Andy Burnham's Government cause '£49bn black hole in UK finances'

Kemi Badenoch has claimed that John Healey has left the UK facing a staggering £49bn black hole that will demand significant tax hikes to plug. The Conservative party leader warned that Labour would need to raise taxes by £1,700 per household every year by the 2030/31 financial year to fund its unfunded spending commitments. Badenoch took particular aim at the Chancellor, accusing him of failing to explain how he would meet his defence spending target of three per cent of GDP, arguing there would be an £11bn shortfall in the 2030/31 tax year.

"Rather than setting out how we will find the funding...which the Chancellor once said he was certain Britain needed for our own security, we just had vague commitments," Badenoch wrote in The Telegraph. Beyond the Budget, Burnham has also pledged to establish a National Care Service, which economists predict could cost up to £18bn annually, as reported by City AM . The prime minister unveiled plans to tweak the triple lock from 2030, effectively creating a double lock, using the savings to bankroll the new service, though this is not expected to fully cover Burnham's ambitions.

Combined with plans for council housing, Badenoch has accused Healey of creating a "£49bn black hole at the heart of the public finances". Badenoch said: "Who's going to pay for it? The prime minister gave the game away on Friday when he said he would have written the 2024 manifesto differently. Let me translate that. He wishes he had more room to raise taxes even further." She went on to accuse prime minister Andy Burnham of failing to make "tough decisions in the national interest", instead "putting them off".

She said: "After 100 days in office, all Burnham has got is a plan to publish a plan at some point...either they'll have to do another Budget, perhaps before an early election, or families are in for a nasty shock." Badenoch also took aim at Labour's tax hikes, with Healey's predecessor raising taxes on homes, pensions and farms, while Healey himself pushed up taxes on savings, rental properties and banks. The Conservative leader linked Labour's tax rises to the party's inability to shake its "welfare addiction".

"The country is living well beyond its means, but Andy Burnham and John Healey are making it worse," Badenoch said. "This Government is kicking the can down the road to the end of Parliament, pretending that the same Labour MPs who blocked Keir Starmer's tiny welfare savings are going to allow spending cuts right before a general election ."