Andy Burnham has been in Downing Street for only days, but he has already announced a burst of policies that have sparked a fierce row over how they will be paid for. The new prime minister’s “spending spree” – as Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch calls it – includes restoring a £2 cap on bus fares in England, cutting VAT on household electricity bills, and slashing business rates for pubs and live music venues. The total price tag: around £1.8bn. Badenoch has accused Burnham of governing like he is still the mayor of Greater Manchester, questioning where the money will come from and demanding he rule out tax rises at the autumn Budget.
Burnham, who was Greater Manchester’s first elected mayor from 2017 until he became prime minister, has put his regional experience at the heart of his agenda. His early interventions are a direct response to the cost of living crisis. “We need to be a cost of living government,” he told his new cabinet on Tuesday, and he has billed the blitz as a first step to give people “breathing space”. Alongside the bus cap and energy VAT cut, he has announced plans to find more accommodation for rough sleepers. The government says the plans are funded through savings, reallocation of money within existing budgets and future tax hikes on “anti-social businesses”.
“Andy Burnham's first policies as PM, the £1.8bn cost, and Kemi Badenoch's criticism explained.”
But Badenoch, in a speech in London on Thursday, said Burnham needed to be clearer about his savings. She criticised him for “floating” possible future policies such as free social care, a huge expansion in council house building, and increasing the tax-free personal allowance. “He doesn’t actually know what he wants to do, he is thinking out loud. All that we know is it’s going to cost a lot of money,” she said. The Conservative leader also said Burnham’s “ambitions for Britain are too small” and called on him to set out plans to fund defence spending and lower energy costs for businesses.
Even Badenoch-sceptics inside the Conservative party agree she is becoming more confident and forging a coherent message based on economic competence. She now holds regular press conferences and lengthy media Q&As. But she faces a different challenge with Burnham, who is seen as a more media-savvy, likable figure than his predecessor Keir Starmer. One senior Conservative said she “has to adapt” because “as a personality, Burnham is much more likable” and comes with a “fair degree of popularity”. The same source pointed to Burnham’s viral response when Badenoch dismissed him as “a pair of eyelashes and a black T-shirt”.
Meanwhile, Baroness Harriet Harman has urged Burnham to “build bridges” with the Starmerite ministers he sacked during his reshuffle. And across the Atlantic, a White House source has told the Daily Mail that President Donald Trump will “tolerate” Burnham for now, believing he will not be the last prime minister of his presidency.
Q: What exactly are Andy Burnham’s early policies? Burnham has announced four main measures: restoring a £2 cap on single bus fares in England, cutting VAT on household electricity bills from October, reducing business rates for pubs and live music venues, and finding more accommodation for rough sleepers. The total estimated cost is £1.8bn.
Q: How will Burnham pay for these policies? The government says the plans are funded through a combination of savings, reallocation of money within existing budgets, and future tax hikes on what it calls “anti-social businesses”. Kemi Badenoch has questioned this, demanding the prime minister rule out broader tax rises at the autumn Budget.
Q: What happens next? Burnham has promised further support when wider tax and spending decisions are made, likely at the autumn Budget. Badenoch will continue to press for clarity on funding, especially for defence and business energy costs. The political battle will intensify as both leaders define their economic visions ahead of the next election. Meanwhile, the new prime minister must manage internal Labour tensions over his reshuffle and international relations with the Trump White House.