Andy Burnham is considering an early general election as the Treasury confronts a worsening public-finance crisis and ministers weigh tax increases, Labour sources have claimed.

Chancellor John Healey is examining a range of measures aimed at higher earners ahead of next month’s Budget.

The Treasury is seeking to raise an additional £10billion to £15billion. Options under review include increases to capital gains and corporation tax, windfall levies on banks and oil companies, and an expanded mansion tax.

A straightforward increase in income tax is also being considered because it would be simple to implement. However, that move would break Labour’s 2024 manifesto commitment.

An election could therefore be called within the next six months, allowing the Prime Minister to seek a new mandate without remaining bound by pledges on income tax, VAT or National Insurance. Mr Burnham inherited a parliamentary term from Sir Keir Starmer that is due to run until 2029.

Labour’s position in the polls has improved modestly since Mr Burnham entered No 10 in July. An early contest could also allow him to capitalise on Nigel Farage’s difficulties over his party’s finances.

The timing would further take advantage of the Conservative Party’s continuing efforts to rebuild.

Yet campaigning on a platform of higher taxes would give opposition parties an immediate and potentially powerful line of attack.

The proposed tax measures have emerged after the Treasury’s so-called fiscal headroom—the surplus kept as protection against a future economic shock—was estimated to have fallen from £23billion to just £5billion this year.

Higher government borrowing costs, combined with the Iran conflict’s impact on energy prices and inflation, have contributed to the sharp deterioration.

One source said: “They are having a meltdown in there [the Treasury].”

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The source added: “The numbers are getting worse by the day. The markets like to see a ‘2’ in front of the headroom figure, and that seems a long way off. And the easiest way to sort it is off the table.”

A one-pence increase in income tax is estimated to generate roughly £7billion for the Treasury.

The source said Rachel Reeves, Mr Healey’s predecessor, had wanted to increase income tax to reassure financial markets, but concluded that the move was politically unworkable.

Among the proposals being assessed by Mr Healey is an “exit tax” that would charge people leaving the UK for a lower-tax country 20 per cent on their business assets.

Those who remained in the UK could then face a super-rich levy of 2 per cent a year on assets worth more than £10million. The proposal is modelled on France’s wealth tax, which remained in force until 2018.

France’s Impôt de Solidarité sur la Fortune, or ISF, was a progressive annual tax ranging from 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent. It applied when an individual’s net wealth exceeded €1.3million.

Treasury officials have cautioned, however, that measures of this kind could ultimately reduce tax receipts, unlike a direct increase in income tax.

That is because tax avoidance techniques, such as moving your cash and home abroad or transferring money to children, eventually more than outweigh the original boost to government coffers.

As The Mail on Sunday revealed in July, Labour is also considering plans to extend the mansion tax to properties valued at more than £1.5million, in a move that would hit nearly 300,000 homes. 

Calling an election would be a bold gamble given the witches’ brew of cost pressures facing voters. 

Oil prices are more than $100 a barrel, there are four increases in interest rates expected by the middle of next year and the average energy bill is forecast to rise by 24 per cent in January to well over £2,000.

Mr Burnham has denied plans to call an early election, saying he will ‘work to the 2024 manifesto’. 

When President Trump arrived at Áras an Uachtaráin, the official residence of Ireland’s president in Dublin, last weekend, his son Don Jr and Don’s new wife, Bettina, were given a prominent place in the welcoming party.

The couple stood on the red carpet at the front of the line to meet Ireland’s president, Catherine Connolly. Behind them were three of Don Jr’s children, including his 12-year-old daughter Chloe, while presidential aide Natalie Harp stood at the far end.

If 39-year-old Bettina felt nervous about appearing on the international stage, she showed no sign of it. In a display reminiscent of the First Lady’s signature style, she wore her tailored coat draped over her shoulders like a cape. If the appearance was a public try-out, the new Mrs Trump appeared fully committed.

‘She was looking pretty comfortable,’ a source close to Bettina told the Daily Mail. ‘She was also showcasing her relationship with Trump, taking mirror selfies of herself and Chloe with the President on the plane. She was really leaning into it.’

Her entry into the family’s innermost circle now appears complete. In one Instagram photograph, Bettina took a mirror selfie with President Trump and Chloe beside a sink—an intimate, slightly boastful glimpse of the family moment. Another image showed her seated opposite Trump on the aircraft as they looked out toward the Emerald Isle.

There were also subtle but revealing interactions between Bettina and Don Jr during the visit. To close observers, the moments hinted at a changing relationship dynamic and growing confidence in Bettina’s public role.

‘Before their wedding in May, Bettina often appeared to take Don’s lead, while he sported the puffed chest and tendency to dominate the spotlight of his alpha-posturing father,’ body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail.

‘As the family group lined up outside to be introduced to the President of Ireland though, it was Bettina smiling serenely and rotating in the direction of the cameras and chatting in what looked like a very confident bid to be visible.’

Don Jr, 48, appeared ‘tense’ at times, James said, with his smiles often coming as sudden, brief ‘lightning smiles’ rather than the more relaxed expressions seen from Bettina.

Lip reader Nicola Hickling said Bettina appeared concerned about whether the children were comfortable. Smiling, her husband reassured her: ‘Don’t worry about it, they always fidget.’

He then gestured down the line and asked: ‘Are you okay, Chloe?’

A short time later, Bettina tapped her hand against her husband’s waist and, according to Hickling, said: ‘Hold hands.’

Don Jr responded immediately, releasing his clasped hands and reaching out to take his wife’s hand.

James said Bettina then stroked his hand with her thumb, describing the gesture as an apparent ‘soothing gesture of loving reassurance’—or perhaps a tacit reward.

Although the trip appeared to go smoothly, controversy was waiting for the couple when they returned to the United States.

Soon after Air Force One landed, ProPublica reported that Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch with connections to Vladimir Putin, had contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars toward the Trumps’ post-wedding celebrations in the Bahamas.

The disclosure represented Bettina’s first major public-relations test. In a statement posted to her Instagram, she and Don Jr stood by the arrangement, saying they were ‘incredibly grateful’ to their ‘dear friend Umar’ and would not apologize or feel embarrassed about accepting the support.

‘Friendship doesn’t require a political motive,’ they said. ‘Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda.

‘So, for anyone determined not to let the facts get in the way of a good story: NO CONSPIRACY, NO MYSTERY. Just a private family wedding, a wonderful weekend with friends and one hell of a party.’

Still, on Friday Trump told reporters that his son had assured him he planned to pay the Russian back. 

The controversy could prove a bump in the road for the latest addition to the first family, and a lesson that, in the political world, friends sometimes need to be chosen carefully.

In her previous incarnation as a prominent Palm Beach socialite, friends have always been very important to the former Bettina Anderson.

A profile in Avenue Magazine once said of her: ‘Every town has an ‘It’ girl and in Palm Beach it’s Anderson.’

In another profile, in Fashion Week Daily in 2022, she was asked what she was most proud of.

‘I think I’m most proud of the incredible network of people I am blessed to have,’ she said. ‘And my ability to create connections and make introductions and put people together professionally and socially.’

A source, who has known Bettina for decades, told the Daily Mail she exudes class, but has always been ‘hungry for more.’

‘She would buy an outfit for an event, and go back and forth, saying, this isn’t good enough, I need something better. She kind of just did that with her life,’ the source said.

Perhaps in keeping with that reputation, Bettina wore not one, but two dresses for her wedding and celebrations. Both were by London-based designer Safiyaa, a favorite of Catherine, Princess of Wales no less.

Bettina worked closely with founder Daniela Karnuts and the embroidery for her evening dress – a ‘bespoke double silk organza set fully embellished with crystal, metallic, and silk’ – took 150 hours, according to Safiyaa.

But however beautiful the dresses and the moment, there is no escaping the fact that recent revelations about the Russia-linked Bahamas farrago could not have emerged at a worse time for the GOP, coming as they did, just weeks ahead of the midterms.

In the febrile pre-election atmosphere it has become, for some Republicans behind the scenes, a point of genuine unease. They regard it as an inexplicable self-inflicted wound.

With voters beset by rising gas prices and food costs, the last thing Republican candidates need to be defending on the doorstep is a lavish Russian-funded party in the Bahamas.

It has also reminded some MAGA loyalists of Bettina’s historic social media posts.

She is a registered Republican but, in 2020 during the pandemic, she posted an image of herself wearing a mask with a sign that read: ‘Only you can stop the spread of ignorance.’

She also posted a blacked-out screen that social media users were using as a signal of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

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The wedding party controversy is also a distraction from what the President wants to talk about, including tax cuts and immigration enforcement.

While he has insisted it is ‘no big deal,’ many in his party do not agree.

And one of those who does not appear to view Kremlev as a ‘dear friend’ is the other Mrs Trump – the First Lady.

Melania has led a successful campaign to reunite children kidnapped from Ukraine and taken to Russia during the ongoing war. As of August, the campaign has reunified 34 children with their families in Ukraine.

In a noticeably frosty statement, her spokesperson said: ‘Mrs Trump does not, and has never had, a relationship with Mr Kremlev.

‘Mrs Trump played no role whatsoever in organizing the wedding event and was not privy to any aspect of its financial planning.’

Melania was not in the Bahamas for the celebrations and, therefore, did not meet Kremlev.

She could have remained silent amid the storm, as she often does, but her decision to publicly distance herself is perhaps a sign of how much the episode is reverberating in Trump world.

A source familiar with how Don Jr and Bettina met told the Daily Mail they were introduced by his ex-wife Vanessa, who is now in a relationship with Tiger Woods.

Since the wedding, President Trump himself jokingly said he had noticed a change in Don Jr.

‘My son Don is here,’ he said in Ireland. ‘He’s calmed down so much. He’s like a different human being. He had a lot of energy. Now he’s a little less energy.’

Did he also perhaps notice that Don Jr was looking sharper?

According to a medical spa in Palm Beach, the first son had Ultherapy to ‘naturally define his jawline’ ahead of the wedding.

Ultherapy is a non-invasive skin-lifting treatment meant to improve skin laxity, performed by an FDA-cleared ultrasound device.

The procedure typically costs upwards of $2,000 for one session.

The spa, Pure Skin Palm Beach, said Bettina had been going there for five years and had become a ‘dear friend.’

It said preparations for the wedding began months before and Bettina had also done Ultherapy, along with a host of other treatments including Sculptra, Renuva, MOXI, Tixel, laser hair removal and ariessence pure PDGF+.

There were ‘regenerative hair restoration, customized facials, wrinkle relaxers and wellness IV therapy,’ and ‘we even rejuvenated her hands’ to help show off her wedding ring.

‘Coordinating treatments around a demanding travel schedule and public appearances required meticulous planning, allowing every result to peak beautifully for her wedding day,’ the medical spa wrote in the caption.

With such a focus on attention to detail for the big day, perhaps it is unfair of anonymous Republican snipers to ask whether Bettina should have been aware of the optics of accepting the largesse of her husband’s Russian friend.

After all, she probably has not seen the video from last month of Kremlev palling around and clinking champagne glasses with Putin in St Catherine Hall at the Kremlin.

The Russian President awarded him the Order of Friendship for his work as head of the International Boxing Association (IBA).

She may also not have known that, between the Kremlin and the Bahamas party, ‘dear Umar’ found time to travel to China while Putin was on a state visit there.

The intriguing relationship between Kremlev and Don Jr can be traced back at least one year to September 2025, when they appeared on stage together at the IBA Sport and Business Forum in Istanbul, Turkey.

Trump Jr, Executive Vice-President of The Trump Organization, sat between Kremlev on his right, and Rasheda Ali Walsh, Muhammad Ali’s daughter, to his left.

‘I am proud to stand here with my friend Donald Trump Jr, who shares this belief that fairness, respect and integrity are the foundations of sport,’ Kremlev told the audience, according to an IBA statement.

‘Together, we will protect the transparency of boxing and open the door for the next generation.’

According to the IBA account of the event, Trump Jr said: ‘What Umar is doing – restoring actual fairness, bringing back the purity of boxing, and giving the youth of today a chance to step away from the computer and into the ring – is extraordinary.

‘This is not just about boxing; it’s about life lessons, discipline, integrity and opportunity. That’s the legacy we need, and I am proud to call Umar not only a leader but a friend.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to Don Jr and Bettina for comment. 

Representatives for Kremlev told ProPublica he and Trump Jr met a couple of years ago and have a ‘friendly relationship.’

They said: ‘Mr Kremlev has never discussed political matters with any of his American friends and acquaintances.’

Certainly, that is the line Bettina has held to, pushing back on detractors this week in a statement some might view as faintly naïve – others might view as a quiet indicator that there’s a new Mrs Trump in town, and she’s no pushover.

Donald Trump is inviting his Truth Social followers to suggest a new name for artificial intelligence as he continues championing the technology despite growing fears about its potential dangers.

The proposal came after a lengthy post on Truth Social in which the President compared concerns about the environmental impact of AI data centers with the debate over climate change and several other contentious political issues.

Trump then published a poll offering three possible alternatives to the term artificial intelligence: Superior Intelligence, Extreme Intelligence and Supreme Intelligence.

‘Many people think that the words “Artificial Intelligence” are inaccurate, and very ineloquent, relative to AI, or Artificial Intelligence,’ Trump wrote.

He described the proposed alternatives as ‘a far more elegant and accurate description of this new phenomena.’

Trump also called AI’s development an ever-growing ‘”Revolution”‘ and asked his supporters to vote on whether the technology should be renamed.

By late Saturday night, more than 50,000 votes had been cast. Superior Intelligence was leading with 41 percent, followed by Extreme Intelligence at 38 percent and Supreme Intelligence at 21 percent.

Trump has emerged as one of AI’s most prominent defenders following intense backlash over a whistleblower’s claim that the technology could eventually destroy humanity.

Earlier Saturday, Trump voiced strong support for AI and announced plans to create an ‘AI Force’ to oversee the emerging technology. He also sought to portray criticism of attacks on data centers as a ‘Democrat hoax.’

‘We will not in any way hinder or stifle the Growth of this incredible Industry. Rather, we will cherish it, help it, and watch over it, as it grows!’ Trump said.

‘However, we will also be looking for BAD, and we can do that, very easily, with our already existing Criminal and Civil Justice System.’

He then formally introduced the proposed ‘AI Force’ and said he would appoint an ‘AI Czar’ to oversee AI development.

Trump provided few details about how the AI Force would function, though he compared the proposed organization with the US Space Force.

Trump established Space Force in 2019 as the sixth branch of the US military. It remains unclear whether the AI Force would also operate under the Department of Defense.

Concluding his post, Trump encouraged only ‘high IQ’ applicants to seek the AI czar role and described artificial intelligence as the ‘next Industrial Revolution.’

‘We are leading China, and the rest of the world, and I intend to keep it that way!’ the President said.

Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next week. US officials have previously said the two leaders are expected to discuss artificial intelligence.

Both world powers have positioned AI as crucial to their economic strength and are racing to establish dominance in the field. 

Trump’s doubling down on AI comes just a day after CNN revealed that an intelligence report generated with AI falsely identified material on a Chinese ship in the Middle East. 

Multiple sources told the outlet that a US special operations analyst used an AI chatbot to analyze the Chinese ship’s manifest and incorrectly concluded that the vessel was shipping components of a nuclear weapons program. 

Almost immediately, military planners began drafting plans to intercept the Chinese ship. Planes were already airborne as soldiers prepared. 

However, just before the mission was set to launch, officials reviewed the intelligence assessment again and found it had been created with the help of AI. They soon realized that the tech had misidentified the material the ship was carrying.

One source called the AI report ‘entirely false.’ It also, they added, ‘almost started a war’ with China, as any military action against the ship could have sparked a conflict between the two superpowers.

The US’s emphasis on developing AI has boosted the stock market through data center construction, but criticism of the industry has mounted. 

Former employees with major AI companies have sounded the alarm on the technology’s dangers. 

Jacob Coxon, a former researcher at Anthropic, outlined in a series of social media posts why he resigned, accusing his company and OpenAI of ‘racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.’

The story quickly caught fire and prompted Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei to say the company needed to slow down and warned that safeguards were necessary to prevent AI agents from taking over the internet within the next year. 

Across the country, construction has plowed through rural neighborhoods to make way for data centers, which are massive facilities that store, process and manage digital data. 

Although proponents argue they advance technology and provide jobs to surrounding communities, critics point to the centers’ environmental impact.  

The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for comment and additional information. 

A man has been arrested after his mother was allegedly found decapitated at a remote community in the Northern Tablelands.

Police were called to a property on Ironbark Road in Mole River, about 40 minutes west of Tenterfield, at approximately 9.35pm on Saturday following reports of a domestic violence incident.

Officers were told that a 37-year-old man had entered the property, allegedly tried to steal a vehicle and assaulted the 74-year-old homeowner.

The man was arrested before police went to a neighbouring property, where they discovered the body of a 70-year-old woman.

The woman was allegedly decapitated. The man arrested by police is understood to be her son.

Police said a house on the property had also sustained partial fire damage.

The suspected killing was one of three separate incidents in which women died during a 12-hour period of violence across New South Wales.

In Sydney’s east, a man was charged with murder on Saturday evening after an elderly woman was allegedly stabbed to death at Bondi Beach.

NSW Police were called to a unit on Chambers Avenue in Bondi, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, at 5.15pm on Saturday.

A woman in her 90s was found suffering significant injuries. Emergency treatment was provided at the scene, but she later died.

A 47-year-old man known to the woman was arrested at the property and taken to Surry Hills Police Station.

A crime scene was established as police began investigating the woman’s death.

After further inquiries, officers charged the 47-year-old with murder, classified as a domestic violence offence.

Bail was refused, and the man was due to appear before the Bail Court on Sunday.

In the third incident, a 23-year-old woman died on Saturday at about 11.45am after she could not be saved.

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She had been found with fatal stab wounds inside a home in Wagga Wagga, in south-western NSW.

Officers arrested an 18-year-old man at the home and he was taken into custody for questioning before later being released without charges.

A 31-year-old man was arrested almost nine hours later at another home in the regional city and was later charged with murder, police confirmed on Sunday.

The pair were in a relationship, investigators said.

Detective Inspector Brent Falkiner added that ‘all three parties are known to each other’.

He confirmed an alleged murder weapon was located by officers.

‘We’re not looking for any other items. We believe that everything was located at the scene, inside the home,’ he said.

NSW and federal political figures responded to the incidents with horror on Sunday.

‘Three women have lost their lives in the space of one day,’ Premier Chris Minns said.

‘These are shocking crimes and families are today dealing with unimaginable grief. My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the women who have died, and the communities affected by these events.’

Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane told reporters the deaths weren’t isolated and cited data that found a woman is killed every 11 days by an intimate partner.

‘Women of every age, from a 23-year-old to a woman in her 90s, are still not safe in their own homes,’ she said on Sunday morning, according to The Daily Telegraph.

‘I am horrified by the alleged stabbing deaths of three women in NSW on Saturday, in Wagga Wagga, Bondi, and Mole River. 

‘Police are treating these incidents as domestic and family violence related. My thoughts are with their families, friends and communities, and with the police, paramedics and neighbours who responded.’

Sloane said Australia is ‘failing women’ and demanded all levels of government take action.