Andy Burnham Says He Has Not Ruled Out Wealth Tax

Andy Burnham said he has not ruled out a wealth tax as he prepares to become prime minister on Monday. BBC News reported that the Labour MP made the comments in an interview with Gary Lineker. Burnham said he would take time to review the state of the public finances.

He added that he wanted to focus on bringing people together rather than creating new divisions. "I'm not going rule things out right now," he said. " The former Greater Manchester mayor said decisions to be taken in time were going to be difficult.

"You know, we are going to have to work quite hard to make sure, you know, we can pay our way," Burnham said. "And at some point that might be having to ask for a little more. But, you know, those decisions are not for now.

Burnham won a by-election in Makerfield last month and declared his intention to replace Sir Keir Starmer as Labour leader and prime minister. In an earlier LBC interview he said he felt there was some room for movement on tax. He suggested business rates on warehouses could be increased to fund tax cuts for pubs and some high-street businesses.

Burnham said he would stick to the pledges Labour made not to raise VAT, income tax or national insurance in its 2024 general election manifesto. BBC News reported that proposals for a wealth tax include a 2% levy on assets over £10m backed by Oxfam and Tax Justice UK. The Green Party of England and Wales backs a 1% annual levy on assets above £10m and 2% on assets above £1bn.

Reform UK's Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said Burnham had admitted people will have to pay more in tax. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Burnham was already talking about raising taxes again. Burnham also said he would meet US President Donald Trump where he's at and deal with him very upfront.