reduce the pressure and deliver on tackling the cost of living.
“The Chancellor then reiterated that reprioritisation would allow the Government to make life more affordable for people, whilst maintaining fiscal discipline.”
The PM added said it was important the public could see the steps being taken towards his 10-year vision.
Ed Miliband’s first diplomatic call as foreign secretary was with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha.
He wrote on X: “I underlined the UK’s steadfast and resolute commitment to the people of Ukraine.”
The former Labour leader added: “Ukraine is on the frontline of the fight for the values of freedom and democracy in Europe.”
Sybiha, Kyiv’s acting minister of foreign affairs, wrote on social media that he congratulated Mr Miliband on his new role “and thanked the United Kingdom for its steadfast support for Ukraine since the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, including military, energy, humanitarian, economic and sanctions assistance”.
Sybiha added: “I briefed my colleague on the latest developments on the battlefield and thanked him for his solidarity following Russia’s latest massive attack on Kyiv. We discussed further strengthening our cooperation, continued military assistance, support for Ukraine’s energy sector ahead of winter, increasing pressure on Russia.
“I invited Foreign Secretary Miliband to visit Ukraine. I wished him and his team every success in their important work and look forward to working closely together to further strengthen the vital Ukraine–UK partnership.”
John Healey has said he is “burning with a passion” for the Treasury as he addressed staff for the first time since his surprise (at least to the media) appointment as chancellor.
“I’m still burning with a passion about this institution as a force for stability, for security, for growth, a force for a successful Britain, and a successful Britain now in a much tougher world”, Healey, who was a minister in the Treasury for five years between 2002 and 2007, said.
The new chancellor listed his five priorities, as fiscal discipline, growth in every postcode, backing Britain in procurement, wealth creation and the cost of living.
“This is the way that we start to build a new economy. This is the way that we start to build new hope,” he said. “This is the way that we start to advance working people in this country.”
Nigel Farage has claimed he was “getting under the skin” of Andy Burnham, linking the new prime minister’s decision to speak without a lectern on his arrival at Downing Street to Reform’s chastisement of him for having to rely on notes in past speeches.
Farage was speaking at a rally in Norfolk earlier today where he made fresh calls for a general election, saying the new prime minister “has no mandate whatsoever” to meet his promise of “the biggest changes in 40 years” to UK politics.
The Reform UK leader arrived by helicopter at Kimberley Hall, an historic estate outside the town of Wymondham, where party faithful gathered to celebrate the election of Colin Sutton, a high profile retired detective, as Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Norfolk.
Farage, who quit as the MP for Clacton to trigger a byelection, which he is standing in, said VAT-free electricity bills – one of the first policies announced by Burnham – will fail to “address the real issue of the cost of living”, particularly in homes heated using oil or gas.
“If you add up all of the green levies, the renewable obligation certificates and I could go on, if you got rid of all of those, you’d reduce household bills by £200 per household, not the £45 offered by Burnham this morning.”
Farage claimed that Reform were “getting under the skin” of Burnham but the Reform leader went on to complain about “abuse” he had recently received in the press – an apparent reference to investigations into the £5m gift which he received from crypto billionare Christopher Harborne and the role of convicted criminal George Cottrell in Farage’s entourage.
“Given the abuse that I have had in the lately and some of my friends and colleagues have had in the press I wonder whether the effective deputy prime minister Louise Haigh will be address in every single BBC broadcast and newspaper article as convicted fraudster Louise Haigh,” he asked, referring to the Labour MP, who pleaded guilty to lying that her work mobile phone had been stolen in 2013.
Wes Streeting said that Andy Burnham’s commitment to defence “will be even more clear in the coming months” as he indicated that military budgets would rise by over £25bn to hit a Nato target in 2035.
The new defence secretary said the UK would “stick by” commitments it made to its allies – a reference to a pledge to dramatically lift spending to 3.5% of GDP in 2035 from its current level of 2.6%.
Streeting, appearing at a press conference alongside Japanese, Italian and Canadian counterparts, also welcomed the surprise appointment of former defence secretary John Healey to the Treasury by the new prime minister.
Healey had quit his previous role last month in a row with former prime minister Keir Starmer amid a failure to agree a pathway to the 3.5% goal. “I certainly feel like we have a firm friend in his majesty’s Treasury,” Streeting said.
The new defence secretary added that the military has “an enormous contribution” to make to Burnham’s vision of industrialisation in the UK but emphasised the Ministry of Defence had to demonstrate that taxpayer’s money was well spent.
That was necessary “to show that we understand the sacrifices that involves from other government departments” – implying they may be forced to take real term spending cuts to meet the ultimate spending goal.
Streeting was speaking at an event in which the UK, Japan, and Italy welcomed Canada as an observer to the Global Combat Aircraft Programme (Gcap) next generation fighter joint venture. The UK has committed to spend £8.6bn on Gcap over the next four years.
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