Andy Burnham admits first Budget as prime minister was 'not ideal'

Andy Burnham has said his first Budget as prime minister was not as radical as he wanted it to be, admitting he had less "room for manoeuvre" than he had hoped for. ITV News' Daniel Hewitt sat down with the prime minister as part of a new documentary in which he was granted unprecedented behind-the-scenes access during his first 100 days in power. The ITV Tonight special, 'Burnham: Inside The First 100 Days', which airs on November 3, will feature the PM's opening hours in Downing Street, his debut at Prime Minister’s Questions, and the reckoning of his first Budget.

Speaking ahead of its release, Burnham shared his thoughts on welfare cuts, future plans for a general election, and his relationship with his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer. Play Brightcove video The Budget Fresh after the "breathing space" Budget , Burnham was asked if he felt he had kept his promise to unveil a radical plan for Britain's economy on Wednesday. "The room for manoeuvre wasn't what I would have hoped it to be. I guess then the question is, you know, radical within what we were able to do," Burnham said.

He continued: "In the times that we're currently in, I feel that the volatility of things means you just can't necessarily deliver the Budget that in an ideal world you would want to deliver. "But within it, I think we've stayed a course through very difficult times." Asked if the Budget was the one he wanted to deliver, Burnham said: "In the times that we’re currently in, I feel that the volatility of things means you just can’t necessarily deliver the Budget that in an ideal world you would want to deliver.

"You know, obviously in other countries we’ve seen some of the protests, in France particularly. What we didn’t want to do is create an extra sense of uncertainty or volatility. " Burnham said he would reveal his 10-year plan for Britain by the end of the year, which will be a "radical moment" and more important for laying out his vision for the nation. He said the plan will be about "public control" of essential things that shape people's lives and drive the economy, like energy and reindustrialisation.

"We're working on it now," he said. "The Budget was never going to bear the weight of all the change the country needs. "We've been in a position where things have got steadily worse for the last decade. I have always been clear that one event couldn't completely take you away from that." Play Brightcove video Welfare cuts Burnham said earlier on Thursday the government is working “flat out” to cut the ballooning cost of welfare, but he told Daniel Hewitt, that while he "of course" wants to bring expenditure down, the issue should be reframed to be about getting more people into work.

"I don't actually want to see anyone in their 20s on benefits," he said. "I just don't think that's a good place to be, unless people can't be in work for reasons due to disability or whatever else it might be, I want security to be available to them. "But you've got to come at it the other way and say what's best for people. How do we build a Britain where everyone is contributing, where everyone's playing their part?" Burnham said helping people into a "sustainable position" would make "significant" savings from the benefit system, while coming at it from a "numbers way" and making cuts could "throw people into crisis".

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning. He also rejected reaction from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) on Thursday, which said the Budget had paved the way for "brutal" cuts on the horizon, stating that he was pioneering a different approach to get young people into work. "Radical changes are needed in the way we support young people. Because at the moment, as they grow up and they go through their teenage years, they can't have mental health needs; at the moment they're left to wait months or even years," Burnham said.

"They're in a school system that is overly focused on the university route and doesn't give pass for young people who want to move towards work and get technical qualifications. "We have an approach that doesn't support people when they need it, and then pays billions to sustain them in an unproductive position." He added: "I'm not shying away from the need to get the welfare bill down. I want a very different way of running things, so that we have a country that supports people when they need it and doesn't leave them in crisis."

Play Brightcove video No election in 2027 Earlier this month, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch suggested Burnham may call an early election, but Burnham has ruled that out for 2027. "No election in 2027," he said. He added: "I said that really, really plainly yesterday. I'll say it again, today to you. And the reason I say that is because I am not coming into this job full of political calculation in terms of, what do I need to do for how it benefits me, or the party.

"I come into the job genuinely feeling that the country needs a really clear change in terms of the way politics has been done because we're in a messy position. "If we're constantly going into new elections and the cycle of elections is then further frustrating the process of change, then I just wouldn't be doing my job. "I'm in the position where I want to lay out what a good 10-year plan looks like for the country, make a start on it, and then at the right moment, seek a mandate to deliver it in full."

Government working flat out to reduce welfare bill, PM says after cost warnings Chancellor says 'no government can completely offset' cost of living pressures The Labour manifesto Burnham inherited the 2024 Labour manifesto, having become prime minister without election. Asked if he felt "hemmed in" by it, he said "many" of his policies were in the document. "If you're asking me a very direct question, if I had held the pen on the current Labour manifesto, would I have written it exactly like it is?

Well, no is the answer to that question," he said. "But having said that, I'm not distancing myself because there's lots of strong policies in there that, to be honest, I probably played a role in bringing into that manifesto, around huge devolution. "And credit to Keir Starmer when he was prime minister and Rachel Reeves chancellor, they really drove that devolution agenda forward. The National Care Service is in there. There's plenty in there for me to work with."

Play Brightcove video Keir Starmer Burnham stepped into Number 10 as prime minister on July 20, following the resignation of Starmer. But despite reports to the contrary, he says the pair remain on good terms. Asked if he had spoken to his predecessor in the past 100 days, Burnham: "Yes, we've exchanged messages, and we've always had a good working relationship. "We obviously had differences, at times, for certain. But, yeah, I do keep in touch with people."

He also revealed he had sent a message to the former chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in the "last few days" amid his first budget as PM. The Tonight special Burnham: Inside The First 100 Days will be broadcast on ITV 1, ITVX and STV at 7.15pm on Tuesday, November 3. From Westminster to Washington DC - our political experts are across all the latest key talking points. Listen to the latest episode below...