Andy Burnham, the former Greater Manchester Mayor who is widely expected to become the next Prime Minister later this month, has pledged to bring down energy bills for UK households as part of a broader plan to ease cost-of-living pressures.
10-Year Plans to Reduce Costs
Burnham outlined his vision in an article for BirminghamLive, vowing to set out "10-year plans to bring down the cost of these essentials to individuals, families and businesses." He emphasized that greater public control of essential services would be central to his mission.
"All parts of the UK should be able to take greater public control of essential services such as water, housing, energy, and transport, learning from the model that has transformed our bus networks in Greater Manchester," Burnham wrote.
Focus on the Midlands
Burnham specifically addressed the Midlands, stating that energy, housing, and transport would be key priorities. "For the Midlands, that means energy, housing and transport. It means taking the cost of bills, rents and buses seriously," he said. "It means making sure people are not left overpaying for the basics while their wages stand still and their communities are asked to accept less."
He added: "Everyone can feel the country is not where it should be. People feel it in their bills, their rent, their high streets, their transport, and at the end of every month when there is less and less left over."
New Direction for the Country
Burnham, who looks set to take over from Keir Starmer in Downing Street later this month, argued that the country needs a new direction. "We cannot go through another decade like the one we have just had," he wrote. "We need a new determination to raise living standards for every single person in this land. To do that, to fix the economy and the country, we need to change politics, and we need to do it now."
His comments come as households across the UK continue to struggle with high energy bills and rising living costs. Burnham's proposal to expand public control over essential services echoes his successful model of bus franchising in Greater Manchester, which has given the region greater control over its transport network.
