A new hope, and a better deal for the North

So, Andy Burnham is taking over as the British Prime Minister on Monday 20th July 2026.

I am quite excited that this feels like a real change, despite what some pundits are saying about his performance so far as a former MP and former Mayor of Greater Manchester because he seems to be saying the right things to the proletariat, of whom I am firmly one.

What has been reported

With thanks to the BBC reporting and with thanks to Copilot for summarising the information, this is what we currently know:

• Andy Burnham is signalling a major shift in how the UK is run, with power moving out of Westminster and into regions. He wants stronger devolution, more control for local leaders, and a Manchester‑based unit inside No 10 to drive regional equality.

• On domestic policy, he’s pushing for big council house building, tighter public oversight of water and energy, and a universal social care system—though funding details are still emerging. He says he won’t raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance, but is open to taxing wealth more, including changes to capital gains and possibly land value tax.

• Burnham supports lower migration, more support to get people into work, and keeping the pension triple lock. For business, he wants to protect key industries, cut rates for pubs and venues, and shift tax pressure toward large out‑of‑town warehouses.

• Internationally, he favours a closer relationship with Europe and hopes the UK will rejoin the EU “in his lifetime,” while maintaining strong ties with the US.

How it is being received

All of these points tick my boxes as a socialist, but I think he risks the fall from grace that his predecessor, Kier Starmer, faced when in power; Labour promised too much and found it more difficult than they had imagined when they got into power, resulting in the two major points that they couldn’t shake off: removing the heating allowance entirely for certain pensioners, and raising the cost of employing people by increasing employer contributions instead of finding the money from elsewhere in the economy.

Even after doing a U turn on the heating allowance (and clawing the money back in subsequent years from wealthy pensioners who didn’t need it through taxation) Labour couldn’t shake off those missteps, and through a complete lack of communication on the good things they had done (Government Tracker – Full Fact) including helping out renters, removing hereditary peership in the House of Lords, to those of us not in the Westminster Bubble it feels like very little has been done since they won power in 2024.

Many people in the North feel left behind in politics. We’re too far away from London and the booming South East. What happens up here doesn’t seem to feature in national discussion. This is the same in the South West which is just like the North, but warmer. Both places have been ignored in favour of London and the surrounding areas as if that’s all there is to Britain. I do hope Andy Burnham can make us feel seen and appreciated for our contributions to society and the economy.

Andy Burnham is making big promises and I truly hope he can see them through otherwise Labour will risk being seen as a failure once again, and may never recover, which will only make more voters turn to the likes of Reform and to Restore.

Until they too fail to deliver on their promises, of course.