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Andy Burnham has been prime minister of the UK for a week, during which time he has announced a slew of policies as he makes his start on shaping Labour’s narrative for the next three years in government.
From re-introducing a £2 cap on bus fares in England (and providing funding for the devolved governments to follow suit), via a VAT cut to energy bills, to confirming a 20% cut in business rates for hard-pressed hospitality firms such as small live music venues and pubs, Burnham has attempted to demonstrate that he knows cost of living pressures need to be addressed.
He has also launched No 10 North to spearhead his plans to, as he put it in his article for the Guardian, “accelerate devolution” by “taking power down and placing it in the hands of people who can use it best”. He has also revived the national econonomic council, first set up in response to the 2008 global financial crash, arguing that economic growth requires the same level of urgency, focus and collective action.
Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland in his latest piece wrote that Burnham’s first week as PM, and his tenure as mayor of Greater Manchester, suggest he understands that politics is a retail business, and voters need to see something that is “immediate, tangible and uncomplicated. Everyone understands a lower energy bill or, indeed, a cheaper bus fare”.
The Guardian’s editorial broadly welcomed the announcements so far, noting that “they were cleverly indicative ones, nodding empathetically to people’s need to have the chance to enjoy themselves as well as pay the bills”.
But in his piece yesterday, former senior Labour adviser Tom Baldwin cautioned that, if Burnham was to succeed with his policy agenda, he would still need friends in the fourth estate, noting that “one of his closest advisers in No 10 acknowledges the current good vibes will inevitably fade, and indicates his team are preparing for tougher times ahead”.
Are any of these policy announcements changing your views of Labour? Which aspects have caught your eye? Is he moving in the right direction, in the right areas, and fast enough? Will the change of leader and (some of) the cabinet prove to be enough to fend off Reform UK, and to win back voters from the Greens and elsewhere?
What of the new(ish) cabinet; do Burnham’s appointments of John Healey as chancellor and Ed Miliband as foreign secretary inspire? And will ministers seen as most loyal to Burnham’s predecessor who are now sacked cause problems for him?
Here, Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee answers your questions on the new prime minister’s first seven days in power, and what next lies in wait for him – and us. Post your questions below now.
In the meantime, you can catch up on the latest with the politics live blog.
