Like all Prime Ministers, Andy Burnham is finding that events can upset even the best laid plans.
On Friday the PM was diverted from his cost of living tour around the UK, to view the devastation in Stourbridge, where 19 homes were completely destroyed after wild grassland fires caught up with suburbia.
The scenes of flames completely gutting detached and semi-detached UK homes were apocalyptic, and the PM responded by temporarily banning disposable barbecues, announcing extra resources for firefighters and sending an emergency phone alert warning against “any activity that could start a fire”.
Shorts
He also announced the UK would look at buying firefighting aircraft, which followed exclusive reporting in The i Paper that the RAF has no fire fighting capability, and calls by the Fire Brigades Union for such resources.
