Andy Burnham and John Healey have 'bottled' making the tough decisions

Andy Burnham and John Healey have 'bottled' making the tough decisions Kemi Badenoch warns that British people will be made to 'pay' for the decisions the chancellor is 'too frightened' to make. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Add us as preferred source Comments By Kemi Badenoch Conservative leader 06:00, Wed, Oct 28, 2026 Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch (Image: Philip Coburn) Before John Healey opens his red box later, I have a warning for him.

Do not make the British people pay for decisions you are too frightened to take. Businesses need confidence and room to grow, families should keep more of what they earn and our armed forces must know the money will be there when they need it - whether that's tomorrow or in 1,000 days. Last year’s Budget was for Benefit Street. This year, we can add Labour backbenchers to the priority list, whilst British businesses are still left wanting.

A concession to one hard Left faction, a tweak to reassure another. Enough to keep Labour MPs happy and Andy Burnham feeling popular. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Britain rejoins major EU scheme as Andy Burnham plots Brexit betrayal Paranoia is everywhere in Westminster - it feels a bit like Traitors Get the latest politics news - straight from our team in Westminster and more I would like to receive emails from the Daily Express featuring our latest products, services, offers, and promotions from across the Reach Plc family .

Subscribe Invalid email You agree you are 18 or over. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. You can unsubscribe at any time. More Info . The Prime Minister wants to say yes to everyone in his party, but we taxpayers cannot afford to pay for it. He goes on and on about making tough decisions, but where are they?

Labour knows the welfare system is broken. It knows too many people are being left on benefits when they could be helped into work. Yet whenever reform becomes politically uncomfortable, ministers bottle it. Then they tell taxpayers there is no alternative to paying more. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT There is an alternative. They just do not have the will to do it. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT The Prime Minister’s words and his Government’s actions are like oil and water, they do not mix.

They talk about growth whilst raising taxes on the people who invest and employ; they talk about national security whilst postponing the money needed to protect the country; they talk about welfare reform whilst refusing to cut the bill. Instead, Labour offers spending fiction. Difficult decisions are pushed into the future, with savings pencilled in to make the sums look respectable. Burnham can pencil in whatever he likes. That does not mean he will actually do it.

The benefit of using a pencil is that it can be erased with no trace. Meanwhile, our national debt has reached £3 trillion. We spend more servicing it than on schools, the Army and the police combined. That money buys no extra teachers, soldiers or police officers. It just covers the interest. Despite knowing this, Labour keeps borrowing more in our name. It spends the money, claims the credit and leaves us with the bill. Then comes the change in attitude.

Ministers who cannot say no to another spending spree come looking for someone to pay for it. Andy Burnham and John Healey (Image: Getty) Towards taxpayers, they adopt the mentality of a loan shark, circling to see who can be squeezed harder. They do not need to break your legs, but they have the power to tax you. If there was any doubt of Labour Party mentality, Pat McFadden, Labour’s own Welfare Secretary spelt it out himself, complaining that meetings with Labour MPs were about ‘who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others’.

And who gets squeezed? The business owner who risked their home to get started. The employer working weekends to keep everyone on the payroll. The people generating the wealth this Government is so eager to splash. Over the weekend, we learned that HMRC had written to hundreds of wealthier taxpayers seeking details of their assets. Everyone should pay what they owe but ministers should spend more time examining their own spending than eyeing up what everyone else owns.

And do not be fooled when Labour says it is coming after the banks. Banks lend to businesses, provide mortgages and sit in pension portfolios. A tax raid dressed up as banker-bashing can land on your doorstep through dearer borrowing and weaker pension returns. That is how a Budget designed to appease Labour MPs ends up costing everyone else. Conservatives have identified more than £70 billion in savings, with at least half going towards reducing the deficit.

John Healey has the ability to tackle welfare spending and find the money for defence, now. Not in the future, not at the delayed spending review, not on the tenth of never. He can choose to face down his backbenchers instead of coming after your pay packet. Today, we will discover whose interests he puts first. Labour Party Andy Burnham John Healey Kemi Badenoch Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Add us as preferred source Comments