The key issues facing Andy Burnham when parliament returns next week

Andy Burnham will return to parliament on Tuesday, no doubt buoyed by an overwhelming public support for the Labour Party since he took office.

Both his personal ratings and the government’s have shot up since his coronation as prime minister in July, with the party overtaking Reform for the first time since April 2025.

But the start of the new parliamentary term could also spell the end of this honeymoon period, as the new premier is forced to face the many challenges before him.

A key moment will be his first Prime Minister’s Questions, standing opposite Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch on Wednesday 2 September.

And beyond the Westminster drama, there are several political issues the prime minister needs to tackle during his first full term in No 10. Here’s what to expect:

John Healey will give his first Budget as chancellor on 28 October, setting out the government’s spending priorities and giving the clearest indication yet of Mr Burnham’s fiscal approach.

It will undoubtedly be a tight balancing act, with the chancellor promising to stick to the fiscal rules set by his predecessor Rachel Reeves. This means that the government’s day-to-day budget must be matched by tax receipts – ruling out massive borrowing.

The Burnham government has also committed to stick to Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance, or VAT.

But serious funds will be required to deliver the prime minister’s ambitious plans for government, which include an overhaul of the social care system and a pledge to end homelessness.

Several Labour MPs have called for Mr Healey to increase taxes on wealth, capital gains or corporations to boost government coffers.

This was an approach shied away from by Sir Keir Starmer, who was wary of a negative response from business leaders and the markets. But the new prime minister has indicated in the past that he does not share the same apprehension.

Mr Burnham faces one of the biggest tests of his premiership in the autumn when two official reviews are set to present their recommendations.

These are the reports into the Personal Independence Payment (Pip) by disability minister Sir Stephen Timms, and how to tackle youth unemployment by former health minister Alan Milburn.

Interim findings already presented by both suggest they will recommend sweeping changes to Britain’s welfare system.

Last year, ministers were forced to U-turn on plans to cut £4bn from Pip spending after over 100 Labour MPs threatened to rebel over the plan. It marked one of the most damaging episodes of Sir Keir’s premiership.

Several MPs have indicated that they would resist any similar plans a second time, with campaigners preemptively warning against cuts that would specifically target young benefit claimants.

In the first meeting of his new cabinet, Mr Burnham said his would be a “cost of living government”. Household budgets remain at the forefront of many people’s minds, as inflation continues to remain above pre-Covid levels.

Energy bills will rise four per cent from October, regulator Ofgem has confirmed. Trusted forecaster Cornwall Insight predicts massive nine per cent from January, which would take bills to the highest point since April 2023.

Early measures like cutting £45 from energy bills, cutting bus fares, and reducing business rates for certain venues will come as some welcome relief to struggling households.

But some experts warn that the PM will need to go further and faster to truly get a grip on the cost of living “permacrisis”.

Beginning in October, around 5,000 prisoners are set to be released early in a bid to combat overcrowding in prisons.

Mr Burnham has excluded those convicted of rape, serious child sexual offences and grooming from the scheme earlier this month, reducing the number to be released by 1,000.

But he has faced intense pressure to block the release of prisoners Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers, who were sentenced to 13 years in 2020 for killing PC Andrew Harper.

The pair will remain in prison, reports indicate, through new secondary legislation which will block the early release of those convicted of killing police officers.

But the prisons overcrowding crisis still looms large. There are approximately 86,000 prisoners in England and Wales – around 105 per cent of usable capacity. This is forecast to exceed 100,000 by 2030 and critics have warned rowing back on early release will only exacerbate the crisis.

Now, the prime minister has asked the justice secretary Alex Norris to review the sentences of those detained on now-abolished Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, which The Independent has been campaigning for nearly three years, as a way of freeing up more space. An update on the review is expected this week.