Andy Burnham is set to unveil a string of policies as he prepares to become the nation’s new prime minister and has already announced the scrapping of Sir Keir Starmer’s plans for digital ID cards.
He described the move as a “reprioritisation of public resource” to focus instead on tackling the cost of living.
Burnham now faces the challenge of marking a change from Starmer’s leadership, while avoiding a sharp break from the 2024 Labour manifesto that delivered the party a landslide victory.
He has promised to stick to the Labour Government’s existing borrowing limits, known as the fiscal rules, and to the party’s manifesto promise not to increase national insurance, VAT or income tax.
But the incoming prime minister has said the Government “might be having to ask for a little more” at some point to balance Britain’s books.
Here are the policies he has announced so far, and some of those he is likely to back publicly soon.
North Sea oil
Burnham is set to announce plans for more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea under a string of measures to alleviate the cost of living.
He is understood to be considering allowing drilling on the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil fields off the coast of Scotland, where licences have already been granted – which would mean the decision would not technically break Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledge not to issue new licences.
The BBC reported that Burnham will use his inaugural speech on Monday to nod towards allowing drilling at Jackdaw and Rosebank as part of a “dynamic start” to his leadership.
But he will have to wait until the licences, which were approved under the former Conservative government, are legally cleared after being overturned in 2025 following a court challenge.
The decision could stoke division among Labour’s backbenches, with environmentally minded MPs threatening to push back against new North Sea oil projects and others keen on the policy because of the jobs they bring and in response to price shocks triggered by the Iran war.
Digital ID cards
The incoming prime minister has committed to scrapping Starmer’s digital ID scheme to put the cash aside to instead focus on the cost of living crisis.
Burnham’s office said the move was a “reset of priorities” and would shift focus to “the daily priorities facing people across the country”.
Starmer had proposed introducing a legal requirement for anyone needing to provide their right to work or rent in the UK in a crackdown on illegal immigration, but the plans were watered down following public backlash.
Ministers then relaunched the policy as a voluntary app to streamline access to public services and for right-to-work checks.
The Office for Budget Responsibility estimated last November that it would cost £1.8bn over three years. Downing Street rejected this figure, but the Government did not provide an estimate of its own, which a Parliamentary committee noted earlier this year left open the possibility it could cost more.
Thames Water
Burnham is expected to place Thames Water, Britain’s biggest water company, into a special form of administration in what would be an unprecedented intervention into privately owned utilities.
Thames Water warned it will run out of cash by the end of the year unless a deal can be agreed between its creditors, a group of investors including American hedge funds, the water regulator Ofwat and the Government.
But the group of investors attempting to rescue the company is planning a multibillion-pound legal battle with the Government if its offer for the company is rejected, according to Sky News.
It comes after Burnham pledged to take greater “public control” of the country’s utilities in his first speech as Labour leader on Friday.
£2 bus fares
Burnham’s team is reportedly considering a £2 cap on bus fares under a package of cost-of-living support.
The Tories first introduced a £2 limit on single fares from January 2023, which was raised to £3 under Labour.
Burnham recently said he wants to look at supporting young people with the cost of bus tickets, following his Manchester policy of free bus travel for 16 to 18-year-olds.
National Care Service
The new Labour leader is expected to ask the Casey Commission on social care to fast-track reforms, due in 2028, to the end of this year – as one of his first acts in office.
On Thursday, he said he was willing to “expend quite a lot of political capital” on care for the elderly, having long argued for a National Care Service to run alongside the NHS, where social care would be free at the point of use.
He has previously proposed replacing inheritance tax with a “national care levy” to fund people’s needs in later life.
Whitehall fixer Dame Louise Casey began her commission on reforming social care in England in April last year to look at reforming the system, including how social care should be paid for.
This means a new system, including possible tax rises or new charges to fund it, could be in place during this Parliament rather than the next, as was expected under the existing timetable.
No 10 in the North
Burnham has placed devolution at the heart of his pitch for Government, promising a new No 10 in the North to “redistribute power and resources across the UK”.
In a speech following the Makerfield by-election at the end of June, Burnham pledged to deliver “good growth in every postcode” with a transfer of power away from Westminster.
He confirmed his plans to move part of the prime minister’s office from London to Manchester, which is expected to be led by Caroline Simpson, the chief executive of the Greater Manchester combined authority.
He said No 10 North would serve as the “nerve centre” to deliver priorities like reindustrialisation and redistributing power across the UK.
Housebuilding
Burnham has pledged to deliver “the biggest council house-building programme” since WW2.
He has not provided details of exactly how he would deliver this pledge, but has said he wants to use “vacant public land” to reduce building costs.
It is not clear whether Burnham’s definition of “council housing” will include social housing, which is delivered by housing associations and offered at social rents, which are around half of equivalent local market rents.
Wealth tax
Burnham has refused to rule out the prospect of a wealth tax – but said these decisions would come later.
Wealth taxes could give Burnham fiscal leeway while remaining committed to the Labour pledge not to raise the three biggest taxes on working people.
He has already confirmed he is comfortable with taxing bigger players to offer a break for smaller ones with a pledge to cut business rates by 20 per cent for pubs, clubs and music venues, alongside a higher threshold before smaller hospitality and retail firms start paying business rates at all.
He wants to fund both changes through higher levies on warehouses run by online retailers such as Amazon, and on the owners of empty high-street properties.
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