Does Burnham want growth?

Plus: Blowing up the Pennines, and economics lessons for the Pope

Jul 13, 2026

With one week to go until Andy Burnham becomes prime minister, the ultra-rich are looking for the exits – see Jeremy Hunt, below, on why. But there are things Burnham can do if he actually wants growth. Lawrence Newport has written for CapX today about a new campaign to kickstart the economy. MPs won’t like it: it starts by scrapping their summer holidays.

In the Middle East, President Trump has reacted to Iran’s intransigence by announcing his own toll on the Strait of Hormuz and the return of America’s blockade. In the UK, Iran’s IRGC has finally been proscribed by the Government as a national security threat. About time.

And our Stat of the Day reveals there’s a cheaper way to connect Manchester and Sheffield – it just involves a lot of explosives.

Michael Dnes@MichaelDnes1

I’ve unveiled a secret project today. One that we’ve been working on for the past year. Something that can add a billion pounds a year to the economy of the north while making the environment better. And we think we can deliver it at no cost to government. Ambitious, right?

10:10 AM · Jul 13, 2026 · 52.6K Views

16 Replies · 78 Reposts · 230 Likes

Below you’ll find all the latest pieces from CapX, plus what we’re reading from around the web.

Marc Sidwell
Editor, CapX

Today’s Takes

Fresh thinking from CapX

Burnham can kickstart growth in 30 days

Lawrence Newport

‘Building anything from local care homes to major national rail lines takes far too long and costs far too much.’

Britain is in a growth emergency. When Andy Burnham becomes our seventh prime minister in 10 years, he must take radical action. Kickstart is LFG’s new plan for what Burnham should do in his first 30 days to start growing our GDP per capita by 3% every year. Step one: force Parliament to sit through the summer. Read More

How to reconnect Britain

Rebecca Smith

‘We need to empower local authorities to raise funding to deliver rail projects at lower costs and on time.’

Councils don’t need to wait for Treasury largesse to rebuild local rail. Land value capture already helped fund the Northumberland Line and, a century ago, the Metropolitan Line. Meanwhile, the reopened Dartmoor Line already turns an £850,000 annual surplus. It’s the tool Labour is ignoring while cancelling projects and obsessing over renationalisation instead. Read More

Stat of the day

Best of the Web

Why a capital gains tax grab will backfire

Jeremy Hunt, The Telegraph 🔒

‘Equalising CGT and income tax would actually reduce the overall tax take.’

Every chancellor this century has rejected raising capital gains tax to income tax levels – and Andy Burnham’s new team should take note. Treasury officials calculate 24% as the ‘revenue-maximising’ rate for CGT; go higher and the tax take actually goes down. Worse, it risks driving entrepreneurs abroad, meaning less growth, fewer jobs and even less revenue for the Treasury. Read More

The delusions of Andy Burnham

Eliot Wilson, City AM

‘Burnham’s sloppy delineation of fundamental aspects of our constitutional framework suggests muddy thinking or disdainful indifference.’

Andy Burnham’s premiership has been more anticipated and hyped than last summer’s Oasis reunion, yet with a week to go, it is unclear how much planning has been done for the transition to power. For all Burnham’s Westminster experience, his words read like a man whose understanding of central government and Parliament is fleeting and dismissive. Read More