2026: Week 29 - New PM, Cost of Living and Summer Safari

It’s been all change in Government last week, with a new Prime Minister and cabinet. There has been lots of bells and whistles over the past few weeks about how Andy Burnham is going to improve the lives of ordinary people, I, along with the rest of the country will have to wait and see if this is to be the case.

The new council structures suggested from Government is probably the worst of all the options.  It’s already causing confusion and worries about boundaries and financial stability of the new areas.  Somehow I think this isn’t the last word on the matter, and we do have until April 2028 to find a way to make it work…

I do welcome the cap on single bus fares returning to £2, this will help a lot of families, especially throughout the school holidays.  But a lot more needs to be done, especially in rural areas, to address the reduction in bus frequency on essential routes.  This price cap, along with the other cost cutting measures announced this week must also be fully and properly funded to mitigate any worsening of public finances.

Reflecting on the plan to remove VAT from domestic energy bills from October, the Lib Dems are calling for Andy Burnham to go further and back their “Essential Energy Guarantee” plan. The Burnham plan will only save the average household around £45 per year.  The Essential Energy Plan would save customers on average £100 per year, by making the first portion of power used 50% cheaper, with the poorest families saving around £140.  Families with children would receive an additional allowance over the 50%, and the most vulnerable, such as those with disabilities or on the lowest incomes would receive the discounted rate on all their energy use.

This discounted rate would be financed by clawing back the  £7 billion in unexpected windfall profits from monopoly energy operators.

In another announcement this week, pubs, clubs and live music venues will benefit from a 20% cut in their business rates.  Once again, these business rates cuts don’t go far enough to help our struggling high streets.  Whilst pubs and smaller live music venues do need this assistance, there are other business types that are still struggling to survive, such as cafés, restaurants, shops and other small enterprises. 

This also falls short of Labour’s promise to overhaul the broken business rates system, which penalises high street businesses whilst allowing larger corporations such as Amazon to pay ridiculously little  tax and rates in comparison.

High street businesses up and down the country also continue to be hit by the jobs tax - leaving thousands of hospitality businesses still in serious trouble and leaving young people without those valuable first job opportunities. The Lib Dems have a plan to “Save our High Streets”, which includes an overhaul of business rates, removing ‘ghost landlords’ and rejuvenating town centres.  We will urge the new Prime Minister to take up this plan.

Finally, I was delighted to see so many people at the first of my summer safari in Newton Abbot Sunday market, I will be holding a series of these throughout the summer, please do keep an eye on my socials and website for dates and locations.