Burnham tells cabinet to tackle living costs at first meeting
New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has prioritized cost-of-living relief in his first cabinet meeting, announcing a VAT cut on energy bills funded by scrapping a digital ID scheme. The move has sparked immediate political controversy regarding the funding source and the dismissal of previous cabinet members.
Why it matters
This marks a significant policy shift for the new government and highlights early friction between the incoming administration and opposition critics.
Image source, Reuters By Paul Seddon Political reporter Published 21 July 2026, 17:50 BST Updated 5 minutes ago Andy Burnham has promised to lead a "cost of living government," as he chaired his first cabinet meeting as prime minister.
He told his newly-assembled top team that he wanted to make living expenses a key priority, and give people a "sense that help is coming" on costs.
It comes after he announced a VAT cut to household energy bills from October, in his first major announcement since taking office.
But his plan to pay for the policy by scrapping Sir Keir Starmer's digital ID scheme led to an early row over whether the plan was properly funded.
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