A week ago, just before Andy Burnham became Prime Minister, I wrote in this column the following about him. “I suspect he could seek to distract the public with some eye-catching policies, looking to gain short-term popularity, but the same fundamentals and difficult challenges will still exist.” With his first week in office completed, I see I called this exactly right.
We’ve had some eye-catching announcements, although they aren’t quite as good as being presented when you look at the full detail, and it feels to me like it’s more about trying to create a positive media narrative, than attempting to address key fundamentals that could make a long-lasting positive difference.
No one is likely to complain about removing the 5% VAT on domestic electricity (but not gas) bills for six months from October, but it is only a temporary measure, with bills then increasing by 5% in March. Ironically, had we still been in the EU, this measure would not have been legally possible at all under EU law, noting that Andy Burnham and Labour were opposed to leaving the EU.
That measure alone will cost £850 million, but the claim it would be paid for by cancelling plans for digital ID was blown out of the water by a Labour minister who Andy Burnham removed, who said the digital ID plans had yet to be funded. Crucially, whether it’s that or the limited tweaks to business rates for some venues, or the reversing of Labour’s own rise of the single journey bus cap from £2 to £3, we haven’t heard how the giveaways, and the ‘Number 10 North’ gimmick, are going to be paid for.
More spending is going to mean more taxes and more borrowing, and that will only take us on the path to economic ruin. This is preventable but it requires political will to take difficult decisions for the long-term good, and not to chase short-term popularity. Getting this right will make our country more productive and prosperous, ultimately helping everyone with the cost of living. Only the Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch have that vision.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
29th July 2026
