New Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to hit the ground running with a policy blitz in the coming days, including a package of cost of living measures to be unveiled on Tuesday16:09, 20 Jul 2026Updated 19:46, 20 Jul 2026Andy Burnham has left the door open to cutting income tax for lower earners as he pledged to help people squeezed by the cost of living.‌The new Prime Minister is expected to hit the ground running with measures to help struggling Brits due to be unveiled from Tuesday.‌In his first speech outside Downing Street, Mr Burnham said he would act urgently to give people "breathing space" on the cost of living as he vowed his arrival would be a "circuit breaker" moment with a new political and economic model to sweep away the damage done by Margaret Thatcher that communities have struggled to recover from.‌“I know people at home are fed up with politics," he said. "I hear you and I want to be honest with you – we have not been good enough, and we need to be better. We will be."He added: "Let us make this the moment when Britain starts to believe again.The moment we bring back hope." Flanked by cheering supporters, he stopped to hug his mum Eileen before he made his way in through the famous black door with his wife Marie-France van Heel.‌Speaking to reporters after entering No10, Mr Burnham began to shed light on his plans. Energy bill help, rent controls and capping bus fares are all being looked at to help hard-pressed families, he said, but no final decisions have been taken. It is understood that rent controls are not part of the package being announced this week.The PM signalled he was looking at increasing the amount people can earn before they have to pay income tax. He said the tax-free allowance, which has been frozen at £12,500 since 2022, had come up more than any other issue on the doorstep in his Makerfield constituency.He said: "It has dragged more people in - pensioners, I think - and that particularly I think has become a growing issue. All of this will be looked at though at the Budget, and obviously it's difficult given the financial circumstances in which we find ourselves.‌“But I wanted to recognise the point because it's challenging for people and it's people on the lowest incomes perhaps who've most been affected by that. So it's an issue that I'm just kind of showing I have a visibility of the issue and the impact it's had on the different groups that I've mentioned. But it's difficult because changing the threshold is not without significant consequences. But I'm looking at it.”Mr Burnham did not rule out introducing a 50p income tax rate to target the highest earners, saying it would be "premature" to discuss it. It would mark a departure from Labour's manifesto, which committed not to raise the basic, higher, or additional rates of Income Tax, or VAT.Mr Burnham said he was looking at cost of living measures that could make a real difference to people this year. Asked if he was considering things like bus fares, energy bills and rent controls, he said: "We are looking at measures that could make a difference this year. So we are looking at all of those things but we will make more announcements tomorrow.‌"We're just finalising the details. It's premature to say it will be any one of those particular things. We just want to do some things that people will feel and feel quite quickly. It won't solve everything, it won't take all of the pressure off but it just shows the direction of travel and that we're serious about helping them out."The PM also signalled that reforming social care would be a major priority after a string of PMs kicked the issue into the long grass.He said: "I think the country needs to step back here and say, 'How have we let a situation kind of just roll on, where we know it's a major issue, and yet no one's got the courage to fix it?' I just think that's quite damning really of my generation of politicians."‌The crisis-hit system is heaping pressure on the NHS, he said, which he said he had seen first hand through the care for his dad, Roy, who has Alzheimer's disease. It comes after he spoke of his sadness that his father doesn't know he is becoming PM.Mr Burnham went on: "I am ready to use some of my political capital on this issue. I'll be blunt with you. I would not want to leave office having done what Westminster has done - not just for 15 years actually, I think you're getting close to 30 years - It's not defensible."How many people have lost their homes and their savings in that time? We need to face it and fix it."‌The new PM rebuffed questions about whether he would call an early general election, saying he had the "legitimacy to lead" despite coming into office mid Parliament.On an action-packed day, he spoke to Donald Trump and invited him to Manchester to see what the city "had to offer", Downing Street said, in a veiled nod to Mr Trump's description of him as a "the mayor of a town". The invitation was reportedly planned to coincide with a G20 summit in 2027 in Manchester.He also assured Volodymyr Zelensky that the UK’s support for Ukraine will remain solid after jitters in Kyiv about the change in leadership. Mr Zelensky said: “I truly appreciate that the support for Ukraine and our people will remain steadfast.”Article continues belowKeir Starmer left No10 for the last time and travelled to Buckingham Palace to hand in his resignation to the King, accompanied by his wife Victoria. In his final speech, surrounded by supporters, he said his "work is done", adding: "I am confident Britain is stronger and fairer than it was two years ago."He went on: "I go with good grace, I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything that we have achieved."The outgoing Prime Minister is understood to have handwritten hundreds of letters to Downing Street staff, thanking them for their hard work and public service, as well as the kindness they showed to his family.