Labour members think cost of living should be top priority for Andy Burnham’s government – poll

Resolving the cost of living crisis should be Andy Burnham’s most important policy priority, according to new polling of Labour members, with almost two-thirds believing it should rank among the government’s top three areas of focus.

LabourList’s exclusive polling of Labour members, carried out by Survation, suggests there is a clear consensus within the party membership that tackling high living costs should dominate the government’s agenda. 

Members also place significant importance on housing and the NHS, though these are significantly lower  than tackling the the cost of living as a top priority. 

When asked to rank the government’s policy priorities, 40% of Labour members said resolving the cost of living crisis should be Andy Burnham’s single most important priority. A further 15% ranked it as the second most important issue, while 9% placed it third, meaning a combined 64% believe tackling the cost of living should feature among Burnham’s top three priorities.

Housing emerged as the second strongest priority among Labour members. While 8% identified it as the government’s top priority, a combined 40% said it should be included within Burnham’s three main priorities.

The NHS and healthcare followed closely behind. Eight per cent of Labour members selected it as the government’s number one priority, while 36% overall believe it should rank among Burnham’s top three priorities.

READ MORE: Three-quarters of Labour members believe Burnham can unite party – poll

At the opposite end of the scale, universities were viewed as the lowest priority for Burnham’s government. Foreign aid, pensions, policing and investment in artificial intelligence also attracted comparatively little support as immediate priorities for the new PM.

Members favour a distinct Burnham agenda alongside Labour’s spending plans

The polling also explored whether Labour members want Burnham to continue the programme on which Labour was elected in 2024 or develop his own political agenda.

45% of members said Burnham should maintain Labour’s previous spending commitments while pursuing his own political agenda on other policy areas. A further 38% believe he should pursue his own political agenda altogether, rather than continuing the programme on which Labour was elected.

Just 14% said Burnham should continue with Labour’s original programme for government.

There were notable differences between supporters of different leadership candidates. 

Among members who backed Keir Starmer in the 2020 leadership election, 47% favoured maintaining existing spending commitments while allowing Burnham to pursue his own agenda on other policies. The same position was supported by 48% of those who voted for Lisa Nandy. 

However, 61% of members who supported Rebecca Long-Bailey in 2020 believe Burnham should pursue his own political agenda altogether.

Labour members strongly support Burnham’s flagship policy programme

Labour members are also overwhelmingly supportive of several of Burnham’s key policy objectives.

Support is strong for ending rough sleeping, with 95% of members backing the flagship ambition set out by the Prime Minister outside the front of Downing Street last month. 79% of members strongly support the PM’s aim.

The proposal to establish a National Care Service also commands the most overwhelming backing. Overall, 96% of Labour members support the policy to some extent, including 80% who strongly support creating a service funded in a similar way to the NHS.

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Public control of utilities also enjoys substantial support, with 91% backing bringing services such as energy and water under public control, including 74% who said they would strongly support the proposal.

Plans to support British industry and reindustrialise the country receive backing from 90% of Labour members, while 64% strongly support the policy.

The government’s commitment to further devolution also commands broad support. Overall, 84% of Labour members support extending devolution across the country, including 47% who strongly support the proposal. Support remains consistently high among London-based members, with 81% backing further devolution.

Replacing council tax with a land value tax is also backed by a clear majority of members. Overall, 69% support the proposal to some extent, including 35% who strongly support it. Support reaches 75% among members who voted for Lucy Powell in the deputy leadership election and 60% among those who backed Bridget Phillipson.

Labour members and the public share priorities but differ on expectations

The findings broadly align with separate polling of the wider public, which has been provided exclusively to LabourList. The polling was conducted by Dr Matthew Barnfield of Queen Mary University of London, although the two surveys measure different aspects of Burnham’s agenda.

Both polls identify resolving the cost of living crisis as the dominant priority. Barnfield’s polling found resolving the cost of living was also the most widely selected priority among the public, with 70% considering it a policy the government should prioritise focus on.  

The two polls also demonstrate broad agreement on the importance of social care reform. Labour members expressed overwhelming support for the creation of a National Care Service, with 95% backing the proposal, while Barnfield’s research found it was one of the public’s three most frequently selected priorities for Burnham’s government.

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Alongside resolving the cost of living crisis and establishing a National Care Service, the public also valued delivering economic growth across every region.

Barnfield’s polling demonstrates 93% of respondents included at least one of those three objectives among their top priorities, with support for tackling the cost of living cutting across Labour, Conservative and Reform UK voters.

However, there are also differences in emphasis. Labour members placed housing and the NHS among their highest overall priorities, whereas the wider public gave greater prominence to regional economic growth. 

Barnfield’s polling also found the public to be considerably sceptical about how quickly Burnham could deliver many of his objectives quickly, with most respondents believing that key ambitions, including ending rough sleeping and resolving the cost of living crisis, would take longer than a single parliament to achieve.

Editor of LabourList Emma Burnell said: “Political commentators sometimes speak as if Labour members and the general public inhabit completely different planets. These two sets of polling show this isn’t true. Labour members have roughly similar priorities to the general public – especially when it comes to tackling the cost of living crisis. Even when it comes to issues such as public ownership of utilities over a quarter of the general public see this as a priority issue.

“While Labour members have some more specific policy asks than the general public – such as building more social and council housing – if done right and messaged well such action could be seen as helping ease the cost of rents – a huge component of a high cost of living for too many people.

It will be in making the difference felt fast on the cost of living and showing real progress on longer term challenges such as establishing a National Care Service and devolving not just power but growth that Burnham can bring together the priorities of Labour members and the public and demonstrate the difference a Labour government can make to all our lives.”

Survation, a member of the British Polling Council and a Market Research Society Partner, surveyed 812 readers of LabourList who also said they were Labour Party members between July 24 and 27.

Data was weighted to the profile of party members by age, sex, region and 2025 deputy leadership vote. Targets for weighting were drawn from the British Election Study and the results of the leadership and deputy leadership elections.

Dr Matthew Barnfield (British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at Queen Mary University of London) conducted polling of 1200 British respondents on 31 July, on which parts of Andy Burnham’s agenda he should prioritise, and expectations of when he will be able to deliver his objectives. Data was weighted to match population on age, gender, ethnicity, and 2024 vote choice.

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