Henry Zeffman: Andy Burnham and his chancellor have a battle on their hands

Today's inflation figures underscore that the economy is the biggest challenge facing Andy Burnham.

It is only 42 days until John Healey's first Budget, and there is increasingly apparent concern at all levels of the government and Labour Party about how that Budget can – or, as it may prove, cannot – substantiate Burnham's rhetoric about offering the biggest change in British politics in 40 years.

Much of the tricky economic environment, yes, is driven by global factors including the persistence, and to some degree worsening, of the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

And the AI boom pushing up borrowing costs is another issue affecting many countries.

But there are clearly domestic factors particular to Britain, and on that front it was very striking to hear the former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane telling LBC on Tuesday that without signs of cuts to public spending "the markets now suspect that this is a traditional tax and spend socialist government with better TikTok videos".

From somebody who at times has informally advised Burnham's operation, that will sting, not least because a similar criticism has been voiced in recent weeks by the prominent economist Lord O'Neill – another sometime adviser.

The prime minister gave a direct response to Haldane , saying: "That doesn't tell the story. We are not that."

He identified "putting digital ID on hold" as an example of how he had already "taken difficult decisions in this job in relation to reprioritising government spending" and vowed to continue to "take difficult decisions to make sure the economy remains on track".