Andy Burnham has outlined an ambitious agenda of public control over key sectors of the UK economy, should he become Prime Minister.
The Manchester mayor is standing as Labour’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election, ahead of a widely anticipated bid to lead the party.
Burnham has signalled his intention to push water firms into public hands, telling The Guardian that taking over Thames Water was “absolutely an option” for a Burnham government.
Some economists have warned about the potential costs of compensation involved in a Thames Water takeover, as well as the burden of allowing the troubled company to fall into special administration.
Beyond water, Burnham is also reported to be considering widening nationalisation efforts to more transport networks and parts of the energy sector, including grid operations.
The Guardian was told that Burnham is prepared to introduce a one-year freeze on private rents, a cap on bus fares, and reductions to energy bills by stripping net zero levy costs, passing those costs onto general taxation instead.
In a separate interview with The Times, Burnham said he would tighten regulation on government procurement to push companies into hiring more British workers.
A commitment to “social value” within procurement would also be deployed to reduce the welfare bill, according to the Labour leadership contender.
“I am not squeamish about saying that the plan would be to reduce the welfare bill,” Burnham said, making clear his intentions on welfare spending.
“It is not the traditional Westminster way of just crude cuts, short-term cuts that then create a backlash and create more political turbulence,” he added, describing his approach as more preventative.
“It is actually going to do things that will reduce the benefits bill, moving towards a more preventative state that makes the right investments to support people into work,” Burnham continued.
His comments appeared to align with those of John Healey, who resigned as defence secretary this week over a lack of funding, and who had called on defence firms to open plants in the UK and hire local workers.
Sir Keir Starmer has argued that his government is already delivering welfare reform, having commissioned former health secretary Alan Milburn and disability minister Sir Stephen Timms to propose new benefits policies.
A poll conducted by More in Common and UCL projected that Burnham is on course to beat Reform UK’s Robert Kenyon in the upcoming Makerfield by-election.
Burnham is forecast to win 45 per cent of the vote, with Kenyon projected to receive around 40 per cent of the share.
Kenyon’s performance is expected to be further dented by Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain party, which is projected to take eight per cent of the vote and strip support away from Reform UK.