Burnham's First 100 days: Five Steps to “A New Politics”
Andy Burnham has spoken repeatedly about the need for a different kind of politics. His first 100 days as Prime Minister will shape whether that promise becomes reality.
None of the measures below requires years of preparation or a huge expenditure of political capital. Some need legislation, but most do not. Above all, each depends on political leadership. Together, if actioned, they would show that a Burnham government genuinely intends to do politics differently.
1. Launch a commission on electoral reform
The easiest reform to set about is also the one with the greatest long-term potential to reshape British politics. Although MPs have tabled an amendment to the Representation of the People Bill calling for a commission, the Prime Minister does not need legislation to establish one. It is entirely within his gift.
Such a commission should bring together citizens and experts to recommend a voting system fit for Britain's increasingly fragmented politics. First Past the Post was designed for an era of two-party competition. Today it is producing ever greater disparities between votes cast and seats won, encouraging governments elected on historically low vote shares to mistake parliamentary dominance for broad public consent. The work building a replacement cannot begin soon enough.
2. Set a higher standard for public life
Political culture change has to be led from the top. Burnham could announce that, as Prime Minister, he will refuse gifts and hospitality above a nominal value. That would establish a clear personal standard, without needing to change either the Ministerial Code or MPs’ Code of Conduct.
He should also ask Labour MPs to adopt strict limits on second jobs: no more than 20 hours a week and no more than the equivalent of half an MP’s annual salary in outside earnings. This would ensure that a second job never becomes the first job, whilst allowing MPs to maintain professional qualifications, undertake limited academic work or pursue occasional media activities necessary for, or related to the performance of their duties.
Most MPs are not exploiting second jobs or lavish gifts. But the conduct of a minority shapes public perceptions of Parliament as a whole. Burnham cannot bind all MPs by his actions alone, but he can set the standard for others to follow.
3. Lift the veil on lobbying
The Ethics and Integrity Commission recently concluded that Britain's lobbying regime is “wholly inadequate”, capturing only a small fraction of lobbying activity. Happily, it also laid out a blueprint for fixing it.
Much of that work can begin immediately. Ministers' transparency releases can be improved to provide more complete and meaningful information, then brought together in a single Cabinet Office database that makes them easier to search and scrutinise. Future legislation could then expand that platform into a fully comprehensive lobbying register, comprising both government and lobbyists' own disclosures.
The public should have a clear view of who is lobbying government, on whose behalf and about what. Getting there will take longer than 100 days, but the direction of travel should be unmistakable from day one.
4. Cap political donations
Burnham has already backed a cap on political donations. The Representation of the People Bill gives him the opportunity to deliver one.
Rather than creating increasingly convoluted rules for different categories of donor, all donations should be capped at the same reasonable amount.
A universal cap would be simpler to administer, easier to explain and harder to circumvent. Most importantly, it would show voters that no individual or company can wield outsized political influence by bankrolling a political party.
Senior Minister Steve Reed said earlier this month that “British democracy is not for sale”, yet stopped short of the action needed to truly kick big money out of politics. In his first 100 days, Burnham can put the interests of voters, instead of mega donors’, back at the centre of politics.
5. Be honest about the trade-offs
Politics involves trade-offs. Independent institutions constrain ministers for a reason. Fiscal rules voluntarily limit governments’ choices. Devolution means accepting that other elected politicians will make decisions at odds with those in Westminster.
Good government recognises those trade-offs; too often in recent years, ministers have tried to pretend they do not exist. Judges, regulators, quangos and officials have been hung out to dry when delivery proved more complicated than politicians cared to admit.
Burnham’s greatest political advantage over his predecessor may be that he is a better communicator. He must use that skill to balance optimism with realism, embracing voters’ legitimate desire for change with frankness about the challenges. As Burnham himself put it last week, “change starts with honesty.”
Voters have lost faith in democracy’s ability to deliver, in no small part because politicians have routinely cast themselves as powerless, pulling levers attached to nothing. Burnham can begin to rebuild public trust by showing that honesty about government’s limitations is entirely compatible with ambition about what it can achieve.
Burnham's first 100 days will not solve all of Britain's democratic problems. But they will do much to determine whether the country believes he is serious about forging “a new politics”.