The new Prime Minister has announced three new measures in three days

Matt Vickers has launched a scathing attack on new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, declaring his first three confirmed measures a "disaster".

Speaking to GB News, the Shadow Policing Minister argued that his latest pledge to cut business rates by 20 per cent is "pitiful".

He said: "This is the third unfunded spending commitment in three days. The first one, he told us he was going to fund that using net zero, basically doing away with costs that didn't actually exist.

"He said the costs that were associated with digital ID, he was going to scrap it and save all the money, then it turned out from the Chief Secretary of the Treasury that that budget never, ever existed."

Mr Vickers added: "Yesterday, the Transport Secretary was asked several times to work out how they were going to pay for this £2 cap. No answers.

"This one on business rates, he's going to do a review to find the money. Reviews don't mean money, reviews mean lots of chit chat and no answers."

The Tory minister stressed that when the Labour Government came into power, British businesses were receiving a "75 per cent cut" in business rates.

He told GB News: "When this Labour Government came to office, those businesses, leisure, hospitality and retail businesses on the high streets were getting a 75 per cent reduction in their business rates.

"They've took away the 75 per cent, and now he's telling me he's giving them 20 per cent back and he doesn't know how he's going to pay for it. It's pitiful."

Mr Vickers urged the new Prime Minister to "be realistic" with how the Government supports business.

He said: "We need to be realistic in how we support these businesses. Under this Labour Government, we've lost about 111,000 jobs in the hospitality sector. The last Government created 18,000.

"This is pitiful, it's a disaster and those businesses are on the front line."

Mr Vickers made clear that a 20 per cent cut is "not enough" for struggling businesses to survive the cost of living crisis.

He said: "Small businesses are going to the wall at the fastest rate since the world economic crash, a 19 per cent increase in unemployment, this is a disaster.

"And this is a back of a fag packet job to come up with a policy that should appeal and should make a difference, but it's nowhere near enough.

"We're offering 100 per cent relief, and we've got the figures to back it up on how we would fund that."

Challenging Mr Vickers, GB News host Stephen Dixon argued that measurements under a new Andy Burnham Government will "take time" to come together.

He said: "The reason Starmer's Government was a complete and utter mess, the reason it cost businesses, the reason it cost people their jobs, the reason it's had so many damaging effects on the people across this country is because they arrived in office without a plan.

"This chap's rocked up, he is disappearing on holiday by the sounds of things, and he hasn't given us a plan. He hasn't been at that despatch box.

"What this country needs now is answers on how we're going to fund defence, how we're going to get that welfare spend under control, how are we going to bring down taxes so that businesses can operate without being sent to the wall by this ridiculous burden in terms of tax?

"And we're not getting any of that. We're getting gimmicks. We're getting back of a fag packet job, and the more you scrutinise every single thing that comes out of his mouth, the more it falls apart.

"We saw the announcement the other day that was going to be funded by budget.

"That didn't exist, in the words of the OBR and in the words of his own, the former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the transport secretary of State yesterday couldn't answer how they were going to fund that £2 bus cap. You can't just make this stuff up.

"He's in Government now. This country needs real solutions to some of the very real problems that we're facing."