Kemi Badenoch ended her flirtation with Andy Burnham at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, launching a fierce attack on the government's defence spending. The leader of the opposition questioned whether Mr Burnham will fund defence at three percent of GDP, a commitment that prompted John Healey – now the chancellor – to quit as defence secretary under Keir Starmer.
Defence Spending Under Fire
Mr Burnham said the UK will reach 3.5 percent by 2035, but many experts have warned that this is too late at a time of unprecedented danger on the global stage. A date for the three percent defence funding, however, will be announced in the government's spending review.
Mr Healey wasn't sitting in his usual spot on the front bench. Instead, he stood at the end of the chamber, his arms folded and a Mona Lisa expression on his face, suggesting he may have a few goodies packed away in his red briefcase.
One-Upmanship and Welfare Cuts
For a Prime Minister who talks a lot about “problem solving than point scoring”, Mr Burnham couldn't help but get into a bit of one-upmanship himself. Last week, he raised Liz Truss's controversial 2022 budget. This time, he claimed Ms Badenoch does not hold the 'moral high ground' when defence spending was just 2.3 percent of GDP under the Conservatives.
The Tories want Labour to slash the welfare bill, with Ms Badenoch raising the genuine threats from Argentina over the Falklands Islands and from Russia in the North Sea. The PM is funding Keir Starmer's £35bn 'surrender' of the Chagos Islands, a decision which makes the UK look 'weak', said Badenoch.
“We need to fund our defence, not spend all of our money on welfare,” she told him. Is Mr Burnham just 'continuity Keir', she asked.
Sanctions on Israeli Settlements
There was one subject, however, where Mr Burnham did better, and that was on Israel and Palestine. The UK this week announced sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, accusing Israel's government of turning a blind eye to the 'ethnic cleansing' of Palestinians by violent settlers.
While the news is welcome among Labour MPs and much of the public (a new YouGov poll shows 52 percent of Brits support a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements), the decision has been condemned by many British Jews. The UK's chief rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, claimed the sanctions will make the Jewish community less safe.
It's also caused a major diplomatic row. Israel has retaliated with several countermeasures against the UK, including the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem and siding with Argentina over the Falklands.
It marked a major shift in Britain's foreign policy. Mr Burnham said he believed in the two state solution and Britain had to 'show leadership… to stand for fairness against injustice'. He added: “Where people are being bullied out of their homes and intimidated, we will always stand with the underdog and take what action we can to support them… That is what the British people expect of us and that is what this government will do.”
Perhaps that is why Kemi remained silent. She was unlikely to win on a policy the government largely sees as a success. But she still managed to trip up Mr Burnham on defence, where Labour is perceived as weak.
Burnham's Comfort Zone
Mr Burnham is at his best when he's discussing things in his comfort zone. It's a well known fact that he likes buses and will find a way to mention them at any given opportunity. Sure enough, he congratulated his pal Steve Rotheram, mayor of Liverpool, for bringing buses back into public control.
Mr Burnham found a way to make a personal connection to some of the towns and cities mentioned by some MPs. Warrington, according to the PM, is a 'jewel in the crown' in the north. That might come as news to its residents, given that the borough council has racked up over £1.8bn of debt, leading government ministers to intervene.
At the moment, the new PM is relying on his likeability. The SNP's Dave Doogan admitted that he does 'like' Mr Burnham but 'popularity won't pay the bills', he said, as he discussed the cost of living crisis. Perhaps Mr Burnham is starting to realise that the collegiate atmosphere in Greater Manchester doesn't exist in Westminster, and it's much harder to build the kind of consensus he saw here, as regional mayor, down in Whitehall.
