Andy Burnham has vowed to be a pro-business Prime Minister who will reindustrialise Britain and support the country’s small businesses. Speaking after he was crowned Labour leader on Friday, the former Manchester mayor railed against “four decades of neoliberalism” which he said had seen political power concentrated in Westminster while
Ali Lyon
Friday 17 July 2026 1:38 pm
Andy Burnham has vowed to be a pro-business Prime Minister who will reindustrialise Britain and support the country’s small businesses.
Speaking after he was crowned Labour leader on Friday, the former Manchester mayor railed against “four decades of neoliberalism” which he said had seen political power concentrated in Westminster while “economic power was privatised”.
In echoes of his first address after returning to Westminster last month, Burnham promised to hand communities more control of their local area, adding that “political power was centralised and economic power was privatised” in the 1980s.
“We will take back power from Westminster and Whitehall and give it to the place where you live,” he told Labour members. “Power to improve your high street, backing local businesses such as the pubs and the shops that bring them to life.
“And make no mistake, everybody, I will be a pro-business leader of the Labour party as I was a pro-business mayor of Greater Manchester.”
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Burnham’s remarks came after he won an uncontested leadership contest following Keir Starmer’s resignation.
He successfully beat Nigel Farage’s Reform UK in the Makerfield byelection last month. In his speech on Friday, he promised to widen the commitment he made to “restore hope” in the Greater Manchester constituency to the wider country.
“This is… a plan to give people more power to bring back the hope that we have all been missing too much, and people are looking for us to deliver,” he said. “And we will.”
Read more Burnham warns Labour of ‘final chance’ after Makerfield win Burnham to become Prime Minister on Monday
Burnham’s formal election as Labour leader means he is now officially in line to succeed Keir Starmer as Prime Minister on Monday, when the London MP offers his resignation to the King. In doing so, he will become the UK’s seventh Prime Minister in the space of 10 years.
The new Labour leader opted not to announce any formal policies or reveal any of his cabinet picks. Instead he set out a series of broad commitments to reverse the “wrong turns the country has taken since the 1980s” and revive the country’s industrial heartlands.
“The country surrendered control of the essentials: housing, water, energy, transport, and left people exposed to higher costs,” he told members. “That, in turn, led to the concentration of more wealth and power in the hands of fewer people and fewer places.
“Large parts of Britain were deindustrialised without the power to set new ambitions for themselves.”
Burnham has previously suggested he will launch another overhaul of business rates on entering office, which would use higher levies on out-of-town warehouses to fund cuts for high-street businesses and pubs.
Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said the new Labour leader’s address marked an opportunity for his sector to “move beyond survival towards sustainable growth.
“Our night time industries, from hospitality and nightlife to music, culture and entertainment, are central to Britain’s social and cultural economy,” he said. “They create jobs, drive investment and bring people together. They are the heartbeat of our high streets, towns and cities.”
Read more As it happened: How Starmer resigned and when Streeting backed Burnham
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