Cleverly set to accuse Burnham of waging a 'war on London' as PM prepares to strip hundreds of millions from capital's councils
Sir James Cleverly plans to attack Labour PM Andy Burnham for treating London as a "cash cow" as he prepares to launch a Conservative bid for London mayor.
• Cleverly is expected to tell LBC on Sunday that Burnham is "basically very, very anti-London," accusing the Prime Minister of planning to drain hundreds of millions of pounds from London council budgets while centralising power in his Manchester heartland. The Tory former foreign and home secretary, who is set to quit Kemi Badenoch's shadow cabinet on Saturday to seek the 2028 London mayoralty, will say Burnham is "blaming London for London's own success." Tory leaders of Westminster, Wandsworth and Kensington & Chelsea councils say the fairer funding review is set to force them to hike council tax or slash services. Cleverly is also expected to dismiss Farage as a political "toddler," insisting Reform's "high watermark is well behind us."
