Guido has done cost estimates of Burnham’s spending commitments and inherited black holes so far. It’s not pretty:
Keeping the triple lock will keep costs of more than £10 billion per year baked in and rising. The funding commitments laid out above cost around £50 billion extra per year plus upfront costs of £115 billion or so. Across the three remaining years of this parliament that is a bill of around £250 billion. And this is a conservative estimate…
Burnham has deliberately avoided media and no one knows what his plans are because – unlike in the selection of any other PM in modern history – there are no opportunities to ask him questions outside of his team’s direct and tight control. Seeing as the taxpayer will be asked to stump up at least quarter of a trillion pounds, Brits can expect taxes to go even higher. Brace, brace…
Kemi Badenoch at the 1922-ConHome bash last night:
“I did praise [Burnham] for his stamina, it was amazing. All I had to do was sit back and lie there. I didn’t have to do anything at all…”