Andy Burnham is set to become prime minister on July 20 and has started talking about what he will do in No 10. He has big plans for immigration, public services, the European Union and more.
It is still possible, in theory, for another Labour MP to challenge Mr Burnham for the party leadership. If that happens, then a leadership election would continue until August 29. But it seems clear that he will be the only candidate, in which case he will take over very soon.
There’s no official Andy Burnham manifesto. Instead, he’s said he will stick to the manifesto Labour was elected on in the 2024 General Election. But he also has some big ideas of his own.
A new EU trade deal
Andy Burnham was asked on website Reddit whether he would “continue the current government’s efforts to build a closer relationship with the EU”, and whether he wanted “a more ambitious trade agreement than the one we currently have”.
He replied: “Yes, I will build on the good work the Government has already done in this area.”
Sir Keir Starmer had been planning to sign new agreements with the EU at a summit on July 22. This has been postponed until October because of the change of leadership, but it is clear Mr Burnham wants to continue Sir Keir’s policy of closer links with the EU.
A new trade deal would require UK laws to comply with EU regulations. For example, if we want to remove trade barriers on food sales, our food safety rules would generally need to match EU rules. This would mean the UK adopting any EU regulations that have been adopted since Brexit.
A massive home-building programme
Mr Burnham promised “the biggest council house-building programme since the post-war period”, saying “nothing else will fix” the housing crisis.
In practice, this would mean forcing councils to grant planning permission for housing developments. It could also mean ensuring local areas are rewarded in some way when housing is built – for example, with extra funding.
Deporting more asylum seekers
This may come as a surprise to some people because Mr Burnham is seen as being on the soft-Left of the Labour Party, which has sometimes appeared to be soft on immigration issues. But he has said he wants to negotiate return agreements with countries like Afghanistan so that people who have had their asylum claims rejected in the UK can be deported back home – particularly if they have committed serious and violent crimes.
Public control of water, energy, housing and transport
Mr Burnham wants politicians to have more control over essential services that are currently privatised, partly so they can bring down bills for the public. This could mean regional mayors taking them over, rather than central government.
But he has said: “Public control can include a range of measures, from strong regulation to public ownership.” So it remains to be seen exactly how this will work in practice.
Getting young people into work
Mr Burnham vowed to cut high levels of unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds. This will include a big expansion of technical or vocational education to help people into jobs such as engineering, where there is a shortage of workers. He has said he will bring to an end “the days of a school system configured entirely around the university route”.
Plus – changing the voting system
In addition to the five changes above, Mr Burnham wants to introduce a sixth measure – but not now. This is a major change that could come after the next general election, when he hopes to introduce proportional representation for the UK, if he is still prime minister.
He said: “I am a strong supporter of electoral reform, partly because I believe it will enable the change to a more collaborative politics, and one that is less about point-scoring and more about problem-solving.
“I will seek to persuade my own party of the need for a manifesto commitment to it in the next manifesto.”