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

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.”