Kemi Badenoch has warned Prime Minister Andy Burnham that "the honeymoon is over" as he faces his first major week in Parliament since taking office, with MPs returning from summer recess to a packed and potentially divisive agenda. Burnham will make his Commons debut at Prime Minister's Questions on Tuesday, his first clash with the Conservative leader, followed swiftly by an announcement on the early release of more prisoners, which risks angering his own backbenchers, alongside expected statements on sanctions against Israeli settlements and North Sea drilling.

Badenoch accused Burnham of "tinkering around the edges" and urged him to tackle tough decisions on welfare spending, defence and public finances, while a Labour MP separately told him to "leave the guitar" and focus on substance. Reports suggest a decision on the Rosebank oil field will be deferred, prompting claims from a pro-drilling Labour MP that Burnham had "bottled it". Downing Street said Burnham would frame his Commons appearance as a moment to "bring back hope", though this drew scepticism from some Labour MPs, while lingering resentment from Sir Keir Starmer loyalists sacked in July continues to simmer beneath a fragile truce.