Jeremy Kyle unpacks Andy Burnham's first 100 days in No.10 Downing Street and while a fresh YouGov poll gives him a solid 46% approval rating—well ahead of what his recent predecessors managed at this stage—the real honeymoon test arrives tomorrow. Chancellor John Healey steps up to deliver his first major Budget.
That said, Number 10 is already spending the morning on the back foot. Downing Street aides have been scrambling to walk back comments made by the Prime Minister on free movement, following reports that the UK has been holding talks with Brussels. It’s Burnham’s latest awkward blunder, coming just a couple of weeks after a climbdown over Russian interference in the Brexit vote.
Meanwhile, Reform UK has been pitching its own answer to the nation's finances, promising £80 billion in savings by 2030 in what they’re calling their "Teal Budget." But the launch didn't quite go to plan. Nigel Farage admitted the party needs to win back ground after a rough summer, bluntly blaming his own staff's "incompetence" for leaving him to unveil the package to a half-empty room.
Back in Whitehall, Labour is defending itself against serious claims that it cooked the books on defence spending figures, sparking calls for an official inquiry. Making matters worse for the Ministry of Defence, questions are being asked over how a cash-strapped department managed to find £3 million to fund 50 diversity officers instead of putting that money toward frontline troops.
Turning back to tomorrow’s Budget, the mood across the country has clearly shifted. Almost half of you now say you’d rather see tax cuts than higher public spending, with the squeezed middle feeling the pinch. Chancellor Healey has already told his Cabinet to find departmental cuts to weather an impending "economic storm," while anger is mounting over mooted tax changes that could leave retirees with private pensions paying an extra £200.
Over at New Scotland Yard, the Met is facing severe embarrassment over how it handled serious child sex abuse claims regarding Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle. It turns out detectives actually misplaced a key dossier and had to contact Meghan to ask if she still had a copy—even as officers insist no stone will be left unturned. This comes as reports suggest Meghan herself is heading abroad for several weeks to host a major new television series.
Overseas, the King has faced vocal demonstrations on his Caribbean tour, with protesters gathering in Antigua to demand formal apologies and financial reparations for historic transatlantic slavery.
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