Burnham's message on public finances came minutes after he said he had “deliberately” avoided making a decision on his Chancellor pick.

Andy Burnham has promised the biggest rebalancing of power Britain has ever seen and a new Number 10 in the North, assuming he becomes prime minister in three weeks time.

His plan for the country is still vague, but there are clues to what he thinks, on topics from inheritance tax to welfare and social care, says Guardian columnist Frances Ryan