Al Carns was asked why he quit as Armed Forces minister:
“Quite simple: I didn’t think the funding settlement was correct for defence.”
He added “We have got to find more money. That’s down to the PM… There is an argument about welfare. I’m a firm believer a hand up not a hand out.” The blindingly obvious benefits point that has been wilfully ignored by counter-Healey spin…
Carns added he thinks Starmer is a “good and honest man” but “it’s down to him how he prioritises his funding. I don’t think the funding was right. We are fighting amongst each other to get more money for the key unifying principle of the of any government which is to protect this nation.” Oh dear…
Asked if he wants to be PM, Carns evaded: “My whole life is about service – not ambition… We will see what happens in the future.” All to play for…
Former Treasury minister and adviser to Burnham in the Makerfield campaign Lord Jim O’Neill, who has turned down a role in his government, said Burnham’s first statement Commons was:
“The last thing investors wanted to hear… gilt yields have risen by a 0.25% in one day, which is a lot. We’ve not had that since Liz Truss days… If your country is under the focus of ‘can they come up with a sensible fiscal strategy’ on a day when the markets think ‘well no, you’re not showing any sign of it’ you’re going to have a tough day…if it stays like this your mortgage rate is going up.”