Andy Burnham rules out ‘crude cuts’ to welfare – as he hints that taxes will have to rise

Andy Burnham has ruled out short-term cuts to the aid budget, hinting taxes will have to rise to pay for his generous spending plans.

In his first broadcast interview since winning the Makerfield by-election, the prime minister ruled out “crude cuts” to benefits.

Asked if he would stick to Labor’s manifesto and fiscal rules, he said yes but added ‘there is some room for movement in that manifesto on tax’.

He told LBC’s Andrew Marr he would impose more taxes on warehouses to allow pubs to lower their prices, ‘breathing life back into the High Street’ and help small businesses.

Defending himself against claims that he will raise taxes, he said he is ‘not indisciplined’ when it came to the public finances and revealed that he had not yet chosen his future chancellor.

Asked about the gap in defense spending, Mr Burnham admitted he did not have ‘full details’ on costs after a deficit of up to £15bn was reported.

However, he said that the country “must face this situation very seriously” and that he “will take these responsibilities extremely seriously and will not compromise on the security of the nation.”

The former mayor of Greater Manchester also said his generation of politicians had ‘failed’, saying the country needed a ‘circuit breaker’.

He told LBC’s Andrew Marr he would impose more taxes on warehouses to allow pubs to lower their prices, ‘breathing life back into the High Street’ and help small businesses.

Asked about the gap in defense spending, Mr Burnham, pictured after his interview, admitted he did not have ‘full details’ on costs after a deficit of up to £15bn was reported.

Asked how he would deal with welfare spending, he said: ‘I’m not going to make drastic cuts to benefit levels, which would push people into even worse poverty, which often creates a backlash, and understandably so.’

Instead, he said he would focus on reforming the education system, offering job placements to young people and building council houses to reduce the number of ‘neets’ (young people not in education, employment or training).

Admitting that his generation of politicians had ‘failed’, he vowed to end the culture of political point-scoring.

‘You can’t point fingers when you yourself are not good enough, and I would say all politicians are not good enough,’ he said.

‘I think my generation of politicians have failed in many ways because the country is not where it needs to be at the moment. The country needs to stand up.’

Elsewhere, he said he would end the use of the whip to force MPs to line up and have different Labor factions in his Cabinet.

He also promised to work with other parties, reiterating his previous claims to nationalize utilities such as water and energy and end “trickle-down” economics.

He promised to base ‘No 10 North’ on a new digital campus in Piccadilly, Manchester, and work from there.

Although Mr Burnham is seen as prime minister-in-waiting, he has kept a low profile since winning the Makerfield by-election.

He is expected to take the top job without having to enter a leadership contest and become prime minister as soon as July 20.

The former mayor gave a major speech earlier this week in which he refused to take questions from the media.

Burnham had a ‘Defense Management Plan’

He has yet to expand on any of his plans for government beyond saying he would create a ‘No 10 North’ and hand over power to someone other than Whitehall.

Reporters were told in advance that they would not take questions; This was a highly unusual move for a major political speech and led to accusations that he had evaded scrutiny.

He also held a victory rally after his midterm election victory but was accused of running away from reporters who tried to ask him questions.

His last interview was with ITV and Channel 4 about a month ago on 9 June, but this interview was focused solely on his local campaign rather than his national exposure.

As a result, it is not clear what the future prime minister’s plans for the government will be.

This week he tweeted in response to Kemi Badenoch, who said Labor had dumped Sir Keir for ‘a pair of eyelashes and a black t-shirt’.

He also intervened in the case of Shabir Ahmed, the 73-year-old leader of the notorious Rochdale grooming gang, who was released from prison today.

He said “nothing is off the table” while saying he would ask senior ministers to “consider all possible options” after it emerged the rapist could not be deported to Pakistan.

Speculation continues over who he will appoint to his future cabinet, with suggestions that former health secretary Wes Streeting could become chancellor.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood have also been put forward for the role, but more recent reports suggest he will remain in the Home Office.

Other names such as former foreign secretary David Miliband, former transport secretary Lou Haigh and former housing minister Miatta Fahnbulleh are also likely to take part.

But MPs issued a warning to Mr Burnham that Mr Miliband should not have more women in senior roles.