Andy Burnham said the quiet part out loud today, suggesting that he values benefits more than national security. In an absolute gift to the Tories and Reform, Burnham remarked during PMQs:
Can I say to the Rt Hon lady, yes, we do everything to support our national security. But it can’t come at the expense of social security. Having strong national security also depends on having resilience in our communities.
The Prime Minister later insisted that he wants to bring down the bloated benefits bill. As for when he might get around to doing so, Burnham obviously offered no indication.
The Prime Minister also repeatedly berated the Tory proposal to divert £4bn from social housing into defence. As Kemi Badenoch pressed him on where the government intended to find the money, he replied: ‘Let’s get to the heart of this question as she asks me to do and what is the right way to fund defence, and yes, bring the welfare budget down. So she would make crude cuts to housing benefits and as I said if you take £4bn out in the next few years you will make families homeless. You will increase rough sleeping on our streets. So here’s the Labour way, the way we do it on this side of the House.’
The Labour way, it seems, is to promise both guns and butter – while refusing to admit who will pick up the bill.
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