Reeves takes aim at Burnham’s ‘in hock to bond markets’ comment

Rachel Reeves would like to be “less in hock to the bond markets” but the nation relies on them, she has warned in an attack on Andy Burnham’s pitch for the economy.

In a Times interview, the Chancellor said she takes her job “very seriously”, adding: “When you are issuing still tens of billions a year, you need to maintain that confidence.”

Mr Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has toured the broadcast studios ahead of Labour’s annual conference and told The New Statesman the country has “got to get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer earlier this week refused to comment on Mr Burnham’s moves, saying he was “not going to get drawn in to commenting on the personal ambitions of the mayor”.

He will tell Labour activists at the Liverpool conference that now “is not time” for Labour infighting.

Ms Reeves said: “Would I like to be less in hock to bond markets? Of course I would.

“But it is the reality that we rely on those bond markets and those people participating in them to buy our debt.”

Mr Burnham has proposed the idea of “Manchesterism”, which he described as a business-friendly “aspirational socialism”.

He told The New Statesman that “when you’ve lost control of housing, energy, water, rail, buses, you’ve lost control of the basics of life, but you’ve also then lost control of costs and public spending”, and when asked by the Telegraph whether MPs had urged him to run for the top job, he revealed that “people have contacted” him.

Sir Keir has insisted he will lead the country into the next election.

Turning to this weekend’s conference, Sir Keir told the Guardian: “I will also be saying to the party, this is no time for introspection.

“You know what conference is like, thousands of people, there’s great energy, and there’s always the usual jostling for who’s up, who’s down, all the rest of it.

“This is much bigger than that.

“This goes to the heart of who we are as a country.

“We do not have time for introspection.”

Sir Keir also told the newspaper that he would “confront Reform, not ape Reform”, referring to the party led by Nigel Farage.

In his interview, the Prime Minister indicated he might be prepared to lift the two-child benefit cap.

“We’re going to bring down child poverty,” he said.

“That is the clear intent of this Government.

“It’s my clear personal intent.

“I’m very proud that the last Labour government did so obviously, we’ve got a taskforce which will report, but we will be taking measures to bring down child poverty.”

And in her interview, Ms Reeves described a youth mobility scheme with the European Union as being “good for the economy, good for growth and good for business”.

She said she wants the UK’s independent fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), “to score it”.

Ms Reeves continued: “They scored it when we left the European Union.

“They should score both the improved trade relationships that we’ve negotiated and this youth experience scheme.”

The UK already issues Youth Mobility Scheme visas to people aged between 18 and up to 35 from several countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea, Andorra, Japan and Uruguay.