Kemi Badenoch has challenged the Prime Minister to rule out tax rises or increased borrowing to pay for social care reform in a newly-published letter.

The Conservative leader last night said her party would be willing to work with Labour if two “core principles” were met.

She said: “First, any solution to the issues around social care must also be fair to those who have made provisions and saved up over the course of their lives.

“Second, the money must be found by reducing current spending. You must rule out any tax rises, or increased borrowing that will ultimately fall on the next generation to pay for.”

The Tory leader said there was speculation Mr Burnham would increase taxes in the autumn budget, adding that it was the “last thing” Britain needed.

Mrs Badenoch said she hoped the two party leaders could find “common ground” on a “hugely important issue for so many people and one that matters a lot to me”.

“,RECAP: Labour MP claims Reform UK and GB News are to blame for ‘hate’ behind Berlin Pride attack/james-saunders/James Saunders/particle-15/2026-07-27T05:16:41.820Z/”

Reform UK and GB News have been blamed for homophobic “hate” which led to the Berlin Pride car ramming attack.

Kate Osborne, on the party’s left, claimed last night that the party and the channel were “spouting nonsense and broadcasting content and language that attacks and vilifies the LGBTQ+ community”.

She said that both contributed to “patterns emerging across Europe” and that “an escalation of hate and verbal attacks online” acted as a “catalyst for real-world physical violence”.

“This is why Pride still matters and why we all need to vocally stand up for minorities and condemn the hate,” the Jarrow and Gateshead East MP said.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

“,Andy Burnham to hand Volodymyr Zelensky keys to British signal-jamming technology to evade Russian drones today/james-saunders/James Saunders/particle-16/2026-07-27T05:16:41.820Z/”

Andy Burnham will welcome Volodymyr Zelensky to Brtiain today, his first international visitor since taking over the reins at Prime Minister.

He will host the Ukrainian President a week after entering Downing Street – and will hail Labour’s continued backing for Kyiv under his premiership, No10 said last night.

The duo will visit a naval base where Mr Burnham will announce that Britain will hand over the intellectual property behind its new “Stone Cloak” electronic warfare system, enabling Ukraine to produce the technology at scale.

The tablet-sized device is designed to block Russian detection of any drones it is fitted to.

The Ministry of Defence has already given thousands of the jammers to Ukrainian forces to bolster their drone operations.

Mr Burnham said in a statement: “Britain stands with Ukraine, shoulder to shoulder, and our support remains unwavering.

“Russia should be in no doubt of our resolve and we will not back down until we achieve long-lasting and just peace for Ukraine.

“Stone Cloak is the best of homegrown British innovation and proven on the frontline, and it will be vital to protecting our security in both our countries.”

“,Revealed: Teenagers on Pip earn £100 MORE every week than part-time workers/james-saunders/James Saunders/particle-18/2026-07-27T05:30:50.845Z/”

Teenagers claiming personal independence payment (Pip) received £100 a week more than part-time workers on minimum wage, new analysis has revealed.

The payment is intended to help with everyday tasks for those with a long-term physical disability or mental health condition.

But The Times has revealed that more than 87,000 16- and 17-year-olds are claiming Pip – more than two thirds for mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions such as anxiety, depression, autism and ADHD.

A 16-year-old on the under-18 minimum wage, working the legal maximum during time, would take home around £94.

The same teenager, receiving Pip with anxiety benefits, can receive more than double the hourly equivalent – without doing any work.

“,Andy Burnham could SCRAP council tax in favour of flat rate across the nation/peter-stevens-a/Peter Stevens/particle-19/2026-07-27T05:39:42.659Z/”

Andy Burnham is said to be considering plans to scrap council tax and stamp duty.

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Treasury officials are looking at options to overhaul the way property is taxed, with more than 100 Labour MPs advocating for the change, according to The i Paper.

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Jonathan Brash, the Hartlepool MP who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Council Tax Reform, said: “Council tax is one of the most unfair taxes in Britain, and nowhere is that injustice clearer than in towns like Hartlepool.”

In leafy Wandsworth, west London, a Band D home commands council tax worth some £1,020 – but in Mr Brash’s seat, that figure sits as far north as £2,556.

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He added: “We don’t need another sticking plaster. We need wholesale reform.”

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Two models are being considered to replace the council tax. A proportional property tax would replace both council tax and stamp duty with a flat 0.48 per cent annual charge on a home’s current value.

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The second option, a land value tax, would charge owners based only on the value of the land it sits on.

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During the 2010 Labour leadership contest, Mr Burnham said land value tax should replace stamp duty – which he described as a “tax on the aspirations of young people”.

“,Treasury hits back at council tax reports as Lord Blunkett warns it’ll be ‘politically problematic’/peter-stevens-a/Peter Stevens/particle-20/2026-07-27T05:49:08.379Z/”

Government sources pushed back on The i Paper’s story Burnham was “actively considering” council tax and stamp duty.

The sources said decisions on tax were a matter for the Chancellor to set out at fiscal events – namely, the Budget where John Healey will also have to work out how to fund the defence black hole.

Lord Blunkett, one of Burnham’s closest allies, warned a land value tax would be “politically problematic” – creating winners and losers across the housing market.

He said the reform will not happen in the “immediate future”, warning that there must be a “grounding of reality in politics, as well as radical thinking in economics”.

“,Andy Burnham’s dog will not move into Downing Street over clash with Larry the cat/oliver-partridge/Oliver Partridge/particle-21/2026-07-27T06:44:44.443Z/”

Andy Burnham has said his pet dog Axel will not be moved into Downing Street because he “wouldn’t get on with Larry” the No10 cat.

The Prime Minister’s dog, a bichon frise-poodle cross, will remain in the north of England, Mr Burnham told the BBC in his first major broadcast interview.

The Prime Minister described his own pet as “Famous Axel” and added: “I think he’s going to have to stay up north I think, because he’s kind of got that angry little man thing going on. He’s got a bit of poodle in him.

“He’s a bich-poo, I think they call it – or a poochon – whatever the phrase is. And, yeah, he wouldn’t get on with Larry, let me put it that way, and I don’t think the nation would thank me, would they, if I brought Axel down to disturb Larry’s world?

“So I think he’s staying up here.”

“,Labour planning ‘big changes’ on council tax as Andy Burnham calls out ‘unfairness’/oliver-partridge/Oliver Partridge/particle-22/2026-07-27T07:00:51.751Z/”

Andy Burnham has said there are “big decisions” ahead of his Government on council tax, as he criticised the unfairness of the current system for making some people pay higher rates than are levied on more expensive homes in London.

The Prime Minister acknowledged he needed to stick to the manifesto Labour was elected on in 2024, but said he understood how people felt the current system was disproportionate.

It came as No10 denied the Government was considering replacing council tax and stamp duty with a tax based on property or land values.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Burnham said: “There are people here in Greater Manchester who pay a much higher council tax than people living in much larger homes in London.

“So the Chancellor before, Rachel Reeves, was right to start to reform council tax to create some fairness there in relation to people in homes that are of much greater value, who haven’t seen their council tax go up over the years because of the failure to revalue the banding.

“So that’s an example of something that I think was right and fair.”

He added: “We need to honour the manifesto upon which Labour was elected, and if I was to bring forward any changes, obviously people would rightly say, well, is this consistent with that manifesto?

“So there are big decisions ahead, you are right about that.”