Other areas needed deciphering. Burnham promised “the biggest council house building program since the post-war period,” after millions of state-funded homes were sold off under Margaret Thatcher’s right-to-buy policies. Aides later clarified that he meant the biggest program since the end of the post-war period — not since the end of the Second World War in 1945.
Burnham’s book said all parts of England need a devolution deal by 2034; his speech was looser on timelines. His aides are looking at letting regional authorities keep and reinvest 100 percent of the income tax they generate in their area, but Burnham did not go this far (he said he would reform business rates).
He was more aspirational than concrete in his ambition to “give Britain some breathing space as soon as I can” on the cost of living. He did not say if he meant reducing taxes, when he might do that, or whether the public finances would allow him to do it at all.
There was hard policy, albeit without the detail yet of how hard and fast Burnham will go. He promised that public sector contracts, including in defense, would undergo a “proper social value weighting” test and pledged a “much greater” volume of 45-day work placements and apprenticeships. He promised to adopt a Finnish-style “housing first philosophy,” which offers rental housing to homeless people. He pledged “greater public control of essential services like water, housing, energy and transport,” though he stopped short of saying this would mean nationalization.
There was also a hard edge to his aspirational rhetoric: “While the political direction I set is not up for negotiation, I will build an inclusive team at the very highest level,” he said.
Not like Starmer
Burnham’s soft-launch signals his first few weeks will look different to Starmer’s ascent to power in July 2024.