Burnham says 10-year plan will be presented before Christmas recess

Prime Minister Andy Burnham told MPs on 11 November 2026 that his government will present its 10-year plan for Britain before the Commons breaks for Christmas. The Guardian reported that the timetable points to mid-December.

Answering questions from Kemi Badenoch at prime minister's questions, the weekly Commons session in which MPs put questions to the prime minister, Burnham said the plan would come before the Commons Christmas recess. That break, the period when MPs leave Westminster for the holidays, begins on 17 December. "We will present our plan for Britain to this house before it rises for the Christmas recess," he told the House.

Burnham first made the commitment in his first speech as prime minister in July 2026, when he said he would bring forward a new 10-year plan for Britain later in the year. Earlier in November, in an interview with The Economist, he had said the timetable might slip. "We may go into the new year," he said, adding that the plan could arrive in "December or January."

Burnham also told MPs that the second part of the Milburn report, which examines young people and worklessness (the number of people who are out of work), was being published next week.

At the same session, Badenoch set out plans to cut £36bn a year from the social security budget, the state's spending on benefits.