Andy Burnham is set to speak in the Commons later, addressing MPs on their first day back at work after the summer recess, in what will be a highly charged moment. Six weeks after he walked up Downing Street, and 16 years after he last appeared at the dispatch box as part of a Labour government, he will stand before MPs for the first time as prime minister. In the close confines of the chamber, with ranks of Labour members behind him, Burnham will finally come face to face with his political opponents.
The pressure of the occasion, the scrutiny he will face, the deftness with which he handles questions, the attacks, the barbs, the asides, will all be key to how the public perceive him. Burnham's summer tour is over - now he has to prove himself in Parliament Burnham gets the early prison release changes he wanted - but at what cost? Mel Stride and Priti Patel replaced in major Tory reshuffle Sports Direct founder attacks Burnham's 'populist' High Street plans Downing Street does not want to give too much away but we know he will meet his cabinet before delivering a statement "setting out the direction of his government" and facing questions from MPs.
A Number 10 source said over the weekend that Burnham did not want his government to "stand by and watch on as every bill goes up and up". So he "will promise the country that wherever we can make life more affordable we will". Burnham has had a relatively easy summer.
When he became prime minister, MPs were already on their break. So he has been free to travel the country unveiling policies designed to help with the cost of living: a £2 cap on bus fares; removing VAT from domestic energy bills; and cutting business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues by 20% next year. But now the challenges he will face having ousted Sir Keir Starmer begin.
And there is an autumn packed with political tests coming. There will be his first session of Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, then the spotlight of the party conferences, his first Budget and, later in the year, a speech where he will lay out a 10-year plan for the country. It is thought this week he may say more about his plans to bring privatised services back under public control, arguing that doing so will help ease the pressure on family budgets.
Number 10 says Burnham will tell MPs he will keep taking action on the cost of living. The Conservatives and Reform UK, however, are preparing to attack his policies, questioning how they will be funded and whether there will be new tax rises. Kemi Badenoch reshuffled her shadow cabinet team on Monday in preparation for this moment.
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