CloseAndy Burnham has hit out at Brexit for ushering in a “decade of low growth” in his first address as prime minister in the House of Commons as Parliament returns from recess. Mr Burnham listed Brexit in the “series of wrong turns” the country made since the 1980s and said that it had “compounded the problems” of deindustrialisation and over centralisation of government.The prime minister has previously said he intends to stick to the Starmer red lines on not rejoining the EU, Single Market or Customs Union.It comes as former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation as an MP in a shock move, setting his successor Mr Burnham up for a fresh by-election.Sir Keir’s decision to stand down from his role as MP for Holborn and St Pancras, which will trigger a by-election in the constituency just months after he stood down as prime minister.Chancellor John Healey has also promised to hike UK defence spending after Donald Trump said he was reviewing the United States’ position on the British sovereignty over the Falkland islands.'Good growth in every postcode'Leading Greater Manchester as its mayor has “given me a clear theory of growth”, Andy Burnham claimed, telling MPs: “I will apply it to all parts of the UK learning from what has been achieved in Greater Manchester.”An early sign of this approach was the prime minister’s announcement he had asked No 10 North to start working with Cornwall Council on a devolution deal “with or without an elected mayor” – and extended the offer to other parts of the country.“For a long time, the country did not have ambitions for its regions outside of London – it even talked of the managed decline of Liverpool,” Mr Burnham told the Commons.“It took the devolution of power out of this place to allow our big city regions the ability to set new ambitions for themselves.“Now, I want every single place across our regions and nations to be able to do the same, creating the conditions for good growth in every postcode.”Dan Haygarth1 September 2026 22:00Daniel Haygarth1 September 2026 21:00Comment - Will Zack Polanski seize his moment to claim Keir Starmer’s seat?The former prime minister is standing down as an MP despite promising to stay on, triggering an unhelpful by-election in his Holborn and St Pancras constituency, writes John Rentoul. 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Dan Haygarth1 September 2026 20:30What Burnham told MPsAs he took a total of 125 questions from MPs, Andy Burnham:– Confirmed that a path to spending 3% of the UK’s economic output on defence, a Nato commitment, will be set out at the next spending review.– Said he is “prepared to look at” electoral reform, including changes to the voting system, but not before the next general election.– Committed to bringing forward a Bill which will make sweeping reforms to the leasehold system of ownership, allowing people to move more easily to commonhold “so that finally we can reform this unfair system”.Dan Haygarth1 September 2026 20:00Chris Blackhurst1 September 2026 19:45In pictures: Burnham's first Commons statement as PMAndy Burnham delivered the statement on Tuesday afternoon (House of Commons)The PM removed his glasses at points (House of Commons)Kemi Badenoch (House of Commons)Dan Haygarth1 September 2026 19:14What else did PM's statement cover?In his statement, Mr Burnham also laid out his other key priorities:He paid tribute to Sir Keir Starmer, who announced he was quitting as an MP after being ousted from Downing Street He recommitted the UK’s support for Ukraine and praised his Tory and Labour predecessors in providing the leadership to take on Vladimir Putin Insisted he would not back down from net zero policies in the wake of the climate crisis being responsible for the major flash flooding tragedy in Nepal But he ducked questions from Tory leader Kemi Badenoch on defence spending, taxes and cutting the welfare bill And he hinted electoral reform could be on the cards after Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey called for a national commission to change politics Dan Haygarth1 September 2026 18:45Full story: Burnham blames Brexit for ‘decade of low growth’ in UKAndy Burnham has lashed out at the legacy of Brexit, saying it “ushered in a decade of low growth” which the UK is still paying for, as he made his first statement as prime minister to the Commons.Click below to read in full.Dan Haygarth1 September 2026 18:32Burnham vows to stick to Good Friday AgreementAndy Burnham has vowed to “stick to” the Good Friday Agreement, as he defended his previous comments on an Irish unification referendum.SNP MP for Dundee Central Chris Law claimed Mr Burnham had “already attempted to unilaterally defy the legally binding Good Friday Agreement”, when the prime minister last month told reporters that a border poll was “off the table”.Mr Law asked: “Does the prime minister recognise he has no mandate to defy the constitutional wishes of the people of Northern Ireland, the people of Scotland or the people of Wales, and that any written constitution or devolution agenda must include a pathway for each of those nations to choose their own future?”Responding, Mr Burnham told the Commons: “I think (Mr Law) has misunderstood what I actually said.“I answered a media question on a visit to Northern Ireland before meeting the various parties and the question was that a proposal was being put to the meeting about a border poll.“And my answer was that the purpose of the visit was to get functional government in Stormont because, in my view, that would most serve the people of Northern Ireland right now – and I wasn’t there to distract onto other issues.“I’m very aware of every word in the Good Friday Agreement. I will stick to it 100 per cent as prime minister.”Dan Haygarth1 September 2026 17:51Burnham condemns Russia's attack on German airportFile photo: A police officer in protective clothing walks next to an explosive-disarming robot (EOD) at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, Germany (Reuters)Andy Burnham has condemned Russia’s “egregious and reckless attack” on a German airport last month and backed the country’s retaliatory measures.The prime minister said in a statement: “The United Kingdom stands in full solidarity with Germany following Russia’s egregious and reckless attack in Leipzig.“Russian attempts to undermine our united resolve and our willingness to support Ukraine are futile and doomed to fail.“As I made clear in Kyiv last week, our commitment to supporting Ukraine from Russia’s illegal invasion is ironclad.“The strong measures taken by the German government show action against any attack of this nature will be met with a clear response.“We will not waver in our resolve to deter attacks on our freedom and security.”Dan Haygarth1 September 2026 17:27