Andy Burnham delivered his first speech as Prime Minister outside 10 Downing Street, pledging a 10-year plan to transform Britain and describing the occasion as "the moment when Britain starts to believe again." The new PM, who returned to Parliament last month after nearly a decade as Mayor of Greater Manchester, admitted that politicians had failed voters and that the rapid turnover of Prime Ministers required the government to "raise our game."
First Actions: Ending Rough Sleeping and Cost-of-Living Relief
Burnham said his first instruction as Prime Minister would be to end rough sleeping in the country. He also promised to announce measures to tackle the cost of living in the coming days, starting tomorrow, including how they will be paid for. "I can do something to give people some breathing space now, some help with the cost of living," he said.
A Circuit Breaker for Britain
"We will make this moment a circuit breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years," Burnham declared. He outlined a new political and economic model, criticizing the centralization of power and privatization in the 1980s that left many areas deindustrialized and still in decline. "Political power was centralised, economic power privatised large parts of the country deindustrialised, and they still haven't recovered," he said.
Decentralization and Economic Reform
The Prime Minister promised to change politics to be more collaborative and problem-solving, taking power out of Westminster and into every postcode. He pledged to put life's essentials back under stronger public control to make them affordable, and to re-industrialize Britain using public procurement to back British industry.
Ten-Year Plan and Immediate Measures
Later this year, Burnham will bring forward a ten-year plan outlining a path to where he believes Britain should be. Immediate measures include helping more young people into work through education reform and mental health support, building more council homes, and reducing the welfare bill sustainably while honoring defense commitments.
Building a Preventative State
"We will help people to live well, building a more preventative state, investing in people's success rather than paying for failure," Burnham said. He emphasized putting the care of people at the heart of government and called for a new national sense of unity and common purpose.
"Let us make this the moment when Britain starts to believe again, the moment we bring back hope," he concluded.
