Opinion: Burnham is Britain's new prime minister. Now what?

Andy Burnham has become the UK's new prime minister, quickly making his mark by appointing John Healey as finance minister instead of the expected Shabana Mahmood, and announcing a policy to scrap VAT on household electricity bills, saving the average household £45 per year. However, the article argues that while this tax cut may appeal to voters, the bigger challenge is convincing financial markets. UK government bond yields (gilts) trade at a significant premium to Italian BTPs, and UK mortgages cost roughly £2,050 more per year than equivalent Italian mortgages due to higher borrowing costs. The author warns that if Burnham cannot restore confidence in Britain's public finances, the cost to households through higher interest rates could far outweigh the savings from the VAT cut. The real test of his premiership will be fiscal credibility, not populist tax cuts.