Andy Burnham refuses to rule out restoring 50p tax rate as he demands ‘fairer’ system – and insists he’s a ‘team player’ despite bid to oust Keir Starmer
Andy Burnham tonight ruled out raising the top rate of income tax to 50p as he bids to sack Keir Starmer as Prime Minister.
The mayor of Greater Manchester is currently standing as the Labor candidate in the Makerfield by-election with a view to returning to Westminster.
If he wins the contest on June 18, Mr Burnham is expected to go on and challenge Sir Keir for the Labor leadership in a bid to replace him in Downing Street.
Mr Burnham branded the by-election ‘the most important event of our lives’ and said his campaign presented an opportunity for ‘change in the Labor Party’, in a cryptic threat to the Prime Minister.
Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, Mr Burnham said the Makerfield competition was ‘a chance to create a circuit breaker to say we need something completely different’.
‘This is a move to change the politics we have built,’ he added. ‘I changed politics in Greater Manchester but now we need to take this movement nationally.’
While Mr Burnham said a ‘debate’ was needed on introducing a land value tax, he called for a ‘fairer system of taxation’ when asked if he stood by his previous proposal for a top rate of 50p on income tax.
The mayor of Greater Manchester also insisted he was a ‘team player’ despite the threat he made to Sir Keir.
Andy Burnham has refused to rule out raising the top rate of income tax to 50p as he bids to sack Keir Starmer as Prime Minister
A supporter of Mr Burnham shows a Makerfield by-election campaign sticker on his phone case
In September last year, Mr Burnham proposed an economic plan rivaling that of Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
This included a top income tax rate of 50p, which Britain last had between 2010 and 2013 after the introduction by Gordon Brown’s government, and a tax cut for low-income earners.
Asked whether he stood by his proposals last year, Mr Burnham said: ‘Of course you should have a fair system of taxation across the board.
‘And actually what I’m focusing on from the doorstep here is the call that a lot of people have made to me through this campaign, around the lower level threshold where a lot of people are being dragged into taxation and not getting paid for their work.
‘So I’m open to a fairer taxation system, but I’m not making any commitments beyond that.
‘At this point in time, I’m listening to what people here are telling me. ‘I am doing my best to represent what he said in the national debate and will continue to do so if I am successful in this election.’
Elsewhere in the interview, Mr Burnham said he had ‘grown up as a team player who supports the manager even if you don’t agree with his tactics’.
Disputing the comments – amid widespread expectation that he will try to unseat Sir Keir if he wins at Makerfield – the mayor of Greater Manchester insisted there was a ‘deafening cry’ for change from voters.
He said: ‘There comes a point when you get local election results similar to the results we got here in nearby St Helens and all over the country.
‘There is now a deafening cry for change from the British public. ‘Are we going to listen or not?’
