Nigel Farage has delivered a scathing assessment of Prime Minister Andy Burnham, questioning what he has achieved in his first 100 days in office. The Reform UK leader appeared on GB News with presenters Alex Armstrong and Ellie Costello on Tuesday, October 27, the same day Burnham marked 100 days as prime minister.
Farage's verdict on Burnham
At the end of the interview, Armstrong asked Farage for his personal take on Burnham. "I think he's perfectly pleasant, perfectly nice to talk to, I think he's a perfectly decent chap," Farage said. However, he then branded Burnham a "career politician", claiming he "goes with the wind" and tells people what they want to hear.
"He's been doing this forever. He's been doing this, I think, before both of you were born, probably. And he goes with the wind. He's a bit like a left-wing version of Boris [Johnson]. He tells the crowd what he thinks it wants to hear," Farage continued.
Brexit stance criticised
Farage claimed Burnham had initially supported the decision to leave the European Union, but is now backtracking as more people are beginning to regret it. "The country votes Brexit, he says, 'Quite right too. Free movement was all wrong, bad for my constituents.' Now he's surrounded by London and Manchester lovies, telling him people are upset with Brexit, and he says the opposite," Farage declared.
What has Burnham achieved?
Farage described Burnham as a "crowd pleaser" before criticising what he has achieved in his first 100 days in office. "In his first hundred days, think about what he's done. He's cut bus fares, he's dealing with parking. These are all things that mayors do," Farage swiped.
"What's he actually done in 100 days for the country? Very, very little. And we will contrast that, whether it comes on December 10th or next May, or whenever it is, we will contrast that with our pledges for what we will do in the first 100 days." He insisted that Reform will stop the boats, cut energy bills and much more.
The comments come after Burnham's pledge to end a cliff edge in benefits faced by unpaid carers as part of a cost-of-living package announced on the eve of the Autumn Budget. Chancellor John Healey is expected to end the Carers' Allowance cliff edge on Wednesday, when he announces the Autumn Budget. The cliff edge has penalised unpaid carers for going over their earnings limit, even by as little as a few pence per week. The sudden end in support for breaching the limit, widely described as a scandal by campaigners, will be replaced by a taper, so the benefit will decrease by £1 for every additional pound earned.
