British Prime Minister Andy Burnham (center) holds his first Cabinet meeting in London on Tuesday. EDDIE MULHOLLAND/REUTERS
Groups lobbying on behalf of the United Kingdom's poorest people have welcomed Prime Minister Andy Burnham's first moves since he took office on Monday.
Burnham, who has vowed to lead a "cost-of-living government", told his new Cabinet on Tuesday that impoverished people struggling with fast-rising prices need a "sense that help is coming".
He then announced he was cutting Value Added Tax from October on household energy bills — from 5 percent to zero — a move that will save the average family 45 pounds ($60) a year.
Burnham's spokesman told reporters that the change will cost the country 850 million pounds this year and would be funded out of 1.8 billion pounds set aside for a digital ID program.
