Andy Burnham Backs Business Rate Cuts for Pubs in Early Leadership Pitch

Burnham Enters Parliament With Pub Relief Pledge

Andy Burnham, newly sworn in as MP for Makerfield on Monday, has moved quickly to distinguish himself as a potential Labour leader, pledging to cut employers’ National Insurance contributions and reduce business rates for pubs across England.

The announcement comes as Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation triggers a fresh Labour leadership contest, with MPs already rallying around Burnham — a two-time candidate for the party’s top job.

What Burnham Is Proposing

Under Burnham’s proposals, pubs, clubs and music venues would receive a 20% reduction in business rates from next year. Smaller, independent hospitality, leisure and retail firms would benefit from a raised threshold for paying business rates — the first such adjustment since 2017 — removing many businesses from the tax’s reach entirely.

The plans respond directly to concerns from pub owners and small business operators who warn that the current Labour government’s rates burden risks forcing thousands of establishments to close.

Burnham’s Critique of His Own Party

“I have said that I thought the weight of the burden on employers’ national insurance wasn’t the right decision,” Burnham said, adding: “However, it was the decision.”

He went further in his criticism, stating that Labour “has got this wrong in government” and had “undervalued the contribution these businesses make to our livelihoods and our communities.”

Burnham framed his position around conversations with constituents: “People just feel they are at the kind of limits of what they can do.”

High Streets as a Political Battleground

Burnham positioned independent businesses as central to his political vision. “Our high streets matter to me because they matter to the people who live here,” he said. “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.”

The pledge signals that small business relief will be a defining plank of Burnham’s leadership campaign, targeting a constituency — both literal and political — that Labour has struggled to retain.