Burnham Launches National Tour To Hear People's Cost-Of-Living Concerns, Vows To Help With Rising Bills

Prime Minister Andy Burnham will begin a national tour on Monday, 11 August, to hear concerns about the cost of living as his government prepares to announce further measures aimed at easing pressure on household bills.

Burnham is expected to spend much of August travelling around the UK in what officials have described as a period of 'listening mode'. The tour will also give him an opportunity to promote his 10-year plan for the country while gathering views from voters on the financial pressures they are facing.

The move comes after the prime minister announced several cost-of-living measures during his first week in Downing Street, including a temporary reduction in VAT on energy bills from 5% to zero and a £2 cap on bus fares.

His government has also announced a 20% cut in business rates for the majority of pubs and other hospitality businesses, with Burnham saying he wants to give households and businesses more 'breathing room'.

Burnham Puts Cost Of Living at Centre of Tour

A spokesman for the prime minister said Burnham would be 'meeting people where they are' during the tour, arguing that consumers had become accustomed to problems such as hidden pricing and what he described as people being 'ripped off'.

'He doesn't think that's right,' the spokesman said. 'That's why he's going to start rolling out a series of pro-consumer cost of living measures to give people some room to breathe.'

The government faces a public increasingly concerned about the economy and prices. An Ipsos poll published at the end of July found that 30% of people were particularly concerned about the economy, while 22% identified inflation or prices as a specific concern.

The cost of living remains a major political issue, with inflation reportedly remaining higher than expected amid the economic fallout from the Iran war.

Burnham's tour is therefore likely to put everyday financial pressures at the centre of his early months in office. Officials say he will focus on what people are experiencing locally while also using the visits to discuss his longer-term plans for the UK.

The prime minister has separately indicated that improving high streets will be another priority.

Cost of Living Measures Face Opposition

The measures announced so far have not escaped criticism from opposition parties, with rivals questioning whether they go far enough to ease the pressures facing households and businesses.

Reform UK's economic spokesman, Robert Jenrick, called for green levies and taxes on energy bills to be scrapped and urged the government to rule out tax rises in October's Budget.

'It's high time the Labour Party cut the ballooning benefits bill so we can relieve pressure on the hardworking majority that hold our country together,' Jenrick said. Green Party leader Zack Polanski was also critical, describing the government's approach as 'tinkering at the edges' in comments published by The i Paper.

Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride went further, accusing Burnham of 'breathtaking hypocrisy' over his plans to improve high streets. He argued that tax rises and what he called excessive red tape were putting pressure on businesses, contributing to closures and higher prices.

Stride called on the government to scrap business rates for thousands of high street firms.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper similarly argued that Labour's tax rises and 'unnecessary new red tape' had pushed high street businesses 'to the brink'. She said the government should reverse the 'jobs tax', introduce a VAT cut for hospitality, reform business rates and tackle landlords leaving shopfronts vacant.

For Burnham, the national tour offers a chance to take the argument beyond Westminster and hear directly from voters while presenting his early policies as part of his response to household pressures. The government has yet to set out all of the additional measures expected to emerge from the tour, leaving the coming weeks likely to show whether the prime minister's promise of more room to breathe translates into further changes to bills and consumer costs.