Andy Burnham guarantees ‘early strikes’ on price of residing forward of turning into PM
The Makerfield MP Andy Burnham will today replace Keir Starmer in Downing Street, and has vowed to end a decade of politics ‘not working’ and do more on the cost of living
Andy Burnham promised action on the cost of living(Image: ANDY RAIN/EPA/Shutterstock)
Andy Burnham has promised “early moves” to help with the cost of living on the eve of becoming Prime Minister.
The Makerfield MP will today replace Keir Starmer in Downing Street, and has vowed to end a decade of politics “just not working”.
Speaking to The Times, the former Greater Manchester Mayor pointed to scrapping digital ID to free up resources elsewhere as an example of how more money could be found to help those who need it.
He said: “You will see early moves to help. It’s all about helping people.
“You’ve seen what we’ve done with digital ID this morning. That’s an example of what’s to come, freeing up resource from something that, in my view, wouldn’t make a tangible difference to people’s lives anytime soon. And even if it did, it wouldn’t necessarily make life easier, it might do in the long run.”
Mr Burnham met with civil servants last week, and will today set out his vision for Britain in a landmark speech outside number-ten. He will appoint his cabinet after, with Shabana Mahmood widely expected to replace Rachel Reeves as Chancellor.
Describing a “ten-year plan for the country”, he said: “I’m not saying that means I’m setting out to say I’m going to be here for ten years. It’s more that we’re not in the right place structurally, we’re not in the right place as a country. I think people can feel that.”
A long-term critic of Whitehall, Mr Burnham insisted he’d faced no issues outlining his plans to officials.
He said: “I think we’ve got to a really good place. Everyone’s aligned. I’ve just been at the Treasury this morning, dealing with some of the announcements we’re making next week, and there’s no sort of tension in the system.”
Becoming the seventh PM since 2016, Mr Burnham said he had plans to fix the country, and accused some in Westminster of being in politics for the wrong reasons.
He said: “There’s no point being here because you’re here. I won’t name names, but I do think I have seen people in parliament, Westminster … they get to something because they want to do that something.
“They want to be that office holder, and that’s it. I can honestly say that isn’t good enough for me, it really isn’t — just to say I got there. I’ve never been like that. I promise you: it’s what I do with it.”
There were also tough words for his own party, repeating his admission that they “need to be better”. He continued: “Running the country is a serious business. You can’t just get swept up in moments and emotions and impulses and the fleeting things and the drifts of social media. You have to stand back from that and apply judgement and build a common purpose amongst people.”
