Andy Burnham has pledged to introduce a package of cost of living measures if he becomes prime minister, including reducing business rates for some high street businesses, bringing utilities under greater public control, and making bus travel free for 16- to 18-year-olds, according to the Guardian.
The Makerfield MP made the promises during his first interview since returning to parliament, speaking to Andrew Marr on LBC. The interview comes ahead of what is widely expected to be Burnham's elevation to the role of prime minister later this month.
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Business rates and the high street
On the question of business rates, Burnham told LBC that he believed there was scope for movement within the 2024 manifesto. He indicated he would look at increasing business rates on warehouses and large out-of-town developments in order to fund cuts to business rates for high street businesses such as pubs.
"There is some room within [the 2024] manifesto for movement on tax. So if you take business rates, for instance, I believe there is a case for higher business rates on warehouses and the major developments we see on the outskirts of our cities, so that we can cut business rates for pubs," he said, according to the Guardian's reporting of the interview.
Public control of water, energy and transport
A central strand of Burnham's pitch is what he described as bringing more public control over water, energy and transport. His stated aim is that, over time, this would reduce household bills, lower transport fares and give both individuals and businesses what he called "breathing space".
"Britain is paying too much for the basics. People are paying too much, but businesses are also paying too much, and that is certainly true of energy," he told Marr, as reported by the Guardian. "What I would do, if successful, is lay out a plan for more public control over water, energy, transport, so that over the period we can get those bills down, fares down, and give people and give businesses breathing space."
However, the Guardian notes that experts have cautioned that bringing utilities under public control will not necessarily lead to lower consumer bills, particularly in the water sector given the scale of investment required.
Rent freeze and further measures from allies
According to the Guardian, the measures outlined by Burnham are expected to form part of a broader immediate cost of living package. Allies of the Makerfield MP have urged more radical steps, which could include freezing private sector rents for a year, taking green levies off energy bills and funding them through general taxation instead, and reducing the cap on bus fares.
Burnham's allies are also said to have pushed for free bus travel for 16- to 18-year-olds, a measure he referenced directly in the LBC interview.
How would it be paid for?
Funding the proposed package presents its own challenges, and the Guardian highlights that paying for these commitments remains a significant open question. Wes Streeting, the former health secretary and a likely member of Burnham's cabinet, has suggested raising capital gains tax as one possible revenue source. However, Treasury officials are reported to have warned that such a move would not raise any additional money in practice.
Burnham himself was careful to stress fiscal responsibility, telling Marr: "I am not indisciplined when it comes to the public finances, I was in the Treasury, I ran the Department of Health." He confirmed he would not break the government's existing borrowing rules to fund his policy ambitions.
What the polling suggests
According to the Guardian, polling indicates that Burnham's emphasis on cost of living intervention is likely to prove popular with voters. A study by Persuasion UK, cited in the Guardian's report, found that if Labour were to run on a platform of what it described as "cost of living populism", the party would win 263 more seats than if it continued on its current trajectory.
No 10 North
Alongside the economic announcements, Burnham confirmed plans to establish what he has termed a "No 10 North" operation, with his preferred location being a digital campus under construction near Manchester Piccadilly station. He said he intends to spend part of his working time there, describing it as a way of demonstrating a new approach to taking power out of Westminster.
"I will spend time there, because I think it's really important to show a new drive around taking power out of Westminster," he told LBC, as quoted by the Guardian.
Context: the cost of living backdrop
The proposals come against a continuing backdrop of financial pressure on households across the UK. Energy bills, water charges and private rents have all featured prominently in the cost of living debate in recent years, and Burnham's stated aim is to address several of these at once through a combination of structural changes to ownership and more immediate interventions such as a rent freeze.
The practicalities of delivering on each of these commitments, from the regulatory complexity of renationalisation to the fiscal constraints of the borrowing rules, remain subjects of active debate, and the Guardian's reporting makes clear that significant questions remain about how the package would be funded and implemented.
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