General · 1 July 2026
Burnham inherits £4.7bn defence funding gap
Andy Burnham must allocate an additional £4.7 billion to defence in his inaugural budget, following Keir Starmer's recently announced £298 billion plan. Sources close to Burnham said he wasn't told about the funding gap when briefed, with one ally calling it an “unexploded bomb.” The overall package over four years includes £47 billion for new nuclear submarines and £5 billion more for drones.
Reported by The Guardian · How we write briefs