Burnham will deal with living costs in short term, adviser says

Andy Burnham is expected to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom on July 20. A key adviser says he will focus on helping people with the rising cost of everyday life as soon as he takes office. The adviser, Miatta Fahnbulleh, told the BBC that people 'at the bottom' would have 'more money in their pockets' under a Burnham government.

Fahnbulleh has been working on policy plans for Burnham ahead of him becoming Labour leader and prime minister. She said essentials like housing, energy, and transport cost too much. She believes the government needs to make those things more affordable through 'public control,' meaning the government would have more say over how those services are run and priced.

Burnham is set to be named Labour leader next week. He will then take over as prime minister on July 20, after most Labour MPs chose him to replace Sir Keir Starmer. In a recent radio interview, Burnham said the government needed to be 'serious about putting more money back into people's pockets.'

Burnham also suggested he would look at reducing business rates for some shops on the high street. Business rates are a type of tax that shop owners pay. Lowering them could help small businesses stay open in town centers.

The Financial Times reported that Fahnbulleh has proposed giving people help with energy bills and transport costs right away. Some newspaper reports say Burnham is getting ready to announce a cost-of-living support package within his first few weeks in office. This would be one of his first major moves as prime minister.

Burnham has also said he wants 'greater public control' of the water and energy sectors. He pointed to how bus services worked when he was mayor of Greater Manchester. There, private companies could bid to run bus routes, but the local government set the rules — a model he wants to bring to a national level.

Fahnbulleh, who is also a Member of Parliament for Peckham, said she would not spell out every detail of the plans. She explained that the final choices would be up to Burnham and his chancellor. But she was clear that the goal is to ease pressure on people and bring down the cost of essentials.

Not everyone is happy with Burnham's direction. Conservative shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said the outgoing prime minister had already damaged the economy. He warned that 'the markets feel things could get even worse under Andy Burnham,' and said Burnham would inherit MPs who are 'not capable of taking the tough decisions' needed to control government spending.