Burnham Vows Brexit Options, Voting Reform, Water Overhaul
Britain cannot have “the clear path we need into the rest of this century” until it decides its future ties with the bloc, Burnham said, calling the EU “still our largest market.” The UK left in 2020, four years after a referendum in which roughly 52% of voters backed leaving.
Burnham said he would use the moment around the summit to present the choices open to the country.
“And there are different options, and I will see if we can find consensus around one, which will give us clarity about our position and the future of the continent that we live in,” he said.
Electoral reform pledge
Burnham also announced that Labour's next manifesto will commit to changing the UK's electoral system. He said he is creating a “new national commission on electoral reform” and invited every political party to take part.
“In past years, you have voted twice to support electoral reform. I hear you, I agree with you,” Burnham said.
“We will contest the next election with a manifesto commitment to change the electoral system so that everyone's vote counts and everyone's voice is heard,” he added.
A new path, and a warning
Burnham pledged to put Britain "on a new path" as he unveiled policies on water, housing, energy and education.
"When we pull as one, there is nothing we can't do," he said. “Today, we draw a line on a decade of division. We stop doom scrolling on posts running Britain down. And we put the country on a new path.”
He acknowledged he "may pay a political price" for the announcements, but said “someone has to go through the pain barrier and rip the plaster off.”
Water
Environment Secretary Angela Eagle will introduce a "strengthened Water Bill" that includes repealing “Margaret Thatcher's ideological ban on public ownership of water companies.”
"Water is a symbol of what has gone wrong with Britain," he said, condemning sewage dumping, high prices and infrastructure failures. He did not, however, announce plans to nationalize any individual water company.
Housing, energy and education
Burnham said the government could bring in legislation making it easier to reclaim homes from negligent landlords. He also pledged to cut energy prices and asked the energy secretary to accelerate efforts to decouple green energy prices from gas prices.
On schools, he promised to “rebuild a system of comprehensive education in this country with parity between academic and technical.”
Burnham condemned the political direction taken since the 1980s, saying: “Homes, water, energy, transport, care, healthcare - broken up and sold off.”
"The British right talk about taking back control. Never let them forget, they are the ones that gave it away in the first place," he said.
Growth and fiscal rules
Burnham said his economic strategy would rely on nationalization and devolution, arguing that greater control over essential services could create conditions for business growth.
He confirmed the government would stick to its fiscal rules “to get borrowing and debt down.”
The prime minister said Labour would keep its 2024 general election manifesto commitment not to make changes in the current period, though changes could be considered if the party stays in power beyond the 2029 election.
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