Andy Burnham faces hugely difficult decisions on the size of the military and the welfare state if he replaces Keir Starmer as prime minister.
One of Britain’s closest European allies is already navigating these twin spending headaches – offering some potentially valuable lessons to Team Burnham if they make it to Downing Street.
Germany is embarking on major benefit cuts while ramping up defence expenditure to levels unseen since the Second World War.
Shorts
One of Germany’s left-wing parties has promised a “scorching hot socialist summer” of protest over plans to cut unemployment benefit, pensions and health insurance.
