Does Burnham mean business? Read ahead for the Burnham rundown
Written by Tilly Brown - 28 July 2026
If you have been living under a rock, you may not have heard that Starmer is out and Burnham is in. But who is Andy Burnham? What’s his background? And more importantly, what has he done since being appointed Prime Minister (PM) on July 20th?
Well have no fear, Chambers Student is here to give you the complete checklist on what the new PM minister has done during his first five days in leadership.
It may have only been a week since Burnham picked up the keys to Number 10, or should I say No. 10 North (we’ll get to that in a second), but his policies are being thrown out at high speed. The new PM has barely had time to unpack his boxes, yet he’s already found himself reported on in countless headlines and set Westminster buzzing. So, what exactly has the fourth prime minister in five years done so far?
- Putting an end to rough sleeping
In his first speech, Burnham announced his promise to end rough sleeping. As mayor of Greater Manchester Burnham made a similar pledge, one that supporters say he delivered on, though critics provide a differing opinion. His response centred on two main initiatives: in 2018, he launched the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme, which offered emergency accommodation to people sleeping on the streets and which now provides more than 600 bed spaces. He also backed the government-funded Greater Manchester Housing First programme, introduced in 2019, which aimed to give former rough sleepers a permanent home before addressing wider support needs. This initiative has seen 458 people rehoused. Ultimately, these policies led to a drop in the number of rough sleepers from 268 in 2017, to 90 in 2021, though the figure has been on the rise each year since. In 2025 Burnham claimed that factors such as the cost-of-living crisis and evictions from the asylum system placed a ‘significant strain’ on services and leaves more people at risk of homelessness.
- Cutting down electricity bills
The next day Burnham announced how he plans on scrapping VAT on electricity bills, saving consumers around £45 per year. The new prime minister has stated that this change is ‘immediate,’ highlighting how he believes it’s a start to tackle the cozzy livs crisis. This change will be implemented for domestic energy bills from October 1st, which is just in time to impact the next Ofgem price cap. Burnham said: “Westminster has not been working for people for too long, with families struggling with cost of living… that needs to change. I said I wanted to give people breathing space and that’s what I’m announcing on my second day as prime minister.”
- £2 bus fairs
From January 2027 the £2 bus fare will be back, replacing the £3 cap that Starmer announced during his time as PM. The £2 cap is for single bus tickets, which was previously the cap placed on bus fare during the Conservatives’ reign in 2023. So, for all you uni students out there who don’t want to pay a yearly ticket fee, this policy could be right up your street. The total cost of this scheme is expected to be more than £500 million, with the rest coming from Department of Transport funding already allocated to buses.
- 20% cut to business rates
From April 2027, live music venues, pubs, and social clubs in England will have their business rate bills cut by 20% according to Burnham’s latest policy. The cut will apply to around 32,000 businesses, with the typical pub estimated to save £1,100 in the next financial year. However, the cut will not be available for the ‘very largest’ live music venues, with all details due to be laid out in the next Budget. There have also been calls for the policy to be extended to hotels and restaurants too.
- No. 10 North
On Friday, concluding his first working week as PM, Burnham officially opened his home away from home, aka No. 10 North. As he arrived he told staff: “I think this might be the best day of my life.” The office is based at Heron House near Manchester’s Albert Square. Burnham is expected to work from the office once each week during his leadership. In his speech he said that “it’s not just a new office. Through this place, power is going to flow, energy is going to flow, new ideas are going to come through.” The idea behind the move is to make sure decisions affecting the UK’s economic future are no longer made exclusively behind a London postcode. Other ministers are also expected to spend regular time in the north as part of the government’s commitment to decentralising power.