Economy 19h 52m left
Is Andy Burnham's Government failing to deliver real change for living standards?
Andy Burnham has been Prime Minister since 20 July 2026 and has called his a "cost of living government". His measures so far include a six-month cut in VAT on household electricity from October 2026, a £2 bus fare cap outside London from January 2027, and a 20% business rates cut for pubs from April 2027. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation projects falling living standards, with the lowest-income households hit hardest, and links this partly to the Middle East conflict's effect on prices. The Chancellor has warned the government cannot fully stop the squeeze.
6 Opinions
Andy Burnham is the poster boy for failing upwards.
He hasn’t even been going four months yet. Give it time. That said, he’s still just genocidal Starmer with a northern accent.
Well the answer is no, as making things worse is still real change. Perhaps the question should be for improving living standards. Which is how I treated it with a yes vote.
He absolutely has delivered real change. Cutting household energy taxes and capping bus fares so quickly are massive (even though this is a reversal of Starmer’s failed government) are concrete improvements for working class budgets. That is real money back in pockets right now. But this only buys him time, not a blank check. If he doesn't deliver much deeper structural reforms in 2027, I'll be agreeing with the critics. Edited
The Government is just piling up debt and problems for future generations. Starmer and Reeves were a disaster worse than the last Tory government (and that’s saying something); there’s little evidence Burnham will be any better.