Key facts
- Prime Minister Andy Burnham made his debut at Prime Minister's Questions.
- Burnham promised a new style of politics focused on direct communication.
- His exchanges with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch quickly involved debates on tax and borrowing.
- Burnham pointed to early actions like cutting VAT on domestic electricity bills and business rates for pubs and music venues.
- The backdrop to Burnham's premiership includes increased borrowing costs and difficult decisions on defence spending and social care.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham's first appearance at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) highlighted the challenge of implementing a new style of politics within the traditional adversarial framework of the House of Commons. Throughout the summer, Burnham had focused on direct communication through social media videos, but PMQs presented a different arena for political scrutiny.
Upon taking his place, Burnham was met with cheers from the Labour benches and adopted a confident tone. His initial exchanges with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch were described as vaguely jocular, with Badenoch making a lighthearted remark about his stamina after a long session on Tuesday. However, the tone soon shifted to more familiar political barbs concerning tax and borrowing, with Badenoch criticizing the government's spending.