Andy Burnham Has Set Out an Ambitious Direction for Britain. Now Comes the Most Important Part: Delivery

 Media Comment: London 1 October 2026: Taxpayers Against Poverty (TAP) welcomes much of the direction set out by Prime Minister Andy Burnham in his first Party Conference speech as Prime Minister. Although TAP is independent and non-partisan, there is significant alignment between several of the ambitions outlined by the Prime Minister and the agenda TAP has been developing around poverty prevention, reducing the cost of living and building prosperity that reaches every part of Britain.

The Prime Minister spoke about making essentials such as housing, water and energy more affordable; expanding council housing; tackling poor-quality rented homes; creating a National Care Service; increasing opportunity for young people; strengthening regional economies and restoring confidence in Britain's ability to solve difficult problems. He also argued that Britain needs to move beyond political point-scoring towards problem-solving and seek greater cross-party support for long-term reform. (The Labour Party)

Those are important ambitions. They also build on the Prime Minister's earlier commitment to a Preventative State—an idea that sits particularly closely with TAP's central argument: Britain must become much better at preventing poverty rather than continually paying to manage its consequences.

From managing problems to preventing them

The Prime Minister's emphasis on housing provides a good example. Poor-quality, insecure and unaffordable housing doesn't simply create a housing problem. It can contribute to debt, poor health, homelessness, disrupted education and economic insecurity.

Preventing those problems before they reach crisis is better for people and potentially better for taxpayers. The same principle applies to energy, transport, employment, skills and social care.

That is why TAP has developed The Prevention Dividend—our proposal that government should assess preventative investment not simply according to what it costs today, but also according to the future public expenditure it can avoid and the additional prosperity it can create.

Costs avoided + prosperity created = The Prevention Dividend.

The Prime Minister's conference agenda also overlaps with TAP's wider work on Green Prosperity, Connected Britain, housing, inclusive enterprise and reducing the cost of living.

His call to restore optimism and stop running Britain down is also welcome. TAP has consistently argued that Britain has enormous assets—its people, businesses, universities, institutions, infrastructure and accumulated wealth—and should be much more confident about its ability to build a fairer and more prosperous future.

But ambition isn't enough. There is, however, an important distinction between setting a direction and changing people's lives.

Delivery is now the test.

The Government faces difficult fiscal choices, and some of the Prime Minister's larger proposals are intended for the next Parliament rather than immediate implementation. His proposed National Care Service, for example, is a longer-term commitment. (The Labour Party)

People struggling with rent, energy, food, transport and other essential costs cannot live on long-term aspirations alone. TAP therefore wants to see the preventative principle embedded much more deeply into the machinery of government now.

We are proposing a Prevention Test for major government decisions, a Treasury function capable of identifying the cross-departmental financial returns from prevention, and measurable pilots demonstrating where earlier intervention can reduce future costs.

We also believe the Government needs to be prepared to undertake structural reforms rather than repeatedly reaching for short-term fixes.

That includes serious reform of Britain's outdated property-tax system, greater investment in regional connectivity, building homes around existing infrastructure, reducing household energy requirements and creating more routes into secure employment and enterprise.

An opportunity for a different kind of politics

One aspect of the Prime Minister's speech deserves particular support from across the political spectrum. He said he wanted to seek cross-party support for his Plan for Britain and argued that Westminster too often prizes “point-scoring over problem-solving.” (The Labour Party)

Poverty prevention should be exactly the kind of issue around which Parliament can work differently. TAP's Prioritise Poverty Prevention Pledge has already been signed by 32 MPs from five political parties—including Andy Burnham before he became Prime Minister. Those MPs will disagree about many policies. That is democracy. But they have agreed on an important principle: government should give greater priority to preventing poverty and inequality. We now want to see that principle translated into measurable action.

Tom Burgess, Chief Executive of Taxpayers Against Poverty, said:

“There was much in the Prime Minister's speech that we welcome. The emphasis on affordable essentials, housing, opportunity, regional prosperity and long-term reform is closely aligned with the agenda TAP has been developing. But the most important word now is delivery.”

“The Government has an opportunity to move Britain away from endlessly managing expensive social problems and towards preventing more of them in the first place. “That means being prepared to undertake serious reform, measure outcomes rather than announcements, and keep going when difficult changes encounter opposition. TAP will support good ideas, challenge Government where we believe it should go further, and continue putting practical solutions on the table.”

The Prime Minister ended his conference speech by arguing that Britain needs “honesty, ideas and a clear direction.” (The Labour Party)

TAP agrees. There is reason for optimism about the direction now being discussed.

The challenge is to turn that optimism into lower living costs, greater opportunity, less poverty and prosperity that is genuinely shared.

That is how the success of the Preventative State should ultimately be judged.

For media enquiries, interviews, or comment: Tom Burgess, CEO, Taxpayers Against PovertyEmail: media@taxpayersagainstpovery.org  Website: www.taxpayersagainstpoverty.org.uk

About Taxpayers Against PovertyTaxpayers against Poverty is an independent, non-partisan organisation campaigning for practical policies that prevent poverty, reduce inequality and unnecessary financial hardship, and create better long-term value for taxpayers. Its current policy programme includes The Prevention Dividend, tax reform, housing, transport, Green Prosperity and inclusive economic growth.

TAP was founded by the late Rev Paul Nicolson and is led by Tom Burgess, author of From Here to Prosperity, a new political agenda for a sustainable economy and greater social justice, which proposes taxing wealth more and income less. TAP is part of Real Agenda Ltd, a not-for-profit social enterprise bringing together campaigns, research, media and public engagement to tackle poverty, inequality and the barriers preventing people from thriving, this includes Compassion in Politics which seeks to bring more honesty, respect and compassion into political life as well as The Progressive Policy Unit (PPU) which develops practical, evidence-based proposals on poverty prevention, economic fairness, taxation, public services and social wellbeing.