The tax and spending choices facing Andy Burnham

Andy Burnham is preparing to enter Downing Street, but he will inherit a government facing tight fiscal constraints and a series of difficult decisions.The public finances remain under pressure, debt interest spending is high, and commitments not to raise the main rates of income tax, National Insurance or VAT limit some of the most obvious ways of raising revenue. At the same time, the new Prime Minister will need to make choices about departmental spending, defence, welfare, social care and the cost of living.How much flexibility will Burnham have over taxes, borrowing and public spending? Which commitments could be maintained, and which might need to be scaled back? And will a change of Prime Minister create space for a different economic strategy - or reveal the same underlying constraints?Christine Farquharson is joined by IFS colleagues Max Warner and Tom Waters to examine the economic choices facing the incoming Prime Minister.Become a member: https://ifs.org.uk/individual-membershipFind out more: https://ifs.org.uk/podcasts-explainers-and-calculators/podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.