Burnham promises series of reforms in the UK — Politico Europe
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, in his first statement to the House of Commons, promised a series of reforms — from changing the electoral system and regulating political donations to changes in the water sector and the social care system. According to Politico Europe, the speech lasted 204 minutes, during which the head of government answered 125 questions from MPs.
Burnham said that the UK could abandon the first-past-the-post system by 2034 if, after the next parliamentary election scheduled by 2029, a consensus is reached among most parties supporting the reform. He also did not rule out capping individual donations to political parties or completely banning contributions from abroad, but did not propose such steps in the near future.
Domestic reforms
The prime minister promised to present a 10-year plan in the autumn to change England’s privatised water sector. He also said he intended to accelerate the introduction of a social media ban for people under 16, previously proposed by his predecessor Keir Starmer.
Burnham reiterated promises to reform the social care system, move some powers and civil servants from Whitehall to the regions, provide public land for large-scale housing construction, and end street homelessness. He also allowed for a review of England’s local taxation system, which is based on property value assessments from 1991.
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Separately, the prime minister promised to preserve the Jodrell Bank radio telescope complex near Manchester, whose funding was cut.
Spending and foreign policy
Burnham suggested that defence spending could rise to 3% of GDP by 2030. At the same time, he and chief finance minister John Healey postponed a decision until the 2027 public spending review. The prime minister also did not rule out tax increases in the autumn budget, while the UK’s long-term borrowing cost, according to the publication, is the highest since 1998.
The head of government said he intended to move closer to Brussels ahead of the EU-UK summit in the autumn, but confirmed that the country does not plan to return to the single market or customs union. He also said that he would attend the COP31 climate summit in November and would soon make a statement on Israel’s E1 settlement project in the West Bank.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch criticised Burnham’s government, saying that it is “lurching from side to side” and seeking to return the country to the 1970s.
