Reeves tells Burnham to expect ‘shocks and challenges’ from outset in No 10
8 reported
Rachel Reeves has urged Andy Burnham to arrive in Downing Street with a “worked through plan,” saying the incoming prime minister will be tested quickly by a range of incoming “shocks and challenges.” In what could be one of her final major interviews while in No 11, Reeves said Burnham should remain focused on the priorities that first brought him into politics. Burnham’s bid to become Labour leader and prime minister has been backed by 322 of the party’s 403 MPs, leaving him just one short of the number required to make it mathematically impossible for a rival to compete against him. If no one else enters the contest, he will expect to become Labour leader on 17 July and prime minister the next working day – 20 July. Speaking to BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Reeves said governing is hard in Britain and many challenges and shocks will come his way. Burnham has already begun setting out his vision and blueprint to transform the UK, centred around the “biggest rebalancing of power Britain has ever seen,” which includes a new No 10 North hub. Reeves admitted that Starmer and his government had lost the confidence of Labour MPs and the public because “people are impatient for change.”
What’s reported
Rachel Reeves urged Andy Burnham to arrive in Downing Street with a “worked through plan.”
Reeves said the incoming prime minister will be tested quickly by a range of incoming “shocks and challenges.”
Burnham’s bid to become Labour leader and prime minister has been backed by 322 of the party’s 403 MPs.
If no one else enters the contest, Burnham will expect to become Labour leader on 17 July and prime minister on 20 July.
Reeves said Burnham would inherit stronger economic foundations than she and Starmer did after 14 years of the Conservatives.
Reeves said she was “absolutely certain, if we could go back two years, there are choices that I made that would be different.”
The latest ONS figures show families’ disposable income is falling, and it is expected that by the end of this parliament, the country’s debts will be higher than when Labour took power.
Former transport secretary Louise Haigh said Burnham had been planning how he might succeed Starmer for at least a year.
Key figures
Rachel Reeves, chancellor
Andy Burnham, incoming prime minister
Louise Haigh, former transport secretary
Laura Kuenssberg, BBC One interviewer
Nick Robinson, Radio 4 interviewer
Sources: The Guardian
