The final full week of August will bring Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s international agenda to the forefront for the first time since his election. While so far, he has committed to announcing sweeping packages of ambitious domestic reforms, he has now set his sights on the Ukraine War. Leading this week’s news reel, Burnham has arrived in Kyiv by train for his first overseas trip since taking office - timed to coincide with Ukraine's 35th independence anniversary. Burnham is chairing his first meeting of the "coalition of the willing" alongside European Council President António Costa, Moldovan President Maia Sandu and other leaders, and is expected to confirm that the UK has cleared defence firm MBDA to share classified data on British components in the SCALP missile system, paving the way for local production in Ukraine. The visit follows a deadly Russian strike on a Kyiv shopping centre last Friday that killed at least sixteen people, and lands days after Russia formally withdrew its ambassador from London without naming a successor, a move diplomats are reading as a de facto downgrading of bilateral relations, accompanied by Kremlin accusations that Britain has chosen a "path of confrontation" over its drone and missile support for Kyiv.
Domestically, the most significant structural story has been the decision to move responsibility for growth policy out of the Treasurey and into the recently formed No.10 North. This move is designed to support his commitment to driving “good growth in every postcode” by devolving power to stop Treasury's dual responsibility clouding the growth mission, although it has been suggested this also reduces the new Chancellor’s power. Burnham has openly likened the move to Harold Wilson's 1960s Department for Economic Affairs. The unit is currently staffed by former Times journalist Sam Lister as director, a handful of seconded Treasury officials, and civil servants transferred from housing and local government, with Treasury second permanent secretary Beth Russell working closely alongside them.
That Budget backdrop darkened further this week as the Office for National Statistics confirmed CPI inflation rose to 2.9% in the year to July, up from 2.6% the month before, driven by climbing energy and food costs and squeezing the fiscal headroom Healey inherited from Rachel Reeves, now estimated at closer to £10bn than the original £23.6bn cushion. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has used the figures to press Burnham to ease payroll tax burdens on business, pointing to employer hiring confidence sitting close to record lows outside the pandemic. With income tax, National Insurance and VAT still ruled out under the 2024 manifesto, attention continues to converge on capital gains tax, a possible gambling levy and fiscal drag through frozen thresholds. The ONS's releases also showed UK retail sales fell for the first time in three months, while public sector borrowing came in higher than expected for July, narrowing Chancellor John Healey’s fiscal headroom further ahead of Budget announcement at the end of October.
Finally, Burnham announced a boosted £442 million package to offer everyone sleeping rough a route off the streets by Christmas, the first major milestone as part of his early commitment to end rough sleeping. He also announced a first-of-its-kind national summit on rough sleeping, to be held in the autumn. All of these measures are set to be fully funded within existing MHCLG budgets.
Headlines
- Andy Burnham to give Ukraine missile blueprints on first trip as PM - The Times
- Burnham visits Ukraine with pledge of support for long-range missile construction – The Financial Times
- Graduates face worst jobs market on record – The Telegraph
What's on in Parliament
Parliament is currently in recess. The House of Lords returns on the 31st of August, and the House of Commons returns on the 1st of September.
Consultations
- Empowering people through data intermediaries – Closes August 31st
- Watch this space: a new strategic direction for UK media – Closes August 31st
- Data regulation in the age of AI and other data‑intensive technologies – Closes September 8th
Statistics
- Public sector finances, UK: July 2026 – 21st August
- Retail Sales; Great Britain: July 2026 – 21st August
- Qualification results in England: summer 2026 – 20th August