The People Shaping Andy Burnham's Plans to Remake Britain's Economy

As Britain's new prime minister, Andy Burnham has declared his ambition to end four decades of neoliberal economic policy, according to a Guardian report examining the figures shaping his agenda.

The report traces discontent within Labour back to May 2025, when, under then-prime minister Keir Starmer, party figures, campaigners and journalists gathered at London's Ministry of Sound for a day of panel discussions organized by the campaign group Compass, covering subjects including child poverty, the Murdoch-owned media and the rise of the radical right.

Neal Lawson, the founder of Compass, is quoted in the report saying organizers "felt as though the Labour government was failing, and needed to be pulled into the 21st century." He described the Starmer government's positions — including its support for the Conservatives' two-child benefit cap, its stance on Gaza, and a speech on immigration in which Starmer suggested Britain risked becoming an "island of strangers" — as having driven Labour supporters away from the party.

Lawson is further quoted describing the Starmer project as "intellectually bankrupt," saying the former prime minister was too personally disinterested in ideas and big thinking to sustain his government's direction.

The report frames Burnham's premiership as a test of whether Labour is genuinely prepared to break from the economic orthodoxy of recent decades, or whether the rhetoric of ending neoliberalism will translate into more incremental policy change. Further detail on the specific figures currently advising Burnham was referenced in the broader report but not summarized here.