The problems are mounting for Andy Burnham ahead of his first Labour Party Conference as Prime Minister.

After a positive first two months in Downing Street, the economic picture is becoming more challenging. Government borrowing has risen, inflation is above 3% and the Government’s fiscal headroom is under increasing pressure ahead of the October Budget.

On the eve of Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Northern Spin hosts Chris Maguire and Frank McKenna ask whether Burnham can turn the good vibes of his first weeks in office into the tough decisions demanded by government.

Is he prepared to tackle politically difficult issues such as the pension triple lock, tax rises and welfare spending?

Or was former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane right to warn that financial markets risk seeing Burnham’s administration as a 'traditional tax and spend socialist government with better TikTok videos'?

In this episode, Maguire and McKenna also discuss:

Is the PM putting too many of his eggs in the devolution basket?

What can we expect from October’s Budget?

Reform and the donations row

Our regional round-up from across the North

And finally – who’s on manoeuvres?

Northern Spin is a joint production from BusinessCloud and Downtown in Business. The podcast is produced by Dan Brown of Renowned and sponsored by Sancus Lending UK.