LONDON, July 20 (Reuters) – Britain’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, said on Monday he would never take risks with the economy, re-committing to a pledge to stick to the previous government’s fiscal rules.
Burnham has promised measures to help with the cost of living while sticking to the fiscal rules, chief among them a pledge to balance day-to-day spending with revenue by the end of the decade, and to election pledges not to raise taxes on working people.
Asked how he might do more while still meeting those fiscal rules and whether that meant more borrowing in order to invest, Burnham told reporters: “I think you’ve jumped ahead a bit there because I’ve said we’ll stick to … the existing fiscal rules and use obviously any flexibility within them.
“So none of this is about taking risks with the economy. I’ve never done that in any role that I’ve had. I’ve always taken a very prudent approach.”
Earlier, in his first speech outside his new Downing Street office, Burnham indicated he would aim to reduce welfare spending to stay within the fiscal rules and meet Britain’s commitments on defence.
He offered little detail on his future policy plans but said he would try to offer people in Britain some “breathing space” from a cost-of-living crisis with immediate measures to be announced from Tuesday.
Burnham told reporters he was “finalising” the details of those measures, declining to detail what they might be.
“But we just want to do some things that people will feel and feel quite quickly,” he said.
“It won’t solve everything, it won’t take all of the pressure off, but it just shows the direction of travel and … about helping them out.”
Burnham was looking at the “personal allowance” threshold at which people start paying income tax which successive governments have frozen, dragging more people into paying tax as their incomes go up.
“It’s difficult because changing the threshold is not without significant consequences,” he said. “But I’m looking at it.”
(Reporting by Elizabeth PiperEditing by William Schomberg)
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