JKJames Kirkup

1. Article · Jul 4, 2026 · James Kirkup

   There’s a kind way Andy Burnham can cut welfare – here’s how (opens the original)

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   If Andy Burnham’s team are angry with Keir Starmer over a £5bn black hole in the defence budget, they’re going to be livid when they hear about our national debt of £3 trillion. The new prime minister is – like every other one in recent years – going to face a major structural challenge over Britain’s public finances. We spend more than we raise in taxes, so we borrow and pay interest on the debt. And this year, debt interest will cost something in the region of £110bn, a figure set

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