Another panic-induced u-turn

Andy Burnham is a talented minister but his interview in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph represents yet another ignominious U-turn by this Government in response to Conservative pressure. For almost two years, Labour’s unshakeable response to David Cameron’s belief that marriage should be recognised in the tax system has been to say, scornfully, that policy should help all children, not endorse one family structure rather than another. Only 12 days ago, Gordon Brown invoked the words of Jesus – ‘suffer the children’ – to condemn the Tory position on tax and marriage. Mr Burnham’s remarks represent a spectacular capitulation. Hot on the heels of Alistair Darling’s desperate bid to ape George Osborne’s tax proposals, this interview shows how panicked the Government is and how comprehensively the Tories are now setting the policy agenda.