Andy Burnham latest: Labour deputy leader explains scrapping digital ID and addresses Cabinet speculation

Ahead of planned Cabinet announcements on Monday, The Times has reported Andy Burnham’s team has signalled that ministers being sacked can expect to be told on Sunday.

Loyal Starmer allies such as Peter Kyle, Liz Kendall and Steve Reed are expected to find themselves on the back benches on Monday in Mr Burnham’s shake up.

UK inflation is set to have eased last month in a welcome but temporary boost for Andy Burnham’s incoming Government ahead of a jump in the household energy price cap.

Official figures on June’s Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation will be published on Wednesday, during the week that Mr Burnham takes over as prime minister.

Some economists think a sharp drop in petrol and diesel prices will have helped pull the overall inflation rate down to 2.4 per cent in June, from 2.6 per cent in May.

Lucy Powell responded to whether Andy Burnham could renationalise Thames Water.

It comes amid reports that he intends to put the country’s biggest water company under a special administration regim.

The Labour deputy leader told Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “Well, look, let’s see. There’s lots of speculation around.

“This has been an ongoing issue and concern in government and has been around for many months now. The government has powers to bring a distressed water company under special measures, and let’s see if the government needs to – wants to – use those powers.

“We also have actually promised to bring forward a new piece of legislation around water reform as well. So there’s real opportunity there to look at how we can ensure we’ve got a sustainable water system in this country.”

Powell added that this is “something that we can all see: the privatisation of water hasn’t worked”.

She concluded: “It’s not created competition. What we’ve seen is bills going up and up and up over years and years and years of investment not being made.”

Sir Keir Starmer congratulated England’s footballers after they wrapped up their World Cup campaign and his time as prime minister with a thrilling 6-4 victory over France.

Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick with Ezri Konsa and Jude Bellingham also on target as England bounced back from their disappointment in losing to Argentina in the semi-final to clinch third place – their best World Cup finish outside winning the tournament in 1966.

Sir Keir, who will be replaced as Prime Minister by Andy Burnham on Monday, posted on X: “Great result tonight @England. You’ve done us proud.”

Millie Cooke, political correspondent reports:

Scrapping digital ID is “not just about the money”, Labour’s deputy leader has said.

Lucy Powell told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that the decision to scrap the project was about ensuring the government was “laser focused on the cost of living, laser focused on rewiring the economy, rewiring the political system in this country, and clearing the decks, if you like, from of all of the other things that might distract and take away from that in terms of the focus of the government”.

Asked how much money it would allow to be spent on other priorities, she said: “The OBR said it would cost, I think, £1.8 billion over the over the coming years.

“That’s not an insignificant amount of money. That will obviously be reprioritised and redistributed in different ways.

“But but as I say, it’s not just about the money. It’s actually about the attention and the focus, so that the the whole of government machinery can work in service of the agenda and the vision that the Labour government is setting out under under Andy Burnham, and I think that is important.”

Millie Cooke, political correspondent reports:

There will be a “change of emphasis” on North Sea oil and gas, Labour’s deputy leader has said, but insisted Andy Burnham would stick to the party’s manifesto commitments.

Lucy Powell told the BBC that reports the incoming prime minister could allow more drilling in the North Sea were “speculation” but added Mr Burnham would take a “more pragmatic approach”.

She said: “We’ve been really clear that the way to achieve, in the long term, energy security and lower bills is by ensuring that we do have our our own homegrown, clean, much cheaper energy.

“But we’ve been absolutely clear that North Sea gas and oil is an important part of that transition.“It’s an important part of the mix, and I think what Andy’s talking about is taking a more pragmatic approach and working with the industry to make sure that it can contribute to that transition and to the the mix that is needed over the long term.

“So let’s see what he’s got to say about that. But I don’t think it’s a change of policy. It’s more a change of emphasis.”

Millie Cooke, political correspondent reports:

Lucy Powell has said speculation and briefings about who could get what Cabinet positions has been “horribly and unedifying”.

It comes despite Andy Burnham’s pledge to end the culture of briefings in the party.

Asked about briefings against energy secretary Ed Miliband, Labour’s deputy leader told BBC News: “There’s been a lot of speculation in the in the media about various individuals, which has has been really quite horrible, to be honest, and unedifying.

“I know that as political journalists, you know maybe you’ve not had the story of the Labour leadership crisis to write about for the last few weeks because actually I’m really proud of the way in which the Labour Party has handled this transition and come together in a consensus around Andy Burnham being the next leader.

“And I think we’ve given a really good account of ourselves over these last few weeks.

“And maybe because political journalists haven’t had all that to write about, you know, they’re looking for other personalities and other disagreements to write about.”