£73,068.97 of taxpayers’ money was spent on the bus used to promote Andy Burnham’s £2 bus fare cap. Burnham stood in front of the bus for a few hours…
The bus branded “Funded by UK Government” and used to promote the £2 bus fare cap was paid for by the Cabinet Office. Invoices were raised on Monday 20 July and Tuesday 21 July 2026 – the actual announcement was on the 22 July. A quick turnaround…
Here’s a breakdown of the eye-watering costs:
A government spokesperson said: “It’s right that government uses a broad range of communications channels and platforms to reach people all across the country, explain the government’s policies to the public and ensure they understand how they affect them.” The government insists that the “estimate equivalent advertising value” was almost £500,000, which therefore makes the spend worth it…
Meanwhile Burnham’s very first bill to be laid in Parliament will be one allowing him, a Catholic, to recommend the appointments of Church of England bishops to the King instead of deferring the decision as normal. The vanity government…
Andy Haldane, Burnham’s recent adviser on the economy who has not taken up a No10 job, told Andrew Marr on LBC:
“The market now suspects that this is a traditional tax-and-spend socialist government with better TikTok videos…
imposing windfall taxes on oil & gas or on banks or upping capital gains tax would […] repeat the mistake that Rachel made […] The Achilles heel, the fiscal Achilles heel of this government thus far has been its unwillingness and/or inability to cut public spending.”