Is Starmer trying to screw Burnham before he even starts?
7/1/202635 min
Everyone understands the need to leave on a high - whether it’s Prime Ministerial legacy or a sense of completing the job.
But the new defence investment plan that Starmer's signed off leaves Burnham with an unexploded bomb in the shape of a five billion pound debt.
Does Burnham stick to the plan? Or does he rip it up? And how does he fill the hole if he goes along with it?
We ask TUC secretary general Paul Nowak what unions want from a Burnham premiership.
The News Agents is a Global production.
The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 1· Soundbite0:00
[electronic jingle] This is a global production.
Jon Sopel· Host0:04
In that question and that answer, all the reasons why Keir Starmer, in a few weeks time, is no longer going to be prime minister.
Lewis Goodall· Host0:13
It's dog ate my homework stuff.
Jon Sopel· Host0:15
Yeah.
Lewis Goodall· Host0:15
I mean, it really is. It's that threadbare, a nearly dead government having to pretend that it's not nearly dead, and a prime minister who is making decisions about things who frankly has no authority to do. That shouldn't be how political decisions are made. And so I don't think it's malice from Starmer or anything like that, not at all. I don't think that would be, would be it. I think it is this, this ridiculous situation with the defense investment plan is a byproduct of the overall ridiculous situation we're in, which is that Keir Starmer is still in.
Emily Maitlis· Host0:41
You don't need to rush this. Nobody else is asking- Yeah ... for this to actually get done within the next two weeks. I mean, we do have such a thing as the wheels of government. We have a whole civil service. We have a whole array of men and women who can actually fill in the missing gaps, you know. That is, that is the point of, of the sort of the back office of government, if you like. It's not all down to one man.
Jon Sopel· Host1:03
Sure. I'm not defending Starmer in all of this. I think Starmer is the author of all of this. This is, it's a year overdue. If you haven't got the detail now, when are you gonna get the detail?
Speaker 5· Soundbite1:11
Even the limited plan that he has announced has completely unraveled because he hasn't found the money to pay for it. It is five billion pounds short. We all know that he is leaving this mess to his successor, so can he confirm that the member for Makerfield