RICS member update following appointment of Andy Burnham as UK Prime Minister

Andy Burnham entered 10 Downing Street on Monday 20 July as the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade, promising that his administration would be a ‘circuit breaker’.  His first address from the steps of Number 10 put cost of living, housing, procurement, skills and devolution at the centre of his emerging ten-year programme. Core to this developing approach to government is his objective to create new ‘political and economic models’ with the right values and standards at the centre.

Housing: a council housebuilding programme

The Prime Minister has pledged to recommence a council housebuilding programme, having previously argued that the loss of council stock has left the state subsidising private rents rather than providing homes. The Prime Minister argued that this will deliver a ‘fair and sustainable way to bring the welfare bill down’.  His first instruction was to ‘end rough sleeping in our country’, and he brings with him experience of working on the homelessness challenge from his time as Mayor of Greater Manchester.

Education and skills

With around 1 million young people, roughly one in eight, not in education, employment or training, the Prime Minister committed to changing the education system and getting more young people into work. This was framed through the need for more support, and particularly mental health support, for young people.

Procurement and industrial strategy

The Prime Minister signalled a more interventionist approach to public procurement, suggesting that this was a means by which Britain can be ‘reindustrialised’.  He referenced building a new economy and set out his desire to bring ‘life’s essentials’ under public control to make them more affordable. 

How is RICS supporting members and engaging with the new government?

RICS is already positioning to engage with the incoming government across the priority areas set out by the Prime Minister.  On housing, we will build on our ongoing work with policymakers on housing viability, retrofit and housing quality to input into the council housebuilding programme, sharing member expertise on delivery and site viability. On procurement and the emerging industrial strategy, we will highlight the profession’s role in cost certainty and project assurance as the government seeks to accelerate reindustrialisation across the UK. We will also draw on our work understanding the skill shortages and challenge to inform the new government’s approach to changing the education system and getting more young people into work.

Familiar briefs

The ministerial shake up has seen Angela Rayner return as Housing Secretary at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). The Housing Secretary is joined by Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook, who has been reappointed. This is welcome news as there is critical work underway in the housing sector – including major reforms to the homebuying and selling process. Given the average property transaction takes 120 days, and one in three sales fell through in June, it is important that this is tackled. Continuity is essential after many years of rotating ministers.

The machinery of government has seen changes including the creation of an Office for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet (OPMC), which will encompass No 10 and No 10 North. The creation of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST) at the expense of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which will have its functions redistributed. DBIST will be led by Jonathan Reynolds, who returns to the role of Business Secretary from the Treasury.

RICS will continue to work with both departments to ensure the expertise across the surveying profession is heard.

What happens next?

The Prime Minister indicated that further announcements on the cost of living will follow this week – including plans on how they will be paid for. So far, this has included a VAT cut on household electricity bills from 1 October 2026.

The speech was well received by the Labour Parliamentary Party, but it remains the case that significant detail is yet to be confirmed on the broader housing, skills and devolution agendas.

RICS looks forward to constructive engagement with the new government to support them in delivering their agenda and making the expertise and knowledge of the profession available to them.