Andy Burnham is drawing up plans to tackle Britain’s cost-of-living crisis – with rent controls likely to return to the spotlight after he previously championed the policy.
The move comes less than a month after he won the Makerfield by-election and launched his bid to become Labour leader and prime minister.
Should he become Prime Minister, as is widely expected on July 20 following the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer, a policy he spent years demanding – and was repeatedly refused as mayor – would finally be his to introduce nationally.
Shorts
In 2023, a year before Labour’s general election victory, Burnham wrote directly to the then housing secretary, Michael Gove, demanding new powers to impose rent controls on the private rental sector in Greater Manchester.
