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Key events
Burnham calls for council tax rebanding, so expensive homes pay more, and possible revival of 50p tax rate for top earners
In his New Statesman interview published yesterday Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, set out some of the policy ideas he thought the government should be adopting.
Here are some more that he floated in his Telegraph interview.
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Council tax rebanding, so that people living in the largest homes pay more. There is widespread agreement that the current system is overly-generous to people living in the most valuable homes, because they pay much less council tax as a share of the property’s value. Burnham said there was a “huge underpayment of tax that should now be corrected”. He explained:
If you look at London, I think there are people in homes that are even in double-figure millions paying less council tax than people [in Manchester]. It’s just not justifiable … where something is like that, it needs fixing.
The Economist recently published an article with this chart making Burnham’s point.
I would urge the chancellor to consider a tax change at the other end. The 10p tax, I think, was actually one of the really innovative and quite interesting things that the Labour government did.
Steve Reed says Andy Burnham should stick to his Manchester job as mayor revives speculation about leadership bid
Good morning. The Labour party conference starts on Sunday and today Keir Starmer is making what is in effect the first important conference policy offer: levelling-up style plans to “revitalise” run-down high streets.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published some of the details in a news release. Kiran Stacey has a fuller run-down in the Guardian’s splash.
And Starmer will be speaking about these proposals in a series of regional TV interviews that will “drop” (journo-speak for be broadcast or published, when the embargo is lifted) at 6pm tonight.
But there is another Labour policy offer on the table today.
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, gave an interview to the New Statesman published yesterday in which he said the country needed “wholesale change”. Today the Daily Telegraph has published another Burnham interview and, as Eleni Courea reports, in its he says Labour MPs are urging him to challenge the prime minister.
The last time the Telegraph talked up the prospects of a metro mayor with ambitions for higher office, we ended up with Boris Johnson as prime minister. It is entirely possible – perhaps even likely – that the Burnham leadership challenge will never materialise. But there is some substance to it; it is more than just three excitable, anonymous MPs and journalists out to flame up a story.
Steve Reed, the secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, has been giving media interviews this morning. He has been talking about the plan to revive high streets but he has had to respond to the latest Burnham comments too. He was tactful, but the message still came through; essentially, he was telling Burnham to get back in his box. This is what he told Times Radio
Andy is playing a great role already. He’s the mayor of Greater Manchester and he’s doing an incredible job there, if you look at what they’re doing on homelessness or what they’re doing working with local health services. He will keep doing that work, because that is the commitment he gave until the end of his term … He’s given a commitment. I’m sure he wouldn’t break it.
Burnham is one his third term as Greater Manchester mayor, and the next elections are not due until 2028. Reed was essentially telling him to stick to the day job until then.
I will post more on the Reed and Burnham interviews shortly.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, and Richard Tice, his deputy, have a meeting with the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey. Bailey agreed to meet them to discuss their proposal for the government to save billions by cutting the interest paid on QE deposits held by commercial lenders, but Farage and Tice also reportedly want to argue for an interest rate cut.
9.30am: The Ministry of Justice publishes figures on the court backlog in England and Wales. And the ONS is publishing figures on the extent of stalking.
Noon: John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, takes questions from MSPs at Holyrood.
Afternoon: The Cabinet Office releases data about gifts and hospitality received by ministers and special advisers.
6pm: The BBC and ITV regional stations are due to broadcast interviews with Keir Starmer, recorded earlier in the day but embargoed until 6pm.
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