Energy bills, defence and social care: What are Burnham's potential policies?

Energy bills, defence and social care: What are Burnham's potential policies?Image source, PA MediaByHarry Farley, Political correspondent and James Gregory, Political reporterPublished19 June 2026Updated 22 June 2026Andy Burnham is being tipped as the man who may become the next prime minister, after Sir Keir Starmer announced he was stepping down outside Downing Street on Monday morning.Burnham has now been sworn in as the MP for the Makerfield constituency, following his historic victory in last week's by-election.During that by-election campaign, he set out a number of policy ideas.Burnham committed to the economic rules Chancellor Rachel Reeves set, in a signal that if he became PM, he would not oversee a large rise in borrowing.And he has also committed to Labour's manifesto promise not to increase the main rates of income tax, VAT or National Insurance, which would limit his ability to raise significant sums from tax. Helen Miller, director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said: "Whoever is the prime minister, they will find that, within the fiscal rules, there is very limited scope to increase spending on a particular area without cutting back spending elsewhere or raising taxes."There are still many areas of policy which Burnham has not covered during his campaign, but here are some of the changes he might try to implement if he enters Downing Street.Public control of water, energy and transportBurnham has repeatedly advocated bringing water "back under stronger public control", pointing to the Greater Manchester bus network, which is run by private operators but has public oversight and control, as a model. He has, however, advocated public ownership for companies like Thames Water."We do need to bring down water bills, energy bills, rail fares, just as we brought down bus fares in Greater Manchester, to make life more affordable for people," he said in his victory speech after winning the Makerfield seat.Th...