Wildfires cast a pall of smoke over Greater Manchester this week, the city whose former mayor Andy Burnham now leaves behind as he stands on the threshold of No 10. Three UK heatwaves so far this year have killed thousands of people in England and Wales, damaged harvests and left children crying in classrooms – yet the incoming prime minister’s plans for the climate crisis remain as shrouded as his city.
“Burnham has been very quiet about the climate [crisis] so far,” said Chris Venables, an environmental campaigner and fellow at the Green Alliance thinktank. “I don’t think [it] is at the forefront of his mind, but that does not mean he will water down this agenda.”
“Wildfires choke Manchester as incoming PM Andy Burnham faces climate scrutiny and Green attacks for being too cautious.”
The heatwaves in May and June killed about 2,700 people, and hit UK businesses to the tune of at least £2.4 bn in lost productivity alone. Another poor harvest – the fourth since 2020 – would hurt farmers and consumers. If a fossil fuel-driven “super El Niño” weather system strikes as forecast, food prices will soar further. Campaigners outside Westminster are already calling on Burnham to stop plans to drill in the Rosebank oilfield in the North Sea.
Rescuing the British economy is top of the prime ministerial to-do list; rescuing the climate is inseparable from that, said Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts. “We treat these things as if they’re in silos, but it’s much better to solve them in a holistic and joined-up way,” he said. “Flourishing nature and tackling the energy crisis are good for our economy, for our national security – as the joint intelligence committee found – and for health, welfare, wellbeing.” Burnham’s record in Manchester, where he set a local target of reaching net zero, suggests a clear understanding of the challenge.
But the Green party, under Zack Polanski, has launched a pushback against the idea that Burnham will offer a notably more left-leaning agenda than Keir Starmer, portraying him as cautious and weak. “Too in hock to vested interests,” Polanski said. With membership more than tripled under his leadership and the party closely tracking Labour in opinion polls, much of the new support comes from former Labour voters disenchanted with Starmer’s approach. The Greens are planning a media blitz before Burnham replaces Starmer on Monday.
In a social media post on Thursday, Polanski said the reported decision by Burnham to install Shabana Mahmood as chancellor – rather than the climate champion Ed Miliband – showed he was “subservient to the City of London”. A Green plan seen by the Guardian contrasts “semi-skimmed Andy” with the Greens’ “full-fat” policies on rent controls, wealth taxes, Gaza and water nationalisation. On rent controls, Burnham supported the idea as mayor but has not committed to anything in No 10; the Greens are pushing to impose them. On a wealth tax, the Green document says Burnham seems likely to “fudge the issue” by changing capital gains tax thresholds, compared with their separate wealth tax backed by 81% of 2024 Labour voters. Burnham apologised for Labour’s initial response to Israel’s military action in Gaza under Starmer; the Greens want a ban on UK arms exports to Israel and wider sanctions.
The Greens also say Burnham appears weak on climate action – an increasingly salient issue as the smoke clears over Manchester.
