Rachel Reeves has compared Andy Burnham to Liz Truss in a stunning attack on her Labour colleague as tensions mount at the party’s conference .
Amid mounting speculation he is plotting a leadership bid against Sir Keir Starmer, the chancellor lashed out at the Greater Manchester mayor’s economic approach.
Mr Burnham “risks going the way of Liz Truss”, she said, after he said Britain has “got to get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets”.
“If he’s saying… anybody that says you can just borrow more, I do think that risks going the way of Liz Truss,” Ms Reeves said.
The comparison is a sign of how far relations have deteriorated between Sir Keir’s backers and Mr Burnham. Ms Truss was the target of many of Labour’s attacks during last year’s general election campaign.
Speaking to LBC, Ms Reeves added: “Already one pound in every 10 the government spends is on financing the debt that was racked up by the previous Conservative government.
“There’s nothing progressive, nothing Labour about that.
“I want to bring that debt down. I want to bring that debt down. I want to bring those borrowing costs down.
“That means having to make difficult decisions and having to say no. And whoever’s chancellor of the exchequer they need to be able to say no to colleagues.
“They need to be able to say no to good causes because they’ve got to make sure the numbers add up. And with me as chancellor, they always will.”
Mr Burnham last week gave several interviews which fuelled speculation he is considering returning to Westminster and challenging Sir Keir for the top job.
With the prime minister’s popularity at a record low, it set the stage for a conference showdown between the two as the party gathers in Liverpool.
Mr Burnham on Sunday warned that Labour under Sir Keir is in “peril” and declined to offer his unconditional backing to the PM.
He said: “I would say those out there making calls for simplistic statements of loyalty… are underestimating some of the peril that the party is in in those elections next year.”
Expectations are growing that Sir Keir could quit or be forced out of the top job if Labour’s local election performance is as disastrous as expected in May.
Sie Keir has also compared Mr Burnham to Ms Truss, responding to his New Statesman interview by saying: “I’m not going to get drawn in to commenting on the personal ambitions of the mayor, but I do want to be really clear about our fiscal rules because economic stability is the foundation stone of this government.
“It was three years ago this week that we had the Liz Truss experiment where she abandoned fiscal rules, in her case for tax cuts, and the result was a disaster for working people.”
