50mph speed limits and double cost of second homes: What Burnham should do in first 100 days, according to Labour pressure group

Capping all petrol and diesel cars at 50mph and introducing a tax that would double the price of all second homes are among a series of policies recommended for Andy Burnham’s first few weeks in office by a Labour Party pressure group that is closely aligned to the new prime minister.

Compass has put together a report – seen by The Independent – outlining 100 policies for the new prime minister’s first 100 days.

It will be published in three parts over the next three weeks, with the first tranche – covering democratic reform, devolution, immigration and international affairs – being published this weekend.

Compass is headed by Neil Lawson, who is also the co-founder of Mainstream Labour, the Burnham-backed faction set up in August 2025 that was closely associated with Mr Burnham when he was preparing to challenge Sir Keir Starmer.

Among the policies outlined are a two per cent wealth tax on every £1m, support for assisted dying, the introduction of a proportional representation voting system before the next election, and a ban on members of the House of Lords from serving in government.

The document is also highly critical of the government’s approach to immigration, instead calling for a “positive immigration stance”. Compass argues that “Labour’s adoption of Reform/Conservative style immigration policy has been an abject failure, both morally and electorally”, instead calling for a “principled, positive case for immigration and Britain’s responsibility to take a share of people displaced by climate change and war”.

Policy proposals in the document include:

Here, The Independent takes a closer look at some of the policies that have been proposed, how likely the government is to consider them and why they might be difficult to implement.

50mph cap

As Britain heads into its fifth heatwave this summer, Compass has called for “emergency decarbonisation action” amid the escalating impacts of the climate crisis. Warning that the scale of the crisis means “emergency action is needed to reach Net Zero by 2040”, Compass calls for a ban on new gas boiler installation, the mandatory installation of solar panels or heat pumps on new-builds and the phasing out of petrol and diesel cars.

This, they said, should be accelerated via the imposition of mandatory 50mph speed inhibitors on fossil-fuelled cars. The think tank also called for the acceleration of action taken to limit the climate impacts of industry and aviation.

In 2024, domestic transport accounted for around 30 per cent of all territorial UK greenhouse gas emissions, almost entirely through carbon dioxide emissions – with the RAC estimating that the main source of emissions from this sector is the use of petrol and diesel in road vehicles.

There are approximately 28 million pure petrol and diesel cars licensed on UK roads, making up roughly 85 per cent of all cars – meaning the impact of speed inhibitors would be drastic, and would likely spark significant backlash from motorists and people who live in rural areas without as much access to public transport.

Richard Holden MP, Conservative shadow transport secretary, dubbed the plan “absurd”, saying it would contribute to what he called a “war on motorists”.

“Labour, Lib Dem and Green Councils are already enforcing bonkers borough-wide blanket 20mph speed limits up and down the country, so nobody should be shocked that the next big idea from the left is to put a speed limiter in every car too”, he said.

Maternity fund

The think tank suggests introducing a maternity fund, modelled on Denmark’s DA Barsel fund which sees all companies pay a small quarterly sum per employee into a national fund, from which companies can claim pay for staff during parental leave.

It is hoped this would even out the cost of hiring women across employers, reducing the burden on small companies and making female employees more attractive to hire.

Two per cent wealth tax on every £1m

Compass’s policy document suggests multiple types of wealth tax, including a 2 per cent tax on every £1m.

“Our country’s economy is in ruins with underfunded public services and indebted councils. A wealth tax of 2 per cent on every £1m of an individual’s wealth would transform the country”.

Mr Burnham has faced growing calls from both Labour MPs and campaigners to introduce a wealth tax to fund Britain’s defence spending and his plans for major social care reform. With mounting pressure on the public finances, Left-wing Labour MPs have argued a wealth tax would be a more Labour-aligned way of raising money, rather than slashing welfare or taxing working people.

However, a 2 per cent wealth tax on every £1m would not only be hard to measure – as it would cover so many people whose wealth sits in property, it also likely to face significant backlash from homeowners, especially those who are based London.

In total, there are an estimated 673,143 homes valued at £1 million or more across the country, according to property research from estate agent Savills. London contains approximately 340,620 homes valued at £1 million or more – this means roughly one in every 11 homes in the capital is worth at least £1m, accounting for over half of all million-pound properties in Britain.

Wealth tax to fund universal basic income

The second type of wealth tax that was suggested by the Compass report is a wealth tax of 5-10 per cent on wealth greater than £10m, with proceeds funding universal basic income for citizens in need.

The report argued the government should establish a national commission to look at how Basic Income initiatives can become part of an expanded welfare system, citing food producers and creative artists as groups lacking guaranteed income despite their “contribution to national culture and food security”.

The Green Party has championed the prospect of a universal basic income, but Labour and the Tories have so far rejected the proposal over concerns about high costs and fears over how it could impact productivity and work incentives.

Such a policy could serve to win back voters who have left Labour for the Greens, but it could spark backlash from economists and those on the right of the party.

Mr Burnham has so far not ruled out a wealth tax, and argued that Britain “needs a greater sense of fairness”. But he is likely to be weighing up the benefits of a wealth tax against risks of millionaires leaving the country.

100% tax on second homes

Compass suggests the government should introduce a 100 per cent tax on the purchase price of second homes as part of a policy to tackle the housing in crisis in Britain, warning that there is “record second-home ownership while working people struggle for housing”.

They recommend using the income raised from the tax on second homes – which would effectively double the price of all second homes – to fund state-owned affordable housing.

A review of council tax and stamp duty

Mr Burnham should launch a “full independent review” of both council tax and stamp duty within his first 100 days, Compass argues, with the aim of “replacing both with a fairer property tax based on current values, protecting those who cannot pay, cutting bills for most households and unlocking a more mobile housing market”.

The report describes the property taxes as “Britain’s most unfair and economically damaging taxes”, pointing out that Britain’s council tax is still based on 1991 property values, while stamp duty “penalises people for moving, downsizing, upsizing or relocating for work.”

Council tax and stamp duty reform is a policy with a wide support base. Both taxes have been widely criticised by economists and tax experts, with Dan Neidle arguing the property tax system is “broken and regressive” – and should be replaced with a fairer proportional property tax or land value tax based on current values.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has argued council tax is “not fit for purpose”, dubbing it “increasingly out of date and arbitrary, and highly regressive with respect to property values” – also calling for it to be replaced with a tax proportional to property value.

Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has promised to completely abolish stamp duty on primary residences if her party wins the next general election.