Andy Burnham tells PMQs chancellor is ‘looking at’ cutting gas bills – as it happened

UK Politics Andy Burnham tells PMQs chancellor is ‘looking at’ cutting gas bills – as it happened The prime minister says relief on bills could come as soon as the budget next week as he faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs Steven Swinford , Political Editor , Ben Clatworthy , Whitehall Editor , Aubrey Allegretti , Chief Political Correspondent , Geraldine Scott , Assistant Political Editor , and Sam Rucker Wednesday October 21 2026, 2.17pm BST , The Times Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save UK Parliament What you need to know Andy Burnham has asked the chancellor to look at removing standing charges from gas bills Kemi Badenoch accuses the prime minister of failing to make “tough decisions” on the economy amid rising inflation and borrowing costs The Tory leader said Labour been “faffing” around before approving the biggest new British gasfield in almost a decade The prime minister said he had “concerns” over Ukraine’s Starlink access Join our politics team in the comments below to have your questions answered after PMQs and listen to the latest updates on Times Radio AS IT HAPPENED PMQs 34 minutes ago 2:08pm October 21 Watch Burnham take on Badenoch during PMQs 55 minutes ago 1:48pm October 21 Trump says North Sea drilling will make UK ‘wealthy again’ President Trump has praised Labour’s decision to approve new drilling off the coast of Aberdeen. “Great news for the wealth and prosperity of the United Kingdom, and the wonderful region of Aberdeen. The UK has started drilling in the North Sea, one of the greatest and most prosperous areas of OIL in the World. They should go FULL BLAST!!! This will make the UK very wealthy again,” he posted on Truth Social. The US president, whose grandmother was born in Scotland, has long urged both Andy Burnham and his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer to drill more in the North Sea. However the approval given on Jackdaw was for gas, not oil drilling, as his post suggests. Trump concluded his social media post by urging the UK to “TAKE DOWN THE COSTLY AND RIDICULOUS WINDMILLS!” Toby Melville/Reuters 1 hour ago 1:24pm October 21 Budget 2026 predictions: what tax changes can we expect? Jack Barnett , Economics Correspondent The chancellor faces a challenging economic backdrop for his budget on October 28, squeezed by borrowing costs at a 30-year high, inflation at a year high of 3.5 per cent due to the Iran war, record fuel prices and annual debt interest set to top £100bn. There has been much speculation over how much John Healey’s “fiscal headroom” has been eroded. The buffer the government has before breaking its own budget and borrowing rules looks to have dropped by at least £10bn from nearly £24bn at the spring statement in March. If Healey gets it wrong, Andy Burnham’s honeymoon period as prime minister could come to an abrupt end. Below, we examine what policy changes the chancellor could announce. Read in full: Budget 2026 predictions: what tax changes can we expect? Advertisement 1 hour ago 1:15pm October 21 Speaker berates MPs for handling of Jackdaw announcement The Speaker has criticised the government for announcing its decision to approve drilling in the North Sea to the media before telling MPs. Sir Lindsay Hoyle also condemned Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, for failing to make a statement about Jackdaw to the House on the issue. Lindsay said: “It is simply not good enough that it was trailed by the press last night and announced all over the media this morning by the secretary of state before it could be properly scrutinised in this House.” He added: “I’m sure there will be a leak inquiry, or is it that this department is deliberately briefing out to the media?” Energy minister Michael Shanks, who was present in the chamber ahead of his statement on Jackdaw, said he would take the comments back to his department. 2 hours ago 12:54pm October 21 Badenoch asks if PM will ‘bottle it like Starmer’ Responding to Kemi Badenoch’s concerns over Labour’s handling of the economy, Andy Burnham claimed the UK economy was “getting stronger and stronger”. The Tory leader then asked whether he would follow the Conservatives’ plan to cut costs or “bottle it, just like Keir Starmer did”. Burnham said “there are signs of growing strength in the British economy”, before referring to the “disastrous” Liz Truss mini-budget which he said “people in this country, British households, are still paying the price” for. “She may notice that there is a situation ongoing in the Middle East where we don’t have full control … of that situation. But what I can say to her, the fundamentals of the British economy are getting stronger and stronger under this government,” the prime minister added. 2 hours ago 12:45pm October 21 PM has ‘concerns’ about Ukraine Aubrey Allegretti , Chief Political Correspondent Andy Burnham declined to directly criticise President Trump, after the Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, quoted reports that Elon Musk directly advised the US president to throttle access to Starlink. Ukraine said it was temporarily unable to properly use the service to track and defend itself against Russian missiles. Davey said that “directly aiding Putin in this way is beyond the pale” and called on the UK to take a “tougher approach” to standing up to Trump. Burnham said that “of course I have concerns about any move that diminishes the military capability of Ukraine”. He said the situation was “fragile” and he was working to “bring back all sides to get the support behind president Zelenskyy and Ukraine”. Advertisement 2 hours ago 12:35pm October 21 Approach to Jackdaw is neat political strategy Oliver Wright , Policy Editor Burnham has said tax revenues brought in from the Jackdaw field will allow the government to invest in renewable energy. This suggests that in the long term ministers want to shift the burden of the transition to renewables from bills (where they are largely funded at present) and onto general taxation. It is quite a neat political strategy as it should allow ministers to cut energy bills — or at least stop them from rising further — and give them an answer to environmentalists. 2 hours ago 12:28pm October 21 Burnham not making ‘tough decisions’ on economy, says Badenoch Oliver Wright , Policy Editor After some questions on Jackdaw and the government’s energy strategy, Kemi Badenoch has moved onto attacking Burnham on welfare and the economy. She accused him of failing to control borrowing and reducing welfare payments. She also criticised him for announcing a crackdown on loud music on public transport rather than taking the “tough decisions” needed. Burnham said he was not going to apologise for “doing the small things” that could improve people’s lives, but said he also took difficult decisions as well. He cited his pledge to reform social care and reform the triple lock, saying he had “grasped the nettle” unlike previous Conservative governments. 2 hours ago 12:24pm October 21 PM says Tories to blame for ‘messing up’ decision on Jackdaw Aubrey Allegretti , Chief Political Correspondent Andy Burnham accused the Conservatives of having “messed up” the initial decision on Jackdaw as he batted away suggestions that Labour had moved too slowly. Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader, said there had been jobs, time and money wasted in the years since the initial licence was granted in 2022. She argued that every barrel of oil produced in the UK was vital to avoid profits being made by President Putin. Burnham claimed however that the Conservatives “messed up” the initial quasi-judicial decision — and that his energy secretary had properly ensured the decision was “consistent” with legal green targets. Advertisement 2 hours ago 12:17pm October 21 Labour to ‘look at’ removing standing charges from gas bills Oliver Wright , Policy Editor Andy Burnham said he has asked the chancellor to look at removing standing charges from gas bills. The standing charge is a fixed daily fee paid on bills regardless of how much gas someone uses. It is currently about 30p a day. Ministers believe removing the charges would help the poorest households, who use less gas. It is possible that the move could be announced as soon as the budget next week. 2 hours ago 12:15pm October 21 Badenoch: Labour was ‘faffing’ on gasfield approval Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the opposition, at first congratulated the prime minister on approving Jackdaw, the biggest new British gasfield in the North Sea. However, she accused Labour of “faffing” around before giving it the green light. “Britain cannot be a serious player on the world stage if the government did this for two and a half years over approving a single licence,” she said. “We have the resources, the expertise and the people. What we have lost is the confidence to make tough decisions. “So will the prime minister now overturn Labour’s ban on all new oil and gas licences?” 3 hours ago 12:06pm October 21 PMQs begins The prime minister has opened PMQs by acknowledging the state visit by Oman yesterday and paying tribute on the anniversary of the Aberfan disaster. More than 100 children died in 1966 after the collapse of a colliery spoil tip in south Wales. Kemi Badenoch is about to pose her first question. Advertisement 3 hours ago 11:56am October 21 Live from Lobby — ask your questions now Oliver Wright , Policy Editor I’ll be going below the line after PMQs to respond to any questions or comments you may have. It is likely to be a busy session. With just a week to go until the budget the government is today grappling with bad economic news: inflation and government borrowing have surged to their highest level this year, and the UK’s debt exceeded £3trn for the first time. Ministers have also finally given the go-ahead to the Jackdaw North Sea gas platform — which could rile some of Andy Burnham’s backbenchers. Let me know how you think it’s gone: all and any comments or questions are welcome. 3 hours ago 11:39am October 21 Public debt exceeds £3trn for first time Jack Barnett , Economics Correspondent The new ONS figures also showed that between April and September, the government borrowed nearly £100bn, £6bn higher than the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast at the March spring statement, although it was down by £4.4bn compared to the same period last year. Public debt exceeded £3trn for the first time, the ONS said, although as a proportion of the economy, debt was lower than a year earlier. The government paid £10.9bn in interest on public debt in September, the highest amount for that specific month since records began in 1997 and up from £8.9bn in the previous month. Read in full: UK inflation and borrowing hit highest level this year 3 hours ago 11:28am October 21 Inflation linked to Gulf conflict Jack Barnett , Economics Correspondent Experts said that the jump in inflation the chancellor will now have to contend with was primarily driven by an increase in petrol and diesel prices , linked to the ongoing disruption to global fuel markets caused by the Gulf conflict, now nearly in its ninth month. Grant Fitzner, chief economist at the ONS, said: “Inflation climbed notably in September to its highest annual rate in almost a year. Increased fuel prices were again the main driver, with the cost of diesel the highest since July 2022. “Other upward pressures included airfares and, to a lesser extent, computer games and live events, which are often volatile.” He added that smaller increases in the cost of hotel stays compared to last year tempered the rise in headline inflation. Advertisement 4 hours ago 11:06am October 21 Minister refuses to say whether she backs migrant crackdown Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, has repeatedly refused to say she backed the home secretary’s plans to extend the time before foreign workers can claim permanent residence in the UK. Shabana Mahmood is currently