Andy Burnham days away from becoming Prime Minister

On Monday, Andy Burnham will become the new Prime Minister for the United Kingdom after formally taking over from Keir Starmer as Labour Leader today. Reacting for Friends of the Earth, Rosie Downes, head of campaigns, said: 

“Since winning Makerfield, Andy Burnham has repeatedly acknowledged that his rise to power is Labour’s final chance to rebuild trust with voters who are demanding change they can feel in their immediate lives. 

“Bringing down bills, making transport fares more affordable and restoring a sense of local pride that many feel they’ve lost are definitely the right sounds to be making. 

“But he must not make the same mistake as his predecessor by failing to communicate – and at times recognise – how solutions for tackling the climate and nature crises underpin any strategy for easing hardship, raising living standards and building a fairer, greener Britain. 

“In the midst of an unprecedented summer of deadly heat, anything short of rejecting disastrous projects like Rosebank, Jackdaw and a third runway at Heathrow, and failing to bring forward an all-encompassing fracking ban, would see the new Prime Minister turning his back on precisely the communities he has sworn to help. He must stand firm or risk undermining his credibility straight out of the gate. 

“We’ve seen the success he had as Greater Manchester Mayor in increasing bus use through affordable fares - this is something he should replicate nationally by introducing a £1 bus fare cap. 

 “Alongside this, lowering energy bills through cheap, homegrown renewable power and a new social tariff to help those on the lowest incomes, bringing water back into public ownership so we’re no longer paying through the nose just for water companies to trash our rivers and seas, and ensuring he follows through with concrete action on Palestine – including a full arms embargo on Israel and a trade ban with illegal settlements – should all be top of his priority list.” 

 ENDS