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Burnham says government considering removing standing charges from gas bills

Kemi Badenoch thanks Burnham for finally backing Jackdaw. The Tories approved it in 2022, she says. And rather than right the leftie activists who tried to block it in court. Labour appointed one of them as energy secretary, she says.

She asks Burnham to lift the ban on new licence applications.

Burnham says he has made a decision on something the Tories “messed up”.

He says the government has made a bridge to the future, the transition to clean energy.

He says he has asked the chancellor and the energy secretary to consider if standing charges can be removed from gas bills. They will report back “at the earliest opportunity”.

Key events

• 31m ago

  Burnham says Reform UK has not done enough in response to ITV News racism exposé about 'politics of poison' in party

• 37m ago

  Burnham backs call for mayor of Wessex, and says he wants full devolution for south-west of England

• 51m ago

  Burnham says government will consider 'further measures' Royal Mail does not improve its 'unacceptable' service

• 1h ago

  Burnham ducks Lib Dem question about whether Elon Musk should have satellite licences restricted after 'beyond the pale' help for Putin

• 1h ago

  Burnham defends Palestine Action ban, saying decision taken after 'rigorous and evidence-based process'

• 1h ago

  Burnham defends taking action on 'small things', like train noise, but says he's taking 'big decisions' too

• 1h ago

  Burnham says government considering removing standing charges from gas bills

• 2h ago

  Total UK government debt hits £3tn for first time while inflation jumps to highest in nearly a year

• 2h ago

  Burnham faces Badenoch at PMQs

• 2h ago

  Government to crack down on ‘cosmetic cowboys’

• 3h ago

  Fahnbulleh declines to back Mahmood's proposal to make some migrant workers wait 15 years for indefinite leave to remain

• 3h ago

  Climate campaigners condemn ‘maddening’ decision to approve Jackdaw gasfield

• 3h ago

  Jackdaw development will create 27 new jobs, and safeguard 273 existing ones, government says

• 4h ago

  Healey announces initial £2bn funding for Energy Wealth Fund, which will allocate some North Sea tax revenue for renewables

• 4h ago

  Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh says approving Jackdaw gasfield won't lead to cheaper energy bills

• 4h ago

  UK inflation rises by more than expected to 3.5% as war drives up fuel prices

• 5h ago

  Labour accused of ‘climate vandalism’ by Green leader Polanski after Jackdaw gasfield approved

David Davis (Con) asks if the PM would speak to the defence secretary to stop British agencies acting with “credulous complicity with our enemies trying to use lawfare against our soldiers”.

He was referring in particular to a Sunday Times report at the weekend about how SAS soldiers were hounded over “bogus allegations”.

Burnham said he would be happy to meet Davis to discuss this. He wanted to give an assurance to solidiers that the government would “always have their back” and treat them fairly.

Burnham says Reform UK has not done enough in response to ITV News racism exposé about 'politics of poison' in party

Zubir Ahmed (Lab) asked Burnham to condemn the revelations in the ITV News exposé of racism in Reform UK.

Burnham said all parties in the Commons should take a stand against racism. And he paid tribute in particular to migrant care workers.

He said MPs should “root out the politics of poison which has seeped far too far into our politics”.

And he said “the firmest of action” should be taken in reponse to these ITV revelations. But he said he was “still waiting to see the right level of action” from Reform UK.

Burnham backs call for mayor of Wessex, and says he wants full devolution for south-west of England

Edward Morello, the Lib Dem MP for West Dorset, asked Burnham if he would commit to having a mayor of Wessex by 2028.

Burnham said he would. He said he was “always happy to create more mayors”. He said he would like to see full devolution for the south-west of England. He says Cornish MPs were in No 10 North this week to speak about devolution deal.

James Cleverly (Con) said Burnham managed to increase police numbers when he was mayor of Manchester. But Sadiq Khan has not done that in London, he said.

double quotation markWhat is it that he was able to get right and that I was able to get right [when Cleverly was home secretary] but Sadiq Khan, catastrophically, has failed to get right.

Cleverly wants to be the Tory candidate for London mayor for 2028.

Burnham said this was the second time Cleverly has used PMQs to ask a question about London, not Essex, where he is an MP. He suggested Khan was constrained by lack of government support when the Tories were in office.

Jerome Mayhew (Con) asked a follow up to the question he asked last week. He asked if Burnham had a meeting scheduled with Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the Manchester City chair, scheduled in September.

Burnham said he had nothing to add to the statement he had already made.

Burnham says government will consider 'further measures' Royal Mail does not improve its 'unacceptable' service

Imogen Walker (Lab) said her constituents were suffering serious problems because Royal Mail delivery services were so bad.

Burnham replied:

double quotation markRoyal Mail’s service has been unacceptable for far too long. They have been asked in to see ministers on a regular basis. Ofcom is looking at the situation as well.

Let’s be clear, they need to bring forward a plan to restore service standards to the level they need to be up. They need to do it quickly, or we will consider further measures.

Ellie Chowns, the parliamentary leader of the Greens, asked why Burnham was “pouring more fuel on the fire of climate breakdown” by approving Jackdaw. Why did he not accept expert evidence saying fossil fuels should stay in the ground?

Burnham said the UK still needs gas. He went on:

double quotation markThere’s a big difference, between an ideological approach, which I think is what [Chowns is] putting to the house, and a pragmatic approach, which is what I am announcing today.

Burnham ducks Lib Dem question about whether Elon Musk should have satellite licences restricted after 'beyond the pale' help for Putin

Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, asked Burnham if he was going to wait until after the election until considering the case for joining the EU single market.

Burnham said at the UK-EU summit next month he would try to get a better deal covering food, energy and immigration. He went on:

double quotation markIf this house was to come together, it would give me the strongest position to go to that summit and get a good deal for.

Davey said, in the light of the PM’s position on Europe, “I feel that next week’s budget will not be the growth budget our country needs.”

He went on:

double quotation markThis week Ukraine’s defence system was seriously undermined by the US restricting access to Elon Musk’s Starlink system.

Musk says that the order came from the white House, but the Telegraph and The Wall Street Journal have revealed that must put the idea to Donald Trump himself.

Now, I understand the prime minister’s reluctance to criticise the present United States, but does he agree that directly aiding Putin in this way is beyond the pale? And will he work with European allies to prevent Elon Musk getting the licenses he wants? It would make our continent even more dependent on his satellite system.

Burnham said he had “concerns about any move that diminishes the military capability of Ukraine”. But he said the situation had to be handled carefully. The UK was working to help Ukraine, he said.

Burnham defends Palestine Action ban, saying decision taken after 'rigorous and evidence-based process'

Claire Hanna (SDLP) asks about Sally Rooney’s books not being on sale in the UK, and invites Burnham to review the Palestine Action ban.

Burnham says:

double quotation markWhen it comes to the prescription of Palestine Action, it followed a rigorous and evidence-based process that came before this house, endorsed by Parliament. The matter is alive, a legal case, so I won’t comment further than that.

Badenoch asks if Burnham will follow the Andy Haldane plan.

Burnham says “there are signs of growing strength in the British economy”. And he taunts the Tories over the mini budget.

Badenoch says Burnham is not going to cut welfare spending. Under his plans, it will go up.

She asks if he accepts his failure to cut borrowing is pushing up inflation.

Burnham again defends his social care policy. And, on welfare, he says he does not want to see people in their 20s out of work.

On inflation, he says:

double quotation mark[Badenoch] mentions inflation, though she may notice that there is a situation ongoing in the Middle East where we don’t have full control.

But I can of that situation … the fundamentals of the British economy are getting stronger and stronger under this government. We will take the right long term decisions, and she should wait for the budget, and she will see that laid out in this house.