Burnham promises more devolution and public control of essential services

Andy Burnham has promised to set out plans for "stronger public control" of essential services as he addressed the House of Commons for the first time since taking power.

The prime minister said "a series of wrong turns" since the 1980s had seen economic power in the UK privatised and pointed to the water industry as "a leaking monument to that approach - a country run in the private rather than public interest".

He reiterated his belief that political power had been centralised and announced he would be making devolution powers available to more areas in England.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Burnham of offering "more government control, more taxes and more politicians".

She said her party, by contrast, wanted people to "keep more of their own money".

Badenoch also warned the prime minister that his new job would be "very different" to his previous Greater Manchester mayoral role where he "did not have to make difficult trade-offs".

Burnham became prime minister on 20 July shortly after Parliament closed for the summer recess.

Tuesday marked the first day of the new parliamentary session and provided his first opportunity to address MPs and take questions.