Rachel Reeves just torpedoed UK - and she's about to sink Andy Burnham too. Britain may be on course for a new PM, but he'll inherit exactly the same problem as the current one. By Harvey Jones 10:00, Fri, Jun 19, 2026 Updated: 10:03, Fri, Jun 19, 2026
Today's borrowing figures should seriously alarm Rachel Reeves. Andy Burnham will be all smiles this morning as he uses his victory in the Makerfield by-election to muscle Sir Keir Starmer out of Number 10. He should also be alarmed by today's borrowing figures, which reveal the disastrous state of the public finances after nearly two years of Labour.
Reeves borrowed a shattering £23.3 billion in May, far more than forecast. That's the highest May figure on record, with the sole exception of the Covid pandemic. And it comes at a time when the national debt is almost £3 trillion. And the more I look at today's numbers, the worse they get. Especially for Burnham.
The King of the North is popular today but he could swiftly find himself just as unpopular as the current PM. Starmer was swept to power on a wave of anger at the Tories, who left a dire economic legacy for Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Unfortunately, almost everything she's done in power has only made it worse. And she will heap an even more disastrous legacy onto Burnham's shoulders. It could sink him, almost before he's begun.
In May 2025, Reeves borrowed £17.9 billion. This year she somehow managed to borrow £5.4 billion more, despite repeatedly claiming she's restored stability to the public finances. Much of that money isn't even funding new services. In May, Britain spent £11.7 billion servicing the national debt. Let's put that into perspective. The Government is struggling to find £28 billion for defence. That's equivalent to little more than two months of debt interest payments.
Much of the debt was accumulated under Gordon Brown and successive Tory chancellors. The Iran war has also made life harder for Reeves. But she's conspicuously failed to bring the deficit under control, despite hitting taxpayers with roughly £70 billion a year in extra taxes. We're on course to borrow another £140 billion this year, possibly more.
Reeves is spending heavily on debt interest, public services, investment projects and welfare. That's a major blow for Burnham because he was hoping to do exactly the same, only on a more heroic scale. He's been tossing out expensive pledges throughout his leadership bid, from nationalisation to social care to compensation for Waspi women. He's also talked about wealth taxes, higher council tax, a new land tax and raid on inheritances.
In a moment of economic madness, he foolishly suggested Labour needed to "get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets." There's only one way to achieve that. Stop borrowing so much money from them. But if Burnham is to fulfill even half of his promises, and keep Labour MPs happy, he will have to borrow more.
Once in power, Burnham is expected to sack Reeves. The most likely replacement is Ed Miliband. That should terrify everyone. His net zero charge is destroying jobs and deindustrialising Britain, driving up our energy bills. If Red Ed was given the whole UK economy to play with, it could end in catastrophe.
Bond investors are already nervous about the prospect of a Burnham government pursuing even more spending and borrowing. If they lose confidence, the cost of servicing Britain's mountain of debt will climb even further. Burnham is a likeable bloke who likes to be liked. Rachel Reeves probably isn't so keen, but she'll leave behind a nasty parting shot. Her economic legacy will torpedo Burnham on day one. Hopefully it will sink the good ship Miliband too.
Up Next: Rachel Reeves in new UK economy nightmare as bombshell figures make grim reading.
