Andy Burnham has outlined a 10-year recovery plan and pledged to cut taxes on electricity bills to ease household costs, after announcing he would abolish the previous government's digital ID scheme.
The new prime minister, who took the Labour leadership on 17 July, said the electricity tax reduction would be funded by scrapping the £1.8 billion digital identity programme inherited from Keir Starmer's administration. Further cost-of-living measures are expected in the autumn budget. Burnham has also promised to nationalise his "A Bed Every Night" homelessness initiative, a policy he developed as mayor of Manchester.
The fiscal backdrop remains challenging: the 10-year gilt yield stands near 5 percent, the highest among G7 nations. Burnham argued in his leadership acceptance speech that controlling essential living costs is a prerequisite for managing inflation and public spending. Meanwhile, Shabana Mahmood is widely tipped to be named home secretary.