Jeremy Hunt: Andy Burnham's day one decision

Plus: why climate change can be good for Britain, and what Sadiq Khan got right

Jul 01, 2026

Happy death day. From today, deaths have begun to outnumber births in England and Wales. Maybe we should do something about that?

Andy Burnham, meanwhile, is all too aware of the recent mortality statistics for British prime ministers. In this week’s episode of The Capitalist, I spoke with former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who says there’s one decision Burnham has to make on day one – and if he ducks it, he’ll be following Starmer out of the door.

Burnham, meanwhile, is making plans for his No.10 of the North, and hoping that a base outside of Downing Street will save him. Neil Garratt wrote for CapX today arguing that the PM-to-be won’t be able to escape the Westminster bubble so easily.

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's folly

Neil Garratt

‘Even the European Parliament doesn’t try to shuttle between Brussels and Strasbourg several times in one week.’

Andy Burnham’s ‘Manc-a-Lago’ plan to escape the Westminster bubble by shipping bits of No.10 to the North won’t work. Leaving the lanyard-wearers behind is a tempting plan. But it just has two minor flaws: Westminster people know how to use trains, and Manchester already has its own lanyards lying in wait. And the problems facing Burnham’s travelling circus don’t stop there. Read More

Sadiq Khan should crush London's Nimbys

Jimmy Nicholls

‘Complaining about nightlife when you choose to live in Soho is like living in South Kensington and complaining about the museums.’

He may not have much else to show for his three terms in office – certainly not when it comes to getting more homes built for Londoners – but Sadiq Khan has opened a welcome front against that scourge of the modern capital: central London’s frustratingly well-organised Nimbys. Someone has to fight the fun police, and Khan might actually be the man for the job. Read More

The Capitalist

Jeremy Hunt has a warning for Andy Burnham – reform welfare on day one, or see your administration fail like Keir Starmer’s.

In this episode of The Capitalist, the former Chancellor also advocates a radical programme for growth, sets out why scrapping the pension triple lock is now an economic and moral necessity and argues we’ve got devolution completely wrong; if that’s Burnham’s big idea, he needs to fix it, fast.

The CapX Reading List

The best of the web today

Climate change is a great opportunity for Britain

Albie Amankona, City AM

‘As Southern Europe tragically transforms into an uninhabitable kiln, the traditional summer holiday is up for grabs. Our famous coastlines could thrive as holidaymakers swap St Tropez for Salcombe, Ibiza for the Isle of Wight and the Costa del Sol for Cornwall.’

The green lobby’s vision for Britain is depressing and economically illiterate. The solution to a hotter Britain is not boiling in the dark. It is unleashing private enterprise to cool the nation down, and seizing the biggest economic opportunity for Britain’s struggling coastal towns since the invention of railways. Read More

The £30 billion problem with Manchesterism

John Redwood, ConservativeHome

‘Manchesterism on a national scale is simply unaffordable.’

As Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham relied on more state borrowing to do more things in the public sector. Borrowing an extra £1bn in Manchester proved possible. Scaling that up across the UK as a whole would take £30bn. That would rattle the markets, deter private investment and cost us all a fortune in extra interest charges. Read More