Expert comment: Andy Burnham's economic agenda analysed by University of Salford experts

Dr Tony Syme, macroeconomist at the University of Salford, commented: “Andy Burnham has promised the British people "breathing room" on the cost of living and there are good reasons to believe he means it. As Mayor of Greater Manchester, he delivered tangible improvements to household budgets, bringing buses back under public control and capping single fares at £2. It was practical economics, focused on the everyday costs that matter to working families, and it worked.

“Today he committed to applying that approach nationally, pledging to put "life's essentials" under public control and to reindustrialise Britain. Whole regions of Britain never recovered from the deindustrialisation of the 1980s. That is his diagnosis, and public control is his remedy.

“His argument is that public control of essential services lowers long-term costs to the state and to households. Water, energy and transport are precisely where families feel the cost of living squeeze, so this approach targets the right places. Thames Water, carrying £20 billion of debt, offers him a ready-made first test case, and one he is well placed to take on.

“The details of his cost of living plans are due tomorrow, and the early signals are encouraging. Scrapping the digital ID programme to redirect money towards household budgets, and his acknowledgement that frozen tax thresholds have quietly eroded take-home pay, suggest a government focused on tangible improvements in people's lives.

“The key signal, however, will be his choice of Chancellor. The decision is reported to be between Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood, and it will tell us whether this is a government of energy transformation and public investment or one of fiscal continuity. Turning a city region around took a decade of patient, practical work. The whole country will now be watching to see if Manchesterism can scale.”

Professor Richard Whittle, Professor of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Public Policy at the University of Salford, added: “While this is the right approach, we need a place-based plus strategy - one that actively harnesses the strengths of our regions and communities, positioning them to compete and thrive on the global stage.

“A focus on the everyday is key, we need a resilient economy, one where the next shock - possibly AI (artificial intelligence) - isn't devastating to individuals because we have reindustrialised, because we are future looking etc. AI policy will be key to this, we need to look at it as an economic event, not just a technological challenge. This speech today begins to do this, AI isn't a panacea to fix economic growth, it can help a strong economy to grow, but the fundamentals need to be in place for it to do this.

“Andy Burnham's speech is a welcome recognition that economic growth must be rooted in places and communities, not simply driven by national policy. The UK needs a deep place-based approach that harnesses the unique strengths of its regions, enabling them to compete globally while building prosperity that is felt locally.

“The focus must be on creating a more resilient economy. Future shocks, whether driven by artificial intelligence, geopolitical instability or wider structural change, should not leave communities exposed. That requires stronger economic foundations through investment in skills, innovation, local institutions and modern industrial capacity. Resilience should be at the heart of economic strategy.

“Artificial intelligence has an important role to play, but we need to stop thinking of AI purely as a technology issue. AI policy is economic policy. The meaningful questions are about productivity, labour markets, industrial strategy and ensuring that the benefits of AI are shared across people and places rather than becoming concentrated in a small number of sectors or organisations.

“Today's speech begins to move the conversation in that direction. AI is not a silver bullet for the UK's productivity challenges, nor can it overcome decades of underinvestment on its own. However, where strong economic fundamentals exist, AI can become a powerful catalyst for innovation, higher productivity and sustainable growth.

“The priority for policymakers should therefore be creating the conditions that allow AI to deliver genuine public value. That means investing in people as much as technology, supporting local innovation ecosystems, and giving regions such as Greater Manchester the capability to develop, adopt and shape AI around their own economic strengths.

“If we get those foundations right, AI will not simply make existing industries more productive; it can help build a more resilient, inclusive and competitive economy. But technology alone will never be enough. Sustainable growth depends on the strength of the economic system into which it is introduced.”