Coming to a town near you: Burnham kicks off nationwide cost-of-living tour as No 10 insists 'consumers being ripped off shouldn't be accepted'
The PM will spend the summer travelling the country as he prepars to unveil a series of measures intended to help with bills, following on from cuts to energy costs and a £2 cap on bus fares announced in his first week
Andy Burnham will kick off a national tour this week to ask the public how the Government can improve their lives.
Listen to this article
Officials said the Prime Minister would be in “listening mode” as he spends much of the rest of August travelling the country to discuss the cost of living.
Having promised to give the public “breathing space”, he is expected to unveil a series of measures intended to help with bills, following on from cuts to energy costs and a £2 cap on bus fares announced in his first week in Downing Street.
Mr Burnham will also focus on improving high streets and officials said he would use the summer tour to inform his 10-year plan for the country.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said he would be “getting out of Westminster and meeting people where they are”.
Read more: It is ‘insane’ UK has not hosted World Cup since 1966, says Burnham
They added: “He thinks Westminster has got used to telling people that everyday hassles – like hidden pricing and consumers being ripped off – must be accepted as part of life.
“He doesn’t think that’s right. That’s why he’s going to start rolling out a series of pro-consumer cost-of-living measures to give people some room to breathe."
Retail expert and high street advocate Clare Bailey told LBC News that reforming business rates could be key to reviving town centres.
She said: “We started talking about business rates reform back in 2010. If he follows through with it, that will transform the lives of the big retailers who employ the most people, and it will also make life easier for the small retailers.
“You need your anchor stores - the big retailers that pull people into places - but you also need independents to give the personality to the high street.
“It’s not necessarily about cutting the rates, it’s rebalancing.”
Ms Bailey said the current system was outdated because it was designed before the growth of online shopping.
She said some physical shops could face far higher bills than online warehouse operators, despite competing for the same customers.
“You can be running an online warehouse distribution centre in the middle of a field where rates are next to nothing and be paying up to 100 times less,” she said.
“It’s about making sure those occupying the high streets, who are now up against online competition, are paying fairly.”
She warned there could be resistance from major businesses with large warehousing operations, but said the Government had delayed action for too long.
With the fallout of the Iran war keeping inflation higher than expected, the cost of living remains a major concern among the public.
A poll published by Ipsos at the end of July found 30% of people listed the economy as a major concern while 22% listed inflation or prices specifically.
But opposition figures have accused Mr Burnham of “tinkering” with his announcements.
Reform UK’s economic spokesman Robert Jenrick said the Prime Minister should “scrap green levies and taxes on energy bills”, and rule out tax rises in October’s budget.
He added: “It’s high time the Labour Party cut the ballooning benefits bill so we can relieve pressure on the hardworking majority that hold our country together.”
Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride accused Mr Burnham of “breathtaking hypocrisy”, arguing tax hikes and “red tape” were “hammering our high streets”, forcing businesses to close and driving up prices.
He added: “Meanwhile Labour are plotting to release dangerous criminals onto our streets, leaving people feeling unsafe in their communities.
“If Burnham is really serious about cutting the cost of living, he should adopt our plan for stronger high streets – including scrapping business rates for thousands of high street firms.
“And if he wants people to feel proud of the places where they live, he should scrap his disastrous plans to let vile criminals walk free.”
Lib Dem Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: “Struggling high street businesses have been pushed to the brink by Labour’s tax hikes and unnecessary new red tape.
“They need more than a new PM embarking on a vanity tour this summer.
“If the Prime Minister is serious about revitalising our town centres, he should immediately adopt the Liberal Democrats’ plan to breathe life back into our high streets.
“That means reversing the damaging jobs tax, delivering an emergency VAT cut for hospitality, replacing broken business rates and cracking down on the ghost landlords leaving our shopfronts vacant.”