Burnham does not guarantee welfare cuts before next election
Andy Burnham has said he wants to cut the welfare bill "as soon as we possibly can", but he did not guarantee that it would happen before the next general election. The next UK general election, the nationwide vote for the House of Commons, must be held by August 2029.
The welfare bill is the total cost of state benefits. The BBC reported that welfare spending is forecast to rise from £353bn this year to £431bn in 2031/32.
Asked whether he would seek to reduce the bill before the next election, Burnham said: "We want to get the welfare bill down as quickly as possible, and we're working flat out to that end." He warned against "crude cuts" and said he wants to get people into "sustainable employment". Speaking during a visit to Derby, he said the "big next priority" is publication of the Milburn report, one of two welfare reviews due later this year.
Chancellor John Healey told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that "There will be, there will be a reduction in the benefits bill, we'll do that in a Labour way". He was asked whether a cut would come before polling day, the day voters go to the polls. The Treasury disputed that Healey had suggested to the BBC that the benefits bill would be cut before the next election. In a separate pre-recorded interview, Healey said it is "simply not good for Britain or progressive to have a bigger and bigger benefits bill."
Downing Street said it was "not setting an arbitrary target or timetable" for cutting welfare spending. The prime minister's official spokesman would not say whether cutting welfare spending meant reducing it below its current level, or ensuring that future spending rises more slowly than projected.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, responding to the Budget, said the country was "overspent, overborrowed, overtaxed, and drowning in an out-of-control welfare system."
Two welfare reports are expected in November. One is a review of disability benefits, co-chaired by Sir Stephen Timms. The other is a review of young people who are not in education, employment or training, led by Alan Milburn.
