Andy Burnham's "everyday fixes" for minor frustrations and unfair expenses are designed to build public confidence, but columnist Emma Beddington remains unconvinced, suggesting that pothole politics lacks the charm of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's approach.
Burnham's Everyday Fixes
Burnham's proposals include bringing forward the ban on auto-renewed subscriptions, tackling betting and vape shops, addressing misleading "sale" prices, and capping bus fares in England. These measures target the "annoyance economy"—daily frustrations that make people poorer or drive them slowly mad, such as the absurd complexity of cancelling subscriptions, hidden fees, and being charged more due to cookies.
As Eric Phillips, former press secretary for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, notes: "Theatre is part of the job." These fixes are visual and easily communicated, playing well for politicians online.
The Appeal of Small Wins
It's human nature to start by addressing small issues first, ticking off quick wins before tackling bigger problems. Beddington acknowledges that winning public confidence by sorting minor gripes could build goodwill to address the big, hard, slow, and unpopular issues.
However, she isn't won over yet, stating that Burnham doesn't have Mamdani's magic. Inspired by consumer champion Martin Lewis's suggestion that the government fix "100 small things that piss people off," Beddington compiled her own list of silly little ways to get her on side.
A List of Small Changes
Her suggestions include eliminating the frustration of delivery companies claiming you were out when you were in all day, and the futility of updating "delivery preferences" only for them to be ignored. She also calls for an end to shopping sites that return you to the top of the page when you click back, and for companies that sign you up to marketing guff unless you opt out to face severe consequences, including being placed in administration and barred from holding corporate office.
She also proposes that CEOs of plastic-film lid manufacturers demonstrate they can open them effortlessly with their non-dominant hand, that washing machines have a built-in tissue sensor, that bread be bio-engineered to fall butter side up, and that free scissor and nail clipper distributors be placed on every street corner. She also suggests issuing everyone with a single, universal sock.
Beddington concludes that once these fixes are in place, Burnham might just get her vote.
