ONE week ago today a new era began for UK politics – and with it comes bright prospects for the people of Barrow and Furness.
Andy Burnham said his arrival in Downing Street would bring back hope to this country.
It will be a circuit breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the past 40 years.
I was glad to get the chance to speak to Andy a few days earlier and discuss Cumbria with him, and the challenges we face.
We discussed inequalities in the way local authorities deliver services to residents, the opportunities for growth and how so many of our people need the change that Labour has promised.
Keir Starmer’s legacy will stand up to scrutiny – particularly the role he played in reshaping Labour after the general election defeat in December 2019 and leading us to victory just over two years ago.
To that we can add his unwavering commitment to our submarine programme, and Barrow and Furness.
Andy’s arrival in the top job has created an atmosphere of optimism around the country that had been missing and I’m looking forward to working with him.
His new cabinet has a healthy mix of fresh faces and seasoned MPs who are determined to change things for the better.
Former health secretary Wes Streeting is someone I collaborated with on several issues connected with Furness General Hospital, now moving to defence which is pivotal to our area because of the shipyard, crucial to our nation’s security and it will be good to work alongside him again.
Wes has said increased defence spending would make “an enormous contribution” to economic growth as he emphasised the military would take financial priority over other departments under this government.
The prime minister said military spending will help reindustrialise the UK.
“We are going to honour our commitments on defence and use that investment to transform people’s lives,” he said.
Former defence secretary John Healey grabbed the headlines when he was appointed chancellor, a move which wasn’t predicted by the political pundits.
John is a friend, who knows Barrow very well, and has visited the town many times as part of his defence brief.
In his new role he will focus on delivering Andy’s vision for the UK economy, combining fiscal responsibility with a focus on re-industrialisation, devolution, the cost of living, and growth. As the former defence secretary, John has a clear vision of what’s needed in defence and I have confidence that we will see a gear shift in delivering what we need.
The Burnham blueprint is a 10-year plan to raise people’s living standards, with his first announcement on the steps of Downing Street pledging to end rough sleeping, and within hours of unveiling his cabinet, he announced an £850m VAT cut on electricity bills to help ease cost of living pressures for ordinary families.
It means electricity bills will see a small but very much needed reduction from October that’s going to help £29m people. I welcome this change and want to see rapid work to deliver renewable energy which will ensure our energy bills are not at the mercy of foreign wars.
The move will be partly funded by scrapping plans for a digital ID scheme, which would have cost an estimated £1.8bn over three years.
Within hours No 10 announced single bus fares across England will be capped at £2 from January, with transport secretary Heidi Alexander confirming it was a fully funded spending commitment.
The prime minister promised that the cost of living would run through the veins of this government, with every decision tested against it.
The £2 cap will be in place from 1 January 2027 until the rest of the year, helping millions of people access affordable bus travel, supporting access to work, education, healthcare and leisure.
More good news arrived with a commitment to help high streets with a cut in business rates for pubs, clubs and music venues in England by 20 per cent.
This will be fully funded partly through reviewing reliefs for businesses that do not make a positive difference to communities, such as vape shops.
And at the time of writing, figures showed UK inflation fell by more than expected in June to 2.6 per cent – a boost for Labour’s plans to reduce the cost of living.
We can expect much more positive news from Labour as we go forward.