The five key takeaways from Andy Burnham’s virtual ‘ask me anything’

The five key takeaways from Andy Burnham’s virtual ‘ask me anything’ The prime minister-in-waiting ruled out calling a general election after he enters No 10 - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Andy Burnham took questions from the masses during an ‘ask me anything’ session on Reddit on Friday afternoon. The prime minister-to-be answered queries on topics from devolution and his “No 10 of the North” to the pensions triple lock, HS2 and infrastructure, and even on his own music taste. It comes just weeks before he is expected to take over the premiership from Sir Keir Starmer as the only Labour MP who has entered the race. The former mayor of Greater Manchester steered clear of some sticky questions on big topics such as foreign policy and digital privacy, but tackled others head-on. You can read our five key takeaways below: He will stick to Labour’s commitment on the pensions triple lock Dozens of questions flooded in from commenters asking Mr Burnham to clarify his position on the pensions triple lock. He answered: “I appreciate there’s a lot of debate about this but it is important that the commitment in the manifesto stands.” Labour previously committed to holding the triple lock for the entirety of the party’s time in Parliament. Mr Burnham’s answer suggests this is unlikely to change. The controversial policy, introduced in 2011, means the state pension increases year-on-year by the highest of three measures. These are: - Inflation, taken from the previous September’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) figure - The average wage increase in the UK - Or 2.5 per cent, if both inflation and earnings are lower than this percentage The triple lock was introduced to ensure that the state pension would not be outstripped by rising prices, nor by the average spending power of those in work. But it has been criticised for potentially lacking long-term sustainability, costing the government more each year. In 2023/24, pension payments cost the government an estimated £124.3 billion. He is prepared to negotiate with countries over refugee return agreements Mr Burnham had a simple answer when asked: “Are you prepared to negotiate return agreements with countries like Afghanistan for refugees who have had their asylum claims rejected? Particularly those who have committed serious and violent crimes?”. His response: “Yes”. He will support Labour backing electoral reform Mr Burnham answered several questions on electoral reform and declared himself a “strong supporter” of change. However, he did not detail exactly what kind of change his vision entails. “I am a strong supporter of electoral reform, partly because I believe it will enable the change to a more collaborative politics, and one that is less about point-scoring and more about problem-solving,” he wrote. “I will seek to persuade my own Party of the need for a manifesto commitment to it in the next manifesto.” He will not call an early election Mr Burnham said he will not call a general election if he becomes prime minister. One user asked the Makerfield MP: “I assume you’re going to call an election? If not, why not?” Mr Burnham replied: “No. As I said in my speech on Monday, I’m going to work to the 2024 manifesto.” For Burnham, the key is devolution It’s hard to see ‘King of the North’ Mr Burnham as anything but the devolution candidate - and likely soon to be prime minister. He already laid out his plans for a No 10 of the North during a rousing speech in Manchester on Monday, but today he addressed questions over whether everyone will get a fair slice of the devolution pie. “As I said in my speech on Monday, I want to free up London with even greater devolved powers so it can go to the next level and maintain its status as the world’s greatest capital city,” he wrote. “This could include powers over education, skills and housing and more fiscal devolution. Downing Street North will be at the service of London and the South East in helping it take powers out of Whitehall, in exactly the same way as it will help the North.” Additionally, when challenged over criticism of his economic policies, Mr Burnham once again turned to devolution for his key to growth, answering: “I’m not sure which economists you mean because two very prominent ones, Lord Jim O’Neil and Andy Haldane, have both said that a devolution drive that brings power to all parts of the country could be game-changing when it comes to levels of UK growth. “For the last 10 years, I have overseen the fastest-growing city region in the country, so I like to think I do know something about this topic!” Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments