It's time to get real about the need to cut spending, ally tells Burnham

Burnham is a tax and spend socialist when there's nothing left to tax or spend: DAN HODGES See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 19:22 EDT, 2 September 2026 | Updated: 20:55 EDT, 2 September 2026 Andy Burnham was branded a 'people pleaser' rather than a leader yesterday, while his allies warned him to 'get real' on controlling public spending.During clashes in the Commons, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch described the Prime Minister as a 'spendthrift' who 'wants to say yes to everyone'.'I think it's delightful that he wants to make everyone happy,' she told laughing MPs, 'but a prime minister needs to be a leader, not a people pleaser'.Mr Burnham pointed out he had delivered two modest tax cuts in his first few weeks, including removing VAT from energy bills.But he refused to rule out tax hikes in next month's Budget following warnings that a surge in the Government's borrowing costs could blow a £14billion hole in the public finances.Long-term supporter Jim O'Neill, a former minister and Goldman Sachs economist who recently turned down a job advising the PM, warned that mortgage rates could soar as the UK is punished for its lack of a 'sensible fiscal strategy'.He insisted Mr Burnham must 'get real' on issues such as welfare and state pensions, and that his speech to the Commons earlier this week had been the 'last thing' markets wanted to hear.Lord O'Neill told LBC: '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.' Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke during a visit to the Bayeux Tapestry Exhibition at the British Museum in London on Wednesday Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch responded after Mr Burnham made a statement to MPs in his first appearance in the House of Commons since becoming PM on TuesdayInterest rates on gilts – one of the main ways the Government borrows money – rose during Mr Burnham's statement on Tuesday, having hit multi-decade highs during the day. The flare-up in the Iran war, persistent inflation and nerves about a potential stockmarket bubble decimating AI firms have been pushing up the costs of state debt around the world, but the UK is seen as particularly vulnerable.Experts have warned that Chancellor John Healey might now need to find tax hikes – or, less likely, spending cuts – worth up to £14billion to stabilise the finances at the Budget on October 28. Mrs Badenoch said: 'The markets are clearly worried that we now have a spendthrift Prime Minister who wants to say yes to everyone but cannot tell us where the money is coming from.'He needs to pay for all his new promises, and he has a choice: higher taxes, more borrowing or spending cuts.'The former chairman of NatWest has said the UK faces 'a very dicky period' leading up to the Budget.Sir Howard Davies told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the bond sell-off did not represent 'a major crisis of confidence in the UK Government', pointing to problems with rising private debt and America's 'ballooning deficit'.But asked whether concern about Mr Burnham's approach to public spending was causing 'market jitters', he said: 'Yes, I think it is. I think we're going to see a very uncertain period for the next three or four weeks, and it would be helpful if the Government could make some signs about their overall approach to the fiscal balance.'