Andy Burnham used his first House of Commons appearance since becoming prime minister to promise plans for “stronger public control” of essential services and to offer wider devolution across England.
He told MPs that a series of wrong turns since the 1980s had transferred economic power into private hands and centralised political authority. Pointing to the water industry as an example, he described it as “a leaking monument” to the private-over-public approach and said the country has been run too often in the interests of private companies rather than the public.
Burnham, who became prime minister on 20 July shortly before Parliament’s summer recess, said he returned to Westminster after ten years away with a clear diagnosis of what has gone wrong: centralisation of power, privatisation of economic assets, deindustrialisation, austerity that weakened local councils, and then Brexit, which he said helped produce a decade of low growth and stalled regeneration.
While he stopped short of calling for full nationalisation, Burnham said he wants greater public control of sectors such as water and energy and pledged a plan to set out how that could be achieved “later in the year.” Pressed about the water sector, he said all options must be considered and acknowledged that reversing privatisation would be difficult.
On devolution, Burnham said his experience as Greater Manchester mayor had given him a “theory of growth” built on devolving powers outside London, which he argued boosted Manchester’s economy. He said he wants every area of the UK to be able to create the conditions for good growth in every postcode by receiving similar powers.
He sought to address concerns that places without elected mayors would be disadvantaged by a two-tier system. Using Cornwall as an example, where talks have been hindered by resistance to forming a combined authority and having a mayor, Burnham said his government will work with Cornwall Council and its MPs to agree a devolution deal “with or without an elected mayor.” He added he would extend the same offer to all parts of England without devolved powers and is open to exploring local devolution models in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused Burnham of favouring “more government control, more taxes and more politicians,” arguing his diagnosis and growth strategy are wrong and warning the prime minister’s national role is different from his previous mayoral job, where she said he did not have to make difficult trade-offs.
Shortly before Burnham spoke, Sir Keir Starmer made a surprise announcement that he would be standing down as an MP less than two months after quitting as prime minister. Burnham began his statement by paying tribute to his predecessor, praising Sir Keir’s lifetime of public service and saying he had provided a platform for change.
In a wide-ranging speech lasting about three and a half hours, Burnham also covered welfare, housing, defence and the voting system. He suggested building more council homes to reduce rents and lower benefits spending, and committed to legislation to make it easier for homeowners to move from leasehold to commonhold ownership.
On defence, he said he had appointed John Healey as chancellor because of Healey’s commitment to defence; Healey had resigned earlier this year as defence secretary in protest at what he saw as inadequate resources under the previous prime minister. Burnham said he would look at the voting system but would not introduce any changes before the next general election.
When asked about new North Sea drilling licences for fields such as Rosebank and Jackdaw, Reform UK’s Richard Tice argued for more domestic drilling while Green MP Ellie Chowns warned of the climate costs. Burnham said the government would take a pragmatic approach and sought a transition to renewable energy that is both effective and affordable.
