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The Guardian Politics19 Jul 2026

‘Good growth in every postcode’: Burnham’s economic to-do list in seven charts

From industrial strategy and defence to housing and living costs, we lay out the challenges facing the new PM Andy Burnham becomes prime minister as Britain contends with a series of global economic shocks and years of weak growth in living standards, fuelled by underinvestment and deep regional divisions. Before his arrival in Downing Street, the Labour leader pledged to deliver “good growth in every postcode” by transferring power from Westminster to local communities. But with the public fina

PoliticsEconomyDefenceHousing
The Guardian Politics18 Jul 2026

Burnham to scrap Starmer’s digital ID scheme in ‘reset of priorities’

Incoming PM will reallocate unspecified resources from unpopular plan to helping with cost of living Andy Burnham is expected to scrap Keir Starmer’s plans for digital ID cards in a “reset of priorities” when he enters Downing Street on Monday. The new Labour leader plans to redirect the resources earmarked for the scheme towards tackling the cost of living, his team indicated on Saturday. Continue reading...

PoliticsEconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics18 Jul 2026

Andy Burnham’s plan to scrap technology department triggers backlash

MPs and industry experts say potential reorganisation will waste time at critical moment for AI and economic growth Andy Burnham’s plan to scrap the government’s technology department has triggered an angry backlash from MPs, Whitehall officials and tech experts. The incoming prime minister has asked officials to draw up plans to abolish the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology as part of a wider Whitehall shake-up. Continue reading...

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics18 Jul 2026

Andy Burnham considers radical shake-up to cut energy bills

Labour leader examining proposals to overhaul gas standing charges and make heat pumps cheaper to run than boilers Andy Burnham is considering radical plans that could cut household energy bills by £130 a year and make running a heat pump cheaper than a gas boiler. In his speech on Friday as he became the new Labour leader, Burnham promised to reduce the price of “essentials”, and a cost of living package is expected to be one of his first announcements in Downing Street. Continue reading...

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics18 Jul 2026

Six political headaches Andy Burnham must tackle in his first weeks as PM

From dealing with Trump to easing cost of living, the incoming prime minister is mulling his approach to contentious issues When Labour was preparing for power in 2024, Keir Starmer’s then chief of staff, Sue Gray, compiled what one Labour official called her “shit list” – a dossier of immediate fires the government would have to put out. Gray is back, advising Starmer’s successor, Andy Burnham, in an unofficial capacity. And yet again, she is advising an incoming prime minister on how to deal w

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics16 Jul 2026

‘Bizarre choice’: business and Labour puzzle over Shabana Mahmood as future chancellor

The home secretary, favourite to take over at No 11, has minimal economic credentials and many MPs would prefer Ed Miliband Andy Burnham last month promised the UK he would bring “good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart” when he is installed as prime minister. Britain’s industry leaders also have a hope in their hearts: that Burnham will install a pro-business chancellor. The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, was for several weeks seen as the most likely candidate to succeed Rachel Re

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics16 Jul 2026

Liz Truss wheels out series of C-list ghouls at drab London CPAC event | John Crace

Former 49-day PM helms a Conservative Political Action Conference that’s a far cry from the glitzy US version Liz Truss has given us all so much in recent years. A mini-budget. A laugh a minute 49 days in office. A new monarch, after the queen decided enough was enough and died two days after Liz began her Airbnb stay in Downing Street. And now she has given us one thing more. She has imported the US Conservative Political Action Conference to the UK. And like all things Liz, it’s predictably a

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics16 Jul 2026

UK aid cuts ‘reduce bilateral support to some African countries by 90%’

Critics say Foreign Office figures send ‘global message about the role the country wants to play on international stage’ Labour’s foreign aid cuts mean reductions of as much as 90% in the bilateral support the UK will give to some African countries, Foreign Office figures show. The department’s annual report includes a long-awaited breakdown of how the reduction in the aid budget will affect individual countries for the next three years. Continue reading...

Economy
The Guardian Politics16 Jul 2026

Burnham too influenced by ‘vested interests’ to offer change, Polanski says

Exclusive: Green party launches pushback against idea that next PM will have more left-leaning agenda than Starmer UK politics live – latest updates Andy Burnham is “too in hock to vested interests” to offer real change, Zack Polanski has said as the Greens launched a pushback against the incoming prime minister, portraying him as cautious and weak on such areas as wealth taxes, Gaza and rent controls. Under Polanski’s leadership the Green party in England and Wales has more than tripled its m

PoliticsEconomyEnvironmentHousing
The Guardian Politics16 Jul 2026

Burnham must learn from Starmer’s mistakes: Labour was elected to transform the economy, not just stabilise it | Jonathan Portes

Devolution, tax, the EU and immigration: these are all opportunities for growth if Burnham abandons the excessive caution of the past few years The economic inheritance Andy Burnham will receive from Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves is not, in any meaningful way, a crisis. That is worth saying, because the comparison is not with some imagined social-democratic Eden. It is with the Britain Labour inherited after austerity, Brexit, the inflation shock and the Truss episode – a country in which econo

EconomyImmigration
The Guardian Politics16 Jul 2026

UK economy grew by 0.1% in May despite impact of Iran war

Rise in GDP follows a 0.1% decline in April, figures from the Office for National Statistics show The UK economy grew by 0.1% in May, despite the impact of the Iran war on energy costs, official figures show. The Office for National Statistics said GDP rose, following a 0.1% decline in April. The figures were in line with a 0.1% rise in May that economists had forecast. Continue reading...

EconomyDefence
The Guardian Politics16 Jul 2026

Burnham must avoid ‘summer of speculation’ on tax, warns CBI chief

Rain Newton-Smith calls for a new generation of public-private partnerships to fund major projects Andy Burnham must avoid another “summer of speculation” on tax and spend that would spook British business, the chief executive of the CBI has warned. As Burnham prepares to take up the Labour leadership on Friday, with a new cabinet to be announced on Monday, Rain Newton-Smith urged him to tread carefully. Continue reading...

PoliticsEconomyDefence