Burnham says global volatility limited Budget ambitions

Andy Burnham said his government’s first Budget was less radical than he had hoped, arguing that global volatility limited the room available to Chancellor John Healey while defending measures to help households with energy bills. In an interview with ITV for a documentary marking his first 100 days as prime minister, Burnham said changing conditions had narrowed the options during the Budget process. He described it as radical within what the government was able to do, and said that volatility made it difficult to deliver the Budget he would have wanted in an ideal world. Those remarks reflect Burnham’s explanation; they do not establish how much of the final policy was directly caused by global conditions. Burnham called a £100 energy-bill payment for 20 million households a significant step, while acknowledging that recipients might have wanted more. He also defended an increase in the surcharge on banks, saying it was a major decision to ask them to repay support received by the public about 20 years ago. The Budget included other support measures, including relief for households and businesses, though the interview focused on the payment and bank measure. The prime...