Burnham Faces First PMQs, Declines to Rule Out Tax Rises as Badenoch Presses on Borrowing

Andy Burnham faced Kemi Badenoch at his first Prime Minister's Questions on 2 September 2026, a day after a marathon near-three-and-a-half-hour Commons statement in which he fielded around 125 questions. Badenoch, who opened with a joke about Burnham's 'stamina' that left him visibly blushing, repeatedly pressed him on how he would fund pledges including removing VAT from electricity bills and cutting business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues, and on rising government borrowing costs, which she called 'the biggest threat to family finances.' Burnham declined to rule out tax rises ahead of the 28 October Budget, said the welfare bill needed to fall, and reaffirmed a commitment to raise defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035 with a 'fully funded route' to be set out at the spending review. He described his approach as 'problem solving, not point scoring,' while facing criticism that his answers on spending cuts lacked substantive detail. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey offered supportive questioning on Brexit trade friction.