Overview
- Mr Burnham told the BBC in a major interview on Sunday that he would publicly challenge President Trump when Britain’s national interest required it.
- He ruled out an early general election and said there will be no poll before 2029, insisting he will govern under the 2024 manifesto rather than seek a fresh mandate.
- The prime minister pledged to find money to fill gaps in the Defence Investment Plan but declined to set a timetable for reaching 3% of GDP on defence spending.
- Burnham has launched No 10 North and introduced cost-of-living measures such as cutting VAT on household electricity, a £2 bus cap and a 20% business rate cut for pubs, measures that industry groups say will deliver only modest savings and that do not apply to Northern Ireland.
- He named John Healey as chancellor, faces urgent questions about how a promised National Care Service would be funded, and must respond to independent analysis that a full free social care system could cost about £18.5bn a year by 2035-36.