What are Andy Burnham’s key policies?

With just days to go until Sir Keir Starmer officially leaves No 10, Andy Burnham is de facto prime minister in all but name.

The Makerfield MP is expected to take office on Monday with the support of 349 Labor MPs and a number of unions affiliated with the party.

He will become leader of the Labor Party on Friday and in his opening speech he will set out a bold vision to roll back Thatcher’s economic policies and “give control back” to communities across the UK.

The 10th-place tenure has been eagerly awaited for months, as his path to Downing Street has been unimpeded since his victory in a by-election last month.

During the election campaign and since his return to parliament, he has made a number of speeches setting out his political intentions as prime minister.

Here are some of his key policies:

delegation of authority

Andy Burnham has long been a supporter of devolution and repeatedly called for it to go further when he was mayor of Greater Manchester.

In his first major speech after returning to Parliament, he said he would lead a ten-year plan to transform Britain by transferring power from Whitehall and giving regions the ability to control basic services, transport and housing.

His main proposal was the creation of an outpost in Manchester-based Downing Street, dubbed ‘Number 10 in the North’, which he said would serve as a “nerve centre” for delivering on priorities including re-industrialisation and regeneration.

The future prime minister has promised to chart a “new direction” for the UK; The outpost was driving plans to restructure the British state.

Mr Burnham said the proposals would deliver “the greatest rebalancing of power our country has ever seen”, as he vowed to overcome Whitehall’s resistance to change.

Taxes

In an interview earlier this month, Mr Burnham laid out how he might approach taxation once in power, suggesting there was “some room” for “action on tax” in the Labor Party manifesto. Earlier this week he himself refused to rule out the possibility of a wealth tax, suggesting the government “might have to ask for a bit more” at some point to balance Britain’s books.

The Makerfield MP has signaled he could consider increasing business rates at giant warehouses while eliminating high street shops and pubs from having to pay business rates.

He has signaled he will introduce a so-called “Amazon tax” along with a major reform of business rates in a bid to save Britain’s high streets.

But he also said he planned to stick to Labor’s promises in its 2024 election manifesto not to increase income tax, VAT or national insurance contributions.

Calls for a wealth tax are also increasing from left-wing Labor MPs; A survey conducted earlier this year found that 91 percent of party members think the government should pay more taxes to the rich.

One way to do this would be to increase capital gains tax (CGT), which is demanded by one of Mr Burnham’s key allies. The proposal would mean CGT could be taxed at 45 per cent, rather than the current rate of 18 to 24 per cent.

Andy Burnham has also previously suggested that council tax and stamp duty could be changed and advocated for land value tax instead.

This may see the property taxed at its market rental value.

In 2023, Mr Burnham also backed the abolition of inheritance tax in favor of a “national care tax” where everyone would pay to contribute to the national care service, but said “obviously the richest will pay the most”.

EU

Mr Burnham has previously said he wants Britain to rejoin the EU in his lifetime.

However, after becoming an MP, he said he would not try to return Britain to the EU, arguing that the country would be “stuck in a permanent stalemate if we argue all the time”.

But the former Manchester mayor said he wanted to work more closely with Europe on defence. Times: “I want to build on the progress made in the current UK-EU negotiations and make further progress quickly, including strengthening our cooperation on illegal immigration, economic security and our societies’ wider resilience to external threats, from terrorism to AI-driven disinformation.”

Housing

In a speech in Manchester, Mr Burnham said the “country was in a housing trap” and called for a major “town hall building programme” to be rolled out.

Burnham promised his government would oversee “the largest town hall building program since the post-war period”, using vacant public land to cut costs.

He also said he would focus on higher density development in existing townships to both revitalize high streets and protect green spaces from development.

public property

Mr Burnham said No 10 North would also have three “clear mandates” – reforming key facilities, re-industrialising and refurbishing places.

Avoiding calling for full nationalisation, Mr Burnham said his future government would “ensure that all parts of the UK can take greater public control over essential services”.

These included water, housing, energy and transportation and would come with a ten-year plan to reduce the costs of these basic needs.

Defense

Burnham identified several priorities on defense; The first of these was to ensure stability by maintaining Britain’s commitment to NATO and the country’s nuclear deterrent.

Mr Burnham also vowed to rebuild Britain’s hard power by improving existing military equipment through his government’s defense investment plan. This could have the added effect of economic growth and job creation in communities “that are seeing opportunities dry up.”

But it faces a £4.7bn black hole to fill, as the outgoing prime minister’s £15bn plan identifies just £10.3bn of funding, with the remaining £4.7bn “to be approved in a fair and balanced manner in the 2026 Budget”.