<p>Prime minister says room for manoeuvre was limited by geopolitical crises and Labour’s 2024 manifesto</p><p>Andy Burnham has admitted <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/oct/28/budget-2026-healey-hikes-taxes-on-banks-and-landlords-to-fund-100-handouts-to-20m-households">his first budget</a> as prime minister was not as radical as he would have liked because of the economic uncertainty facing the country.</p><p>He said he would have liked to have gone further with this week’s announcement – including with higher energy support payments – but felt hemmed in by external events such as the war in Iran, which has pushed up borrowing costs.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/oct/30/andy-burnham-first-budget-labour-welfare">Continue reading...</a>
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Andy Burnham admits he would have liked more radical first budget
<p>Prime minister says room for manoeuvre was limited by geopolitical crises and Labour’s 2024 manifesto</p><p>Andy Burnham has admitted <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/oct/28/budget-2026-healey-hikes-taxes-on-banks-and-landlords-to-fund-100-handouts-to-20m-households">his first budget</a> as prime minister was not as radical as he would have liked because of the economic uncertainty facing the country.</p><p>He said he would have liked to have gone further with this week’s announcement – including with higher energy support payments – but felt hemmed in by external events such as the war in Iran, which has pushed up borrowing costs.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/oct/30/andy-burnham-first-budget-labour-welfare">Continue reading...</a>