Labour mayor Andy Burnham at odds with Starmer over Tory tax cut
The mayor of Greater Manchester also suggests cash earmarked for slashing taxes should be refunnelled into a pay deal for nurses.

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Your support makes all the difference.Labour mayor Andy Burnham has said he thinks the 1p income tax cut should not go ahead, directly contradicting the stance of leader Sir Keir Starmer.
He also suggested cash earmarked for tax cuts should be refunnelled into a pay deal for nurses, as he branded the Chancellorās mini-budget a āflagrant act of vandalismā.
Sir Keir said on Sunday that he backed Kwasi Kwartengās promise to cut the basic rate of income tax from 20p to 19p from April.
I don't think it was a time for tax cuts. I think this is a time to support people through a crisis
But the mayor of Greater Manchester said he opposes the move, as he does not think it is āthe most targeted way of using the resources that weāve got at this moment in timeā.
He told Skyās Sophy Ridge on Sunday: āThatās my position, I donāt think it was a time for tax cuts. I think this is a time to support people through a crisis.ā
Speaking to GB News, he warned of a āmental health crisisā in the winter, and said it would be his āpriorityā to use the funds earmarked for cutting taxes to help ease the strain.
āI think weāre heading into a mental health crisis as well this winter and I would use the money to put it into mental health to ensure nurses have got a fair pay deal, to shore up the NHS. That would be my priority,ā he said.
He described Fridayās so-called āfiscal eventā as āthe most flagrant act of vandalism on the social cohesion of our countryā adding that the Government had ābasically ā¦ drawn battle lines with ordinary working peopleā.
He also told GB News the next Labour leader would be a woman āin an ideal worldā.
But he said whoever takes the job has to be the āright personā and not the product of āticking a boxā.
Meanwhile, Lucy Powell, Labourās shadow digital, culture, media and sport secretary, told Times Radio it is āsadā that she would probably not put herself forward for leader because of social media and the reaction to āwomen in public lifeā.
On his own leadership ambitions, Mr Burnham told Ridge: āI wouldnāt rule out one day going back, as Iāve said, Iām just going to be honest about that and I probably am a better politician.ā
He also told GB News it was important for Labour to showcase the work of its mayors at its annual conference.
āI donāt make the decisions, and obviously thereās pressure on the conference timetable, but I do think where youāve got Labour mayors making real positive changes, such as putting a cap on bus fares, which weāve done now and people are benefitting from that, letās showcase that,ā he said.
Mr Burnham said he backed a rendition of God Save The King to kick off the conference ā a move branded by former leader Jeremy Corbyn as āvery oddā.