Eventually he stressed he does want to get the benefits bill down at some nebulous point, presumably having realised what a howler this was…
UPDATE: The Tories are going big on this. A gift has landed in their lap:
“Britain heard it loud and clear today: Andy Burnham will not cut welfare to fund the defence of our country. The Prime Minister is prioritising the ballooning benefits bill over our national security. Shameful.
“This is not leadership it is surrender. Worse still, it’s exactly what has come before. Burnham really is nothing more than Continuity Keir.”
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.”