New Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will put the country on an ‘accelerated path’ to integrated public transport in the mould of his Greater Manchester Bee Network.

It would see local buses, trams and trains link together under a single system for ticketing and scheduling – meaning a daily or weekly cap can be placed on how much people pay.

Travellers in London can use an Oyster or contactless bank card to tap on and off various modes of transport, while major bus stations are often conveniently placed outside stops on the Underground.

As Mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham introduced the publicly controlled Bee Network with a similar goal in mind. He told Metro: ‘I’d love to see this across all of England, integrating buses and trains and trams where they exist into a single system.

‘So when you tap in, it’s like London, you’re all under the cap, and people can take as many buses and trains as they like and they only pay up to a certain level. That’s what we need.

‘I think most other countries have it. I’m going to put Britain on an accelerated path to lower cost, integrated public transport.’

Speaking in Bath to launch the new £2 bus fare cap for England, Burnham said the same cap on Manchester buses was ‘probably the most popular thing I ever introduced’.

He said: ‘It’s just simple, it helps people every day, it encourages people out of their cars, it connects people to jobs and training.

‘It’s one of those policies that works on every single level, and it works for the public most of all because it deals with their main concern, the cost of living pressures they’re under.’

Beyond Manchester and the capital, other areas with integrated transport networks are Tyne & Wear and Nottingham.

The government says the policy, which is expected to cost more than £500m, will "help with the cost of living and give people the breathing space they need".

At the start of last year, the England-wide bus fare cap rose to £3 under Sir Keir Starmer's Labour government, although in Liverpool and Manchester fares were held at £2.

Burnham said affordable transport links were an essential, adding: "Lower fares will help people get to where they need to."

The measure gives people "a little bit of hope" in a time when many are grappling with higher living costs - especially after fuel costs spiked as a result of the US-Iran war, transport secretary Heidi Alexander told the BBC's Today programme.
However, she admitted the measure was "not the whole solution".

The new cap will take effect from January next year for fares on participating buses outside of London. The cost of a non-discounted single bus journey in London is £1.75.

The Burnham government said going back to a £2 cap should particularly help passengers in rural and coastal areas, where single fares can be higher.

The Campaign for Better Transport said rural areas were still suffering from fewer bus routes and services, adding that such areas had been more affected by council cut backs in the last decade than urban zones.

Services in those areas - as measured by vehicle miles - decreased by 18% between 2019 and 2024, according to the County Councils Network, which represents 39 unitary and county councils across England.

"What we need to see is the replacing of those lost services which have particularly affected those in rural areas," Campaign for Better Transport's Michael Solomon Williams said.

Which Labour MP, dead or alive, would you have picked? And for which job? I'm going for Nye Bevan as health secretary, beat that!

If you were someone who was genuinely unhappy with how centrist and boring and Starmer was you may have come to this sub

If you were someone who will complain about anything and never be happy with anything, you also may have come to this sub

Every policy Burnham comes out with exposes which camp you were in

https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/confusion-in-whitehall-over-burnham-plan-to-scrap-digital-id?utm_source=pushly

Labour together and adjacent already counter briefing and sabotaging Burnham before he has even settled in it seems. So much for their 'get behind the leader' schtick

Andy Burnham has used his first speech as prime minister to launch a national drive to end rough sleeping.

The announcement, delivered as Burnham addressed the nation outside 10 Downing Street, will be backed “from day one” by an extra £340 million in funding – pushing total investment in tackling rough sleeping to record levels.

Burnham argued the policy was central to his broader promise to build a “more preventative state” and invest “in people’s success, rather than paying for people’s failure.”

The new prime minister blamed successive governments for “turning a blind eye” to the issue of rough sleeping. Downing Street pointed to the “Everyone In” scheme launched during the Covid pandemic as proof that action is possible when there is political will.

Before delivering his speech on Monday afternoon, Burnham met people with experience of sleeping rough and heard first hand how “it can trap people in a cycle of crisis, poor health and insecurity.”

As a first step, the government will begin acquiring homes suitable for rough sleepers, identifying those most in need, and moving people into housing and support.

The £340 million is said to represent the opening phase of a five-year programme, with further details expected before the autumn.

Officials say the initial funding alone will provide 1,200 homes and intensive support for at least 3,000 people.

Burnham stated: “For too long, we’ve been told that ending rough sleeping will take decades or even that it’s impossible. I’m not having that.
“This is something a government can fix if it chooses to. Today, I’m choosing to.

“On my first day as prime minister, I’m announcing this government’s commitment to finally end long-term rough sleeping across the UK at the earliest opportunity.

“We’ll get to work immediately, bringing together national and local government with the investment needed to get it done.

“This is the kind of Britain I want us to be – a country where everyone has the security of a roof over their head, and where no one is left behind or written off. Let’s bring back hope.”

VAT will be cut from household electricity bills, the government has announced, as part of new Prime Minister Andy Burnham's pledge to help with the cost of living.

The reduction from 5% VAT to zero will come into effect on 1 October, saving a typical household about £45 a year.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cgrkv8e8l9qt

Looks like my instincts about the weirdly persistent stories about Shabana Mahmood being the "favourite" to be named Chancellor were right; the Mandelson lot trying to brief themselves into position as usual. But she is staying as Home Secretary. Also, Louise Haigh is Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

What are we thinking? Are these picks good signs or not?

If you live in the United Kingdom what do you think are the best things that could be done at the different levels of government to help the working class and most vulnerable?

In particular what are things you think will do the best job to promote the Labour Movement, Environmentalism, and Peace Movement. There is a lot of warmongers right now. There is a lot of Oligarchs, Multinational Business Lobbies, Powerful & Predatory Industries/Tycoons, and the general Corporatocracy that are involved in 3D chess against Organized Labour. There is a lot of death cult groups like the Fossil Fuel Industry that don't care at all about the climate or the environment.

I want to know solid policy ideas for different levels of government that can start making things better and brighter!

Ethnic minority communities in Northern Ireland are still “living in fear” one month on from race riots which saw children having to be rescued from their homes, a senior police officer has said.

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck also told MPs that a man charged over a stabbing which preceded the violence may be from Chad, and not Sudan as previously believed.

Violence flared in several areas in Northern Ireland in June after a graphic video clip emerged of a man being stabbed in north Belfast.

The victim, Stephen Ogilvie, who is aged in his 40s, lost his left eye in the attack and also sustained deep wounds to his head, face and back.

Following the attack, Hadi Alodid, 30, appeared at Belfast Magistrates’ Court charged with attempted murder.

The disorder following the stabbing saw masked mobs set fire to homes, cars and a bus, with people targeted based on their race.

Foreign national healthcare workers were also subjected to threats and intimidation.
Mr Beck appeared before a joint sitting of the Home Affairs and Northern Ireland Affairs Committees to provide an update.

Devolution of power. Burnham has promised the biggest-ever "rebalancing of power" away from Whitehall, with English regions handed more control in areas including housing and transport by a new No 10 unit based in Manchester. The unit would be tasked with promoting "equivalent living conditions" across Britain, borrowing from an idea in the German constitution. He has also promised new opportunities to extend existing devolution settlements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

This could be an area where he looks to build on the policies of the Starmer government, which was in the process of extending regional mayors beyond the main urban areas in England.

Water and energy. Burnham has said he wants all parts of the UK to take "greater public control" of the water and energy sectors. He has suggested this could emulate Greater Manchester's bus network, where private operators bid to run services on a franchise basis, with local authorities controlling fares, timetables and routes.

Housing. Burnham has promised the biggest council house building programme "since the post-War period" - implying a large rise in rates of construction compared to recent years. However, he is yet to offer details of how this would be funded.

He has also called for the entire 10-year £39bn affordable housing budget for England towards homes for social rent, the cheapest and most heavily subsidised form of publicly-funded housing.

Currently some of the budget goes towards "affordable" housing, where rents are more similar to market rates, as well as affordable home ownership schemes. Some of his other policies in this area - including restricting Right to Buy - have already been put in train by the current government.

Personal taxes. Burnham has said he would stick to Labour's pledge at the last election not to raise the main rates of income tax, VAT or National Insurance, whilst maintaining there is "some room within that manifesto for movement" in other areas. During his campaign to be re-elected an MP, he also said he wanted to "have a proper look" at potentially raising the £12,570 starting threshold for income tax.

Burnham has previously argued the UK overtaxes work and undertaxes wealth, prompting speculation he could raise capital gains tax - paid on profits made when selling assets such as shares and property aside from a main home. In one interview, Burnham did not rule out a wealth tax.

He has previously suggested that both council tax and stamp duty, a tax paid by homebuyers, could be replaced with a new tax on the value of land - an idea he has been advocating since as far back as 2010.

Social care. Burnham has long supported the idea that social care should become a more universal system. In a speech in 2023, he suggested this could be funded by replacing inheritance tax with a new "national care levy". He has suggested everyone would pay this new tax, whilst "obviously the wealthiest would pay the most". Labour promised to overhaul the system in opposition, but upon taking office commissioned a review of funding that is not due to report until 2028. Burnham has said he would bring that forward to the end of this year.

Immigration. Like the Sunak government, Labour has reduced levels of immigration by tightening visa requirements. During his Makerfield campaign, Burnham said net migration "needs to fall further", although he has not set a specific target. One area where he could have an internal battle on his hands is over proposals to lengthen the time that foreign nationals already living in the UK would have to wait before they can qualify for permanent residence. Earlier this year, Burnham urged Labour MPs to heed warnings from the party's former deputy leader Angela Rayner about the impact of the changes. But when running to be an MP himself, he said he supported the "broad thrust" of the plans, unveiled earlier this year by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.

Welfare and employment. Burnham has said he wants to see a "fair and lasting" reduction to the UK's welfare bill, amid rising spending on health and disability benefits in recent years. But he has not set out plans to change the level of benefits payments, or how people qualify to receive them.

Instead, he argues the claimant count can be reduced by improving employment support and "in-work" mental health support. He has also said he wants 16 to 18-year-olds to have guaranteed work placements. Burnham has said he would keep the "triple lock".

Business policy. Burnham has said he wanted to preserve "sovereign manufacturing" capability in key areas such as steel, defence, energy, and farming, and he wanted to make it easier for British companies to win public contracts. During the by-election campaign, his team sent out a policy document promising a cut in business rates for pubs and music venues by 20%. That would be paid for, they said, by higher taxes of out-of-town warehouses used by online retailers like Amazon. Burnham also wants to raise the threshold at which business rates kick in, taking lots of small high street shops out of paying altogether.

Foreign policy and defence. Burnham has said he would like the UK to rejoin the EU within his lifetime, but he has insisted he does not want to "re-run the [2016] referendum now". He has pledged to seek a "closer relationship" with European countries, and "consolidate the progress made" on existing negotiations with the EU.

Defence spending, which prompted the resignation of Starmer's defence secretary John Healey earlier in June, would provide another headache. In one of his final decisions in office, Sir Keir announced a plan to increase military spending by £15bn over the next four years by cutting spending in other parts of government, whilst leaving the details to Burnham to flesh out.

Electoral reform. Burnham has said he would "seek to persuade my own party" of the need to include a pledge in Labour's next election manifesto to replace the UK's first-past-the-post system with a form of proportional representation.