Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the CBI, has warned Andy Burnham to avoid a “summer of speculation” over tax and spending as he prepares to take over the Labour leadership, arguing such uncertainty is damaging for business. Her intervention comes as Burnham is set to take up the role on Friday, with a new cabinet due to be announced on Monday, and follows two previous Labour summers marked by leaks and speculation ahead of Rachel Reeves's budgets.

Newton-Smith said she was not "terrified" of Ed Miliband, a potential chancellor candidate, but urged whoever gets the job to avoid rushed decisions and instead set out a credible fiscal plan early on. She praised Burnham's business-friendly record as Greater Manchester mayor but cautioned against radical ideas such as renationalising utilities, calling instead for new public-private partnerships to fund homes, reservoirs and energy efficiency projects. She also pressed him to tackle high business energy costs, citing a CBI/Energy UK paper showing UK firms' electricity costs are 45% above the G7 average.