Andy Burnham told not dodge scrutiny over his radical plans | Politics | News

Andy Burnham should not spend his summer dodging scrutiny for his radical plans after two years of chaos under Labor, Kemi Badenoch says.

The Conservative Party leader warned that millions of people are still left out of touch with their priorities.

On Monday, the former mayor of Greater Manchester will set out his economic vision, partly to ease market fears of a debt glut and rash spending spree.

And Ms Badenoch insisted “Britain has already paid the price for a Labor Prime Minister who came into office without a plan”, adding that Mr Burnham should face MPs before Parliament recesses for the summer.

Mr Burnham is set to “undertake a 10-year mission to raise living standards through re-industrialisation and reform of housing, infrastructure and basic services”.

And allies of the 56-year-old, who could become prime minister within weeks, insist he will “give Britain the circuit breaker it needs”.

The former Labor culture secretary and health secretary will admit his generation of politicians “must take responsibility for the loss of public confidence in politics”.

But Ms Badenoch said: “Britain has already paid the price for a Labor Prime Minister who came into office without a plan.

“We can’t let the same thing happen again. Andy Burnham is days away from taking charge of the country and he still hasn’t told people the basics: Will Labor stick to its manifesto?”

“Will he take on more debt? Will he finance the Defense Investment Plan so that our country is not at risk?”

“The new prime minister needs to come to the Parliament and determine his priorities before the summer recess.

“It just needs an extra day. A speech full of warm words to a friendly crowd is no substitute for a speech at the mailbox, where MPs may question the substance of what they are saying.”

“If Andy Burnham wants to lead the country, he must be brave enough to answer to MPs representing every part of the country about his plans for all our lives.

“Britain doesn’t need to wait until September to find out what he plans to do – unless he already knows.”

As expected, Mr Burnham will confirm plans to create “No 10 North” to give local mayors more powers and “co-ordinate long-term economic regeneration”.

He will oversee “the biggest transfer of power from Whitehall in modern times”.

Reform’s Zia Yusuf also challenged Mr Burnham to test his policy agenda.

Reform’s home affairs spokesman has vowed to smash Shabana Mahmood’s plans to allow communities to “sponsor” up to 10,000 refugees.

This new “safe and legal route” will allow migrants to move to Britain.

He said: “We warn Burham: Reform will reverse this plan.

“If he really believes that this is what the British people want, he should put it in his manifesto and call a general election.

“If he fails to do this, when the voters have their say and elect a Reform government, this illegitimate plan will be reversed. Anyone Burnham has imported through this illegitimate plan will not be allowed to remain in Britain. We cannot go on like this.”

“Andy Burnham must do the right thing and call a general election.”

But senior Labor MPs rejected claims of stitching on Sunday and insisted people do not want a general election.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed has suggested Sir Keir Starmer’s potential successor will make “shifts in emphasis” but stick to “the basics” such as the Government’s rules on borrowing.

Mr Reed, a key ally of Starmer who last month warned against replacing him, said Labor would be “four squares behind Andy to deliver the change this country voted for two years ago”.

“The public don’t want a general election and that’s not just my instinct. You can look at the polls that say the vast majority don’t want it. They want us to get on with the job,” he told Trevor Phillips on Sky News’ Sunday Morning.

Burnham supporter Lucy Powell said she had recently spoken to the former mayor of Greater Manchester and said he was “very keen” to change the culture in the Labor Party, which she has previously described as a “boys’ club” that gives numerous anonymous briefings to the media.

“I think we found that one of the reasons why Andy is so well known and so popular and loved is that over a long period of time he has developed a clear sense of purpose and a sense of whose side he is on,” he said.

Ms Powell rejected claims of hypocrisy after calling for a general election for the Tories, who change leaders following Liz Truss’ resignation in 2022.

“I think what people really want to see now is that we get on with our work, deliver on the manifesto that we were elected to do just two years ago, a very bold and radical manifesto with a lot of things we still need to follow through on,” he told the BBC.

Unless there is a candidate to challenge Mr Burnham for the Labor leadership, Mr Burnham is likely to enter Downing Street on July 20.