Burnham Launches Cost-of-Living Tour and "Rip-Off" Crackdown
Andy Burnham is launching a national tour to hear voters’ concerns about the cost of living, and is expected to unveil new measures targeting “rip-off” subscription traps and misleading discounts. It is the Prime Minister’s first big domestic initiative since returning from his summer holiday, and an attempt to show he is focused on household budgets. Ministers cast it as putting the squeeze on firms that exploit consumers.
The cost of living remains the dominant concern for many voters, and Mr Burnham’s hands-on tour is designed to project empathy and momentum early in his premiership. Cracking down on subscription traps — the hard-to-cancel deals and creeping price rises that catch consumers out — is popular and relatively cheap, but critics will ask whether it amounts to more than a gesture against the deeper pressures of high prices and stagnant wages. The initiative comes as he faces rows over prisons, migration and net zero. Delivering visible savings will be the test. Watch what concrete measures follow the listening tour.