Prime Minister Andy Burnham Announces Cost of Living Relief

Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a series of policy initiatives designed to lower the cost of living and expand public services across England. The measures include scrapping VAT on household electricity bills beginning in October and capping single bus fares at £2 from January through 2027. To finance these initiatives, the government will cancel a planned digital ID scheme and transition international climate finance investments into loans.

Burnham pledged a £442 million program to provide housing routes for all individuals sleeping rough by Christmas. He also announced a 20% business rates cut for music venues and pubs starting in April. For transportation, the government will expand free bus travel for disabled people to 24/7 access by April 2027 and provide £11.5 million to the West Midlands Combined Authority to facilitate public control of its bus network.

While the government cited budget savings from the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero to fund the bus fare cap, the plan faced internal scrutiny. Darren Jones, former chief secretary to Keir Starmer, claimed that the funding for the digital ID scheme remained unfunded.