Andy Burnham has promised to cut business rates for pubs by 20 per cent and suggested he could scrap one of Rachel Reeves’s key policies if he becomes prime minister.
The focus on policy comes after the mayor of Greater Manchester, who is running as Labour’s candidate in the Makerfield by-election, finally confirmed that, if he wins, he will seek to oust Sir Keir Starmer from Downing Street.
In a major split with Starmer-era policies, Mr Burnham said he was “sympathetic” to the idea of cutting employers’ national insurance contributions.
The tax was increased by Ms Reeves in Labour’s first Budget after the party’s landslide election victory in 2024. At the time, the party blamed the previous Tory government for the controversial move, which it said was necessary because of the dire state of the public finances.
Mr Burnham also promised to reverse tax rises that have hit hospitality and small businesses since Labour came to power.
An ongoing re-evaluation of business rates, coupled with the removal of Covid-era relief, is expected to result in higher levies for many restaurants, shops and other small businesses.
Pubs and music venues were given a carve-out in January, following a public outcry. But Mr Burnham has pledged to go further and cut rates by 20 per cent for pubs. He also said he would lift the threshold at which other small businesses pay rates, effectively abolishing them for the smallest.
He said: “Our high streets matter to me because they matter to the people who live here. I want to make sure that these family-owned businesses, as the heart and soul of this country, are protected and given the chance to thrive.
“I am willing to be honest about where we have fallen short – and say that my party has got this wrong in government. They have undervalued the contribution these businesses make to our livelihoods and our communities.”
To fund his plans, Mr Burnham announced plans to raise taxes on online tech giants and their British warehouses. He also told BBC Newsnight that the decision to hike national insurance contributions for employers had been wrong.
“I have said that I thought the weight of the burden on employers’ national insurance wasn’t the right decision; however, it was the decision,” he said. “There is more that needs to be done to listen to the voice of small businesses, and as I’ve gone around this constituency, I’m hearing it a lot. People just feel they are at the limits of what they can do.”
Asked if he was open to reversing the increase in national insurance contributions, he said: “I’m sympathetic to that, because I’ve been on the record of saying that before. This thing I’m announcing today isn’t the be-all and end-all.”
