Don't Look Up

In his first month as PM, Andy Burnham’s radical intervention on the cost of living crisis is to announce a crackdown on ‘subscription traps’. Companies will have to give consumers clear, up-front information about auto-renewing subscriptions and contracts – and make cancelling much easier. Burnham claims the measures will save the average Brit £170 per year.

This is all part of Burnham’s plan to introduce “everyday fixes” to support people through the cost-of-living crisis. (The subscription traps plan was actually introduced under Starmer, but Burnham has decided to bring it forward three months.) Of course, £170 per year isn’t going to go far when the average household is £480 worse off purely as a result of the Iran war.

Why isn’t Burnham going further on the cost of living? Because doing so would require him to confront capital. He could announce increases in spending on social security to support households living in poverty, but that would either mean an increase in borrowing or raising taxes on the wealthy. Neither would go down well with the City. A more radical proposal would be to announce measures to strengthen collective bargaining, and to impose stricter regulation on utilities to keep down bills. But that would require taking on the CBI.

Burnham doesn’t have the desire – or the ability – to take on any section of British capital. The Labour Party has been thoroughly taken over by vested interests, and Burnham has absolutely no reason to rock the boat. But even if he did want to deliver a radical shake up of the UK economy, he doesn’t have a social or political base strong enough to back him in the fight that would ensue. Burnham seemed strong when he took power, but he’s really quite weak – as is every Labour leader who takes control of the hollowed-out, cartelised Labour Party.

Burnham’s radicalism isn’t confined to the economy. In the midst of a heatwave that has already killed thousands, brought a severe drought, and sparked several wildfires, his radical intervention on climate is to ban disposable barbecues. As far as I’m aware, Burnham hasn’t even mentioned climate breakdown since taking office, which is pretty astonishing given the entire country has turned from green to brown in his time as PM.

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