Burnham’s proud to be a tax and spend socialist – at a time when there’s nothing left to tax or spend: DAN HODGES
Writing in the Daily Mail, columnist Dan Hodges argues that new Prime Minister Andy Burnham is embracing an unashamedly "tax and spend" socialist identity rather than disguising his instincts, as previous Labour leaders such as Tony Blair and Keir Starmer did by presenting themselves as something other than traditional left-wingers. Hodges suggests this is a deliberate strategy: Burnham's team believe leaning into Northern, working-class branding and attacking Thatcherism will shore up Labour's left flank against threats from the Greens, Jeremy Corbyn's "Your Party" and pro-Palestinian factions, while also appealing to Red Wall voters crucial to any future electoral majority.
The piece centres on Burnham's first clash with Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch at Prime Minister's Questions, during which she branded him a "spendthrift Prime Minister" wedded to "the same old Labour politics of tax and spend" amid concerns over bond market instability. Hodges notes that Burnham does not deny the charge, and cites a government minister's view that, since Starmer won a Commons majority of 170 with only around 34% of the vote, Labour need not build a broad electoral coalition but can instead focus on winning over enough working-class voters while the Conservatives and Reform UK remain divided.
- Dan Hodges says Burnham openly embraces "tax and spend" socialism, unlike past Labour leaders
- Badenoch branded Burnham a "spendthrift Prime Minister" at their first PMQs clash
- Strategy targets Red Wall voters while Tories and Reform UK remain split
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Labour's leadership changed hands recently, with Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister after previously serving as Mayor of Greater Manchester. He has positioned himself differently from his predecessors, Tony Blair and Keir Starmer, both of whom were seen as steering the Labour Party towards the political centre rather than its traditional left-wing roots.
Burnham faces pressure from several directions: rival parties such as the Greens and Jeremy Corbyn's new "Your Party" are competing for left-leaning voters, while the Conservatives, now led by Kemi Badenoch, and Reform UK are competing for support elsewhere. Prime Minister's Questions is the weekly Commons session where the Prime Minister answers questions from MPs, including direct challenges from the Leader of the Opposition, and it often serves as a symbolic clash of political identities and priorities.
The term "tax and spend" refers to a style of government that raises taxes to fund public spending, historically associated with the political left, and it is often used critically by opponents to suggest fiscal recklessness. This debate is unfolding against a backdrop of concern about the bond markets, where investors lend money to the government, and any sign of instability there can affect borrowing costs and economic confidence more broadly.