The first 100 days: A blueprint for renewal

A crisis of trust and purpose

Our new prime minister, Andy Burnham, faces a burning platform: people are turning away from mainstream politics in record numbers. Trust in politicians is at a historic low, support for populist parties is growing and people no longer believe that that democratic politics can improve their lives. 

Public frustration is the result of a cost-of-living squeeze, driven by rising prices and stagnant wages, interactions with public services that can longer be relied on, neglected public and community spaces, and overstretched infrastructure such as transport. 

The political and fiscal conditions that sustained earlier models of progressive government no longer exist. Low growth, weak productivity, high public debt and an ageing population have combined with the legacy of austerity and the pandemic to leave the state operating under serious constraints. 

Periods of constraint make political purpose even more crucial. When governments cannot promise everything, they must be even clearer about what they are trying to achieve, who they are for and what they can deliver. It is here that Starmer’s government has most clearly fallen short. 

100 days to signal change 

In this context, it is even more important that Burnham’s government demonstrates a clear political project and that he is on the side of ordinary people. The choices that the new prime minister makes in the first 100 days will be vital in achieving this. He will only get one chance at a first impression. 

These choices should do three things.

1. Immediate impact: They must make a tangible difference to people's lives making then feel secure hopeful and connected
2. Provide hope: They should embody the long-term, wider project that Burnham is pursuing
3. Understand constraints: They should be deliverable within the political, fiscal and institutional constraints government faces today. 

This piece suggests three areas – covering place, young people and the cost of living - where Burnham should announce immediate action, and how this could build to a longer-term agenda. 

Place: Rebuilding everyday life in the place that people call home

The first 100 days should demonstrate that government is prepared to invest in the social fabric of local communities. Recent initiatives such as Pride in Place have recognised the importance of community renewal, but too often regeneration has remained constrained by a model of centrally designed programmes, competitive bidding and short-term funding settlements. While these funds have delivered valuable projects, they have too rarely given local communities the long-term certainty or autonomy needed to shape their own futures. 

This policy should signal a broader intent on giving places the power to fund their own renewal. April's devolution bill was a watershed moment, but devolution will remain incomplete unless local leaders have greater control over their own budgets. The fiscal devolution roadmap promised at the autumn budget should therefore mark the beginning of a new settlement between central and local government: one that replaces competitive bidding and centrally determined priorities with long-term fiscal empowerment.

Restoring hope through generational renewal: A new deal for young people 

The strength of a society's social contract is reflected in whether young people can build secure and fulfilling adult lives. That has never felt harder. Many are coming of age amid youth unemployment, weaker earnings prospects and uneven access to opportunity. Parents increasingly fear that their children will enjoy fewer opportunities than they did, while many young people are losing faith in the promise of a better future. The first 100 days should signal that the government is committed to turning this around.

This policy should signal a broader intent in an ambitious generational settlement that expands and redistributes opportunity for young people and supports their transition into adulthood. This means ambitious policy choices that young people to navigate labour market challenges, access affordable housing and build stable futures. This is essential to rebuilding a social contract between all generations and the state by reestablishing hope for the future. 

Economic security: Protecting the essentials by making markets work for people

Over the last 15 years, households have absorbed repeated economic shocks: the financial crisis, austerity, Brexit disruption, the pandemic, inflation and rising housing and energy costs. People experience these pressures not as abstract economic events, but as rising bills, insecure work, unaffordable housing and constant anxiety about whether they can get by. Restoring security in the essentials of everyday life must therefore be a defining element of the Burnham project. 

This policy should signal a broader intent on making markets work in the interests of people who depend upon them. Too often, markets for essentials such as housing and public utilities allow those with existing assets and market power to benefit while families face rising costs and growing insecurity. Where essential goods become increasingly unaffordable or inaccessible, government has a responsibility to act challenging vested interests, rebalancing power and ensuring markets serve the people who rely on them. 

A ‘downpayment’ for change 

These three first 100 days policies should signal intent, not represent the ceiling of the government’s aspirations. Together they make up a ‘downpayment’ for voters hungry for change, allowing the government the space to drive the more structural, fundamental reform that is needed to deliver the things we all care about: higher living standards, better public services, a greater feeling of agency. 

In the coming weeks and months IPPR will be setting out what this longer-term change should look like and how it can be delivered.