Key events5m agoReeves insists her changes to fiscal rules already allow more borrowing for defence, as Burnham urged to back 'war bonds'26m agoTrump calls Burnham a town mayor who's 'extremely liberal', complaining he's unlikely to 'open up North Sea'44m agoReeves hints she accepts Burnham will not keep her as chancellor, and won't say if she will accept more junior jobReeves insists her changes to fiscal rules already allow more borrowing for defence, as Burnham urged to back 'war bonds'As Kiran Stacey, Pippa Crerar and Dan Sabbagh report, senior government officials are planning to lobby Andy Burnham during access talks to revive the idea of “war bonds” to pay for higher defence spending when he becomes prime minister.As the story explains, the Treasury has consistently opposed this idea.In her Q&A at the BCC, Reeves was asked if she would be happy to allow more borrowing to fund higher defence spending. In response, she said that the defence investment plan, which will be published before Burnham becomes PM, will involve “more money, spent more effectively”.When it was put to her that classifying this defence spending as investment could allow more borrowing, Reeves replied:
double quotation markThat’s exactly what my fiscal rules allow.
