Oh dear. It is only day three of Andy Burnham’s premiership and his policy blitz is already descending into quite the shambles. Ministers are scrambling to explain how the government’s two set piece cost of living interventions will be funded.

The first – removing VAT from energy bills at a cost of £850 million – was supposed to be paid for using cash earmarked for the now-scrapped digital ID scheme. But lo and behold, no such money ever existed: the programme was unfunded. Then came this........

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