What we know about Andy Burnham's policies ated 20 July 2026Andy Burnham has become the UK's prime minister, replacing former Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.Here is what we know so far about his plans for office. Rough sleeping In his first speech after becoming prime minister, Burnham made a pledge to "end rough sleeping" in England."For too long, we've been told that ending rough sleeping will take decades or even that it's impossible. I'm not having that," he said.
"This is something a government can fix if it chooses to. Today, I'm choosing to."A government press release followed shortly after, saying an additional £340m would be spent on providing 1,200 homes and "intensive support" for at least 3,000 people in England over a five-year period. It said that early intervention would reduce demand on public services and pointed to research that estimated preventing 40,000 people from becoming homeless for a year could save taxpayers £370m.
Devolution of powerBurnham has promised the biggest-ever "rebalancing of power" away from Whitehall, with English regions handed more control in areas including housing and transport by a new No 10 unit based in Manchester.The unit would be tasked with promoting "equivalent living conditions" across Britain, borrowing from an idea in the German constitution. He has also promised new opportunities to extend existing devolution settlements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by taking power "deeper down".This could be an area where he looks to build on the policies of the Starmer government, which was in the process of extending regional mayors beyond the main urban areas in England. Rachel Reeves was also due to set out a roadmap at the next Budget, external for how regional mayors could be given control of a share of income tax raised in their areas.
Water and energyBurnham has said he wants all parts of the UK to take "greater public control" of the water and energy sectors.He has suggested this could emulate Greater Manchester's bus network, where private operators bid to run services on a franchise basis, with local authorities controlling fares, timetables and routes.However, he is yet to spell out what an equivalent model for water and energy companies would mean in practice.Burnham has been at pains to point out his plans do not necessarily mean full nationalisation of utility firms, a move that would cost many billions of pounds.One area where he has advocated direct public ownership is Thames Water, a move that is already on the cards after government objected to a proposed rescue deal for the debt-laden company in June. Andy Burnham: Who is the new PM?From Manchester mayor to prime minister; what is his record and what does he stand for?Watch on iPlayerHousingBurnham has promised the biggest council house building programme "since the post-War period" - implying a large rise in rates of construction compared to recent years. However, he is yet to offer details of how this would be funded.The pledge would be all the more challenging to meet given that Burnham has promised to stick to the current government's debt and spending rules.He has also called for the entire 10-year £39bn affordable housing budget for England towards homes for social rent, the cheapest and most heavily subsidised form of publicly-funded housing.Currently some of the budget goes towards "affordable" housing, where rents are more similar to market rates, as well as affordable home ownership schemes.He has also expressed a desire to see higher density residential development in towns in order to protect more green spaces from development.Some of his other policies in this area - including restricting Right to Buy - have already been put in train by the current government.
Personal taxesBurnham has said he would stick to Labour's pledge at the last election not to raise the main rates of income tax, VAT or National Insurance, whilst maintaining there is "some room within that manifesto for movement" in other areas. During his campaign to be re-elected an MP, he also said he wanted to "have a proper look" at potentially raising the £12,570 starting threshold for income tax.Burnham has previously argued the UK overtaxes work and undertaxes wealth, prompting speculation he could raise capital gains tax - paid on profits made when selling assets such as shares and property aside from a main home.In one interview, external, Burnham did not rule out a wealth tax, suggesting his incoming government may have "to ask for a little more" tax at some point.The Labour MP said he would take time to review the state of the public finances and wanted to focus on "bringing people together" rather than creating "new divisions".He has previously suggested that both council tax and stamp duty, a tax paid by homebuyers, could be replaced with a new tax on the value of land - an idea he has been advocating since as far back as 2010.Speaking to journalists shortly after becoming prime minister, Burnham said he would be "looking at" the tax-free personal allowance ahead of his first Budget in the autumn.Currently, most people don't have to pay income tax on the first £12,750 they earn. However, successive governments have frozen that figure, meaning that as inflation pushes salaries up, people pay more tax.
The decision to freeze the personal allowance is often dubbed a stealth tax. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has estimated that unfreezing the threshold could end up costing £8.5-9bn a year. Burnham acknowledged that changing the threshold would be "difficult" adding that it was "not without significant consequences".Could Andy Burnham scrap stamp duty?Published11 JulySocial careBurnham has long supported the idea that social care should become a more universal system.He reiterated his commitment to social care shortly after arriving in No 10, telling journalists he did "not want to leave office" without reforming the system and that he
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