Andy Burnham denies plans to abolish stamp duty and replace council tax
Andy Burnham has denied reports that he planned to abolish stamp duty and replace council tax with a land tax, saying he does not know where the stories came from.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has denied reports that he planned to abolish stamp duty and replace council tax with a land tax, saying he does not know where the stories came from.
The denial came during his first week in office, when he also said he would continue to lead the Coalition of the Willing. The group was set up by his predecessor to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. The message from the government was that Britain's strong bond with Ukraine will remain the same despite the change of prime minister.
Burnham has said he wants to reverse 40 years of neoliberalism. He has not given much detail about how he would do that. Labour MPs, advisers and think tanks have been putting forward ideas to fill the gap. His team says that is not the same as Burnham actively looking into those policies.
He has spoken recently about the need to reform council tax. But when asked specifically about abolishing stamp duty, his response was firm. He said: 'That won't be happening. And I don't know actually where some of the stories that have appeared over the last 24 hours have come from.' He added that someone near him could say something and it would suddenly be treated as his policy, or someone could pass him a document and it would be assumed he supported everything in it. He said that was not the case.
Burnham says more details will come later this week on social care, defence spending and housing. His team is pleased with how his first week as prime minister has gone. Two polls were published, one showing Labour level and another showing Labour ahead for the first time in 15 months. MPs are excited, but it is too soon to say whether this is more than a bounce or a turning point for Labour.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Andy Burnham denied that he was considering abolishing stamp duty, with his team saying ideas from Labour MPs, advisers and think tanks did not mean he was actively looking into them. | |
| Andy Burnham recently spoke about the need to reform council tax. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV led with Burnham's Ukraine role before turning to the tax denial, treating it as a briefing and speculation problem rather than a firm policy shift. Its correspondent said Labour MPs, advisers and think tanks are filling a policy vacuum, while Burnham's team insists those ideas are not his active plans. The item also noted polls suggesting a possible Labour bounce.
- “That won't be happening. And I don't know actually where some of the stories that have appeared over the last 24 hours have come from.”
- “It seems that somebody within, I don't know, 100 yards of me could say something and then all of a sudden it's my policy or somebody could pass me something and then I support everything within the document.”
- “His team say that is absolutely not the same as Andy Burnham actively looking into doing these sorts of things.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.