{
  "id": 2355444,
  "title": "Burnham predicted to raise taxes for ‘fundamental’ cost of living support",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/21/burnham-predicted-to-raise-taxes-for-fundamental-cost-of-living",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-21T10:03:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/burnham-taxes-cost-of-living-borrowing/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Economists have warned that Andy Burnham, the Prime Minister, may struggle to implement additional cost of living measures without raising taxes. This is due to higher government bond yields and the need to address the impact of the energy price shock. The Bank of England may also increase interest rates to combat inflation, which would increase the government's £110bn debt interest burden. The ITEM Club's Matt Swannell stated that current bond market pricing would limit Chancellor John Healey's fiscal flexibility, with only about £7bn of the £23.6bn fiscal room available under current rules. Research from the left-leaning economics think tank Resolution Foundation suggests the fiscal headroom may be even lower than £8bn. Burnham and Healey may need to consider taxes, with borrowing already rising more sharply than expected despite more favorable inflation and growth figures.",
  "summary": "Andy Burnham will struggle to deliver “fundamental” cost of living support without raising taxes, economists have warned, after a spike in government bond yields in recent weeks. Higher than expected government borrowing in July has deepened problems for the UK’s public finances, narrowing the range of extra cost of living measures that could be adopted [...]",
  "key_points": [
    "Andy Burnham may raise taxes for cost of living support.",
    "Fiscal headroom for Chancellor John Healey limited to £7bn.",
    "Resolution Foundation suggests even lower fiscal flexibility."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}