Andy Burnham LIVE: PM to face Kemi Badenoch in first PMQs as leader

Andy Burnham LIVE: PM to face Kemi Badenoch in first PMQs as leader The new PM will make his first appearance at PMQs today, where he is likely to face questions on possible tax rises, defence funding, and the prospect of replacing Britain's electoral system Andy Burnham is set to face Kemi Badenoch in his first Prime Minister’s Questions as leader, less than 24 hours after making his debut at Commons despatch box. The PM faced hours of questions on Tuesday, where he set out plans to hand power back to communities across the UK, and pledged to take back public control of utilities and services. The session saw him face 125 questions in a three hours and 24 minutes session, which the Makerfield MP completed without using notes. During the debate, he hit out at the legacy of Margaret Thatcher, the austerity era, and vowed to end the “failed economic model” that had left parts of the country behind. Mr Burnham is likely to face questions around possible tax rises, defence funding, as well as the prospect of replacing Britain's electoral system, first past the post. Andy Burnham will stick "rigidly" to the Government’s fiscal rules, a minister has said amid rising borrowing costs. Asked about comments by Lord Jim O’Neill, an ally of the Prime Minister, suggesting international investors would not have approved of Mr Burnham’s "tone" in the Commons on Tuesday, Cabinet Office minister Sally Jameson said she disagreed. She told Sky News: "I think it’s important we don’t over-read into individual comments people make, because I think Andy Burnham has been really clear that we are going to stick to those fiscal rules rigidly, and that fiscal responsibility is absolutely imperative.” She added: "We’ve got to have controls on spending, and I don’t think Andy or anyone else has said any different to that. "But I think the key thing is having growth and bringing optimism back into this country." In his first speech to MPs on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said he would set aside point scoring to get things done and promised "politics done differently". But he said it was time to be blunt about what's gone wrong, railing against Margaret Thatcher's legacy of deindustrialisation and privatisation that left communities on their knees. Mr Burnham said the country had taken a "series of wrong turns" since the 1980s, with failures compounded by Tory austerity and Brexit, which he blamed for a decade of stalled growth and stalled regeneration. Today's PMQs comes less than 24 hours after Keir Starmer announced he was standing down as an MP. The former Prime Minister said he was ready to “pass the baton to a successor” after leaving No10 earlier this summer. He previously said he planned to remain in Parliament until the next general election, which is expected to be in 2029. Andy Burnham will today face his first PMQs as leader, just hours after a gruelling evening session that saw him answer 125 questions in the Commons. Kemi Badenoch will take on the new PM in the same week she conducted her reshuffle, which comes with her party still languishing in third place in the polls. The PM will be in a confident mood, with Labour surging in the polls since he took over.